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Stance phase of gate cycle

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Stance Phase of the Gait Cycle

The stance phase is the portion of the gait cycle during which the foot is in contact with the ground. It accounts for ~60% of the gait cycle (the swing phase makes up the remaining 40%) - Miller's Review of Orthopaedics, 9th Ed.; THIEME Atlas of Anatomy.

Boundaries

  • Begins: heel strike (initial contact of the foot with the ground)
  • Ends: toe-off (the foot lifts off the ground)

Subphases (Rancho Los Amigos classification)

  1. Initial Contact (IC) - the instant the heel touches the ground (0% of cycle)
  2. Loading Response (LR) - weight is transferred onto the stance limb immediately after IC; this is one of the two periods of double-limb support
  3. Midstance (MSt) - begins with initial swing of the opposite (advancing) limb and ends when the body's center of gravity passes directly over the supporting forefoot
  4. Terminal Stance (TSt) - begins with heel rise and continues until initial contact of the contralateral (opposite) foot
  5. Preswing (PSw) - begins with initial contact of the contralateral limb and ends when the stance foot lifts off the ground; this is the second period of double-limb support
(Miller's Review of Orthopaedics, 9th Edition - GAIT EVALUATION)
An older, simpler 3-interval division of stance (used clinically, e.g. Bailey & Love's Short Practice of Surgery) is:
  1. Heel strike -> foot flat
  2. Foot flat -> body passes over the ankle
  3. Ankle plantarflexion -> toe-off

Double-limb support

There are two periods of double-limb support per gait cycle (during IC + loading response, and again during preswing), together making up roughly 20-30% of the cycle, depending on walking speed. As gait speed increases, the stance phase (and double-support time) shortens - it disappears entirely once a person transitions to running, which introduces a "float" phase where neither foot touches the ground.

Functional role

Stance phase provides:
  • Weight acceptance and shock absorption (loading response)
  • Single-limb support and stability while the opposite limb swings through
  • Limb advancement/propulsion at terminal stance and preswing (push-off)

Clinically relevant abnormalities of stance phase

  • Antalgic gait: shortened stance phase on the painful side (patient minimizes time bearing weight/loading pressure on that limb) - most commonly due to degenerative joint disease
  • Trendelenburg/abductor lurch gait: trunk lurches toward the affected side during stance due to hip abductor weakness
  • Varus/valgus knee thrust: abnormal medial or lateral knee displacement during stance, accelerating compartment cartilage degeneration
(Firestein & Kelley's Textbook of Rheumatology; Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics, 15th Ed.)
Below is a labeled diagram of the gait cycle showing the stance and swing phase breakdown:
Gait cycle diagram showing stance and swing phases with percentages
THIEME Atlas of Anatomy - General Anatomy and Musculoskeletal System
This is foundational biomechanics/anatomy content that is well established in the literature; no conflicting recent evidence needed for this topic.
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