How to Fix a Vaulting Gait

by | Mar 18, 2025 | Balance, Movement and Rehab, Neurologic Rehabilitation Concepts, Stroke Leg Exercises | 0 comments

thumbnail of Tara Tobias demonstrating vaulting gait with the text stop vaulting to improve walking post stroke

How to Stop Vaulting and Walk More Naturally After a Stroke

 

If you’ve ever noticed yourself pushing up on your stronger leg to swing your weaker leg forward while walking, you may be experiencing vaulting.

The good news? Vaulting can be unlearned with the right strategies.

In this post, we’ll explain what causes vaulting, why it happens, and the simple exercises you can do every day to improve your walking pattern.

 

 

What is Vaulting?

Image of Tara Tobias demonstrating a vaulting gait, standing on the toes of her left foot while swinging her right foot forward.

Vaulting happens when you rise up on your uninvolved leg to help swing your involved leg through. It may seem like a quick fix, but it actually increases energy use, imbalance, and joint strain, making walking more tiring and less stable.

Vaulting is a learned habit, meaning with consistent training and adjustments, you can retrain your body to walk more naturally.

 

 

Why Does Vaulting Happen? 

There are several reasons why you might develop a vaulting gait pattern:

 

1. Your leg is longer or your brain is perceiving it as longer

If your brain perceives your involved leg as longer or it is physically longer, you may vault to help clear the foot.

 

Possible Causes: If your AFO (brace) is pointing downward or your calf muscles are tight, your foot might not clear the ground properly, making it feel like your leg is longer.

 

Treatment:

✔️ Adjust your AFO by removing the heel wedge at the bottom of your brace.
✔️ Raise the other shoe by wearing one with a slightly thicker sole.
✔️ Stretch your ankle regularly to improve flexibility and movement.

2. Spasticity

If your quadriceps (thigh muscles) are tight, your knee may stay locked straight, making it hard to swing your leg forward normally.

Treatment:

✔️Work on stretching and relaxing tight muscles to allow for better movement.

 

3. Your Brain Won’t Let Your Leg Bend (Inability to Dissociate)

This happens when legs are unable to perform different movements at the same time.

For example:

  • When you’re standing on one leg, the other leg won’t bend as it should.
  • If you try to bend one leg, the opposite leg may bend too, instead of moving separately.

Sometimes, when you stand on one leg, your brain doesn’t allow the other leg to bend out of fear it will buckle. Instead, it keeps both legs straight, making walking harder.

Treatment:

✔️ Balance exercises and movement retraining can help correct this pattern.

 

4. Weakness in Hip flexors

If your hip flexors are weak, you may not have enough strength to lift your leg forward without compensating.

Treatment:

✔️Strengthening exercises to improve hip flexor activation.

How to Fix Vaulting – 3 Simple Exercises

The key to breaking the habit of vaulting is consistent practice. Here are three exercises to help you retrain your gait:

1️⃣Even-Up Shoe

– Wearing a slightly thicker sole on the other foot can help make walking feel more balanced, so you won’t feel the need to push up on your toes.

2️⃣Crouch Walking

– Walk with slightly bent knees while keeping your hands behind your back, and take small steps. This encourages proper movement and prevents vaulting.

  1. Try to keep your hands behind your back.
  2. Bend both knees.
  3. Take small steps.

 

 

Image of Tara Tobias demonstrating crouch walking. The left grid shows her with knees bent, while the right grid captures her taking a small step forward, maintaining a bent-knee posture.

3️⃣Resistance Band Hip Flexion

– Use a resistance band to help lift your knee and hip repeatedly. This strengthens the muscles needed to clear your foot properly.

Conclusion

 

Vaulting may feel like a natural way to get your leg through when walking, but over time, it can lead to inefficiency, imbalance, and extra fatigue. The good news? With simple daily exercises and adjustments, you can retrain your brain and body to move more naturally.

Recovery takes patience and consistency, but every small change brings you one step closer to better, smoother walking. Stay patient, keep practicing, and trust the process—you’re making progress with every step!

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