Gait Training
A structured physical therapy program designed to teach or restore functional walking patterns in prosthesis users, addressing balance, weight-bearing, and compensatory movement.
Full Definition
Gait training in the prosthetics context is a rehabilitation intervention typically delivered by a physical therapist in collaboration with the prosthetist, focused on teaching the prosthesis user safe, efficient, and symmetrical ambulation. Sessions progress from parallel bar walking to community ambulation and may address specific gait deviations such as vaulting, lateral trunk bending, or circumduction. Editors will encounter 'gait training' in therapy notes, functional outcome reports, prior authorization justifications, and discharge summaries. The term is always two words and should not be hyphenated even when used as a modifier ('gait training program').
Usage
Usage note: Do not hyphenate 'gait training' in any position. Distinguish from 'gait analysis,' which is an observational or instrumented assessment rather than a therapeutic intervention.
In Context
- "The physical therapy referral requested 12 sessions of gait training following delivery of the definitive transtibial prosthesis." — Physical therapy referral
- "Progress notes documented the patient's advancement from parallel bar gait training to outdoor terrain ambulation over six weeks." — Rehabilitation progress note