CatWalk Gait Analysis
Objective: Assessment of motor recovery and gait patterns following peripheral nerve injury and repair using CatWalk gait analysis at 6 or 12 weeks post-surgery
This is a CatWalk Gait Analysis protocol using rat as the model organism. The procedure involves 6 procedural steps, 2 equipment items, 1 materials. Extracted from a 2018 paper published in Biomaterials.
Model and subjects
rat • athymic nude rats • unknown • Not specified • Not specified • 60
Study window
~12 week study window | ~1 hours hands-on
Core workflow
Surgical nerve injury and repair • Electrical stimulation application • CatWalk gait analysis assessment
Primary readouts
- CatWalk gait analysis parameters
- Gastrocnemius muscle wet mass
- Histomorphometric measurements of nerve regeneration
- Number of viable neural crest stem cells
Key equipment and reagents
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Protocol Steps
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Surgical nerve injury and repair
15 mm critical-sized sciatic nerve injuries were generated with subsequent surgical repair in sixty athymic nude rats
Note: Injured animals were randomly assigned into five groups (N = 12 per group): blank control, ES, NCSC, NCSC + ES, and autologous nerve graft
View evidence from paper
“15 mm critical-sized sciatic nerve injuries were generated with subsequent surgical repair in sixty athymic nude rats. Injured animals were randomly assigned into five groups (N = 12 per group)”
Electrical stimulation application
Optimized electrical stimulation was applied immediately after surgical repair for 1 hour in ES and NCSC + ES groups
Note: Optimized ES parameters: 20 Hz, 100 microseconds pulse at a potential gradient of 200 mV/mm
View evidence from paper
“Optimized ES was applied immediately after surgical repair for 1 h in ES and NCSC + ES groups.”
CatWalk gait analysis assessment
Behavioral assessment of motor recovery and gait patterns using CatWalk gait analysis
Note: Assessment performed at either 6 or 12 weeks after surgery (N = 6 per group)
View evidence from paper
“Recovery was assessed by behavioral (CatWalk gait analysis), wet muscle-mass, histomorphometric, and immunohistochemical analyses at either 6 or 12 weeks after surgery (N = 6 per group).”
Gastrocnemius muscle wet mass measurement
Measurement of wet muscle mass as indicator of muscle recovery
Note: Performed at 6 or 12 weeks post-surgery
View evidence from paper
“Recovery was assessed by behavioral (CatWalk gait analysis), wet muscle-mass, histomorphometric, and immunohistochemical analyses at either 6 or 12 weeks after surgery”
Histomorphometric analysis
Quantitative histomorphometric analysis of nerve regeneration
Note: Performed at 6 or 12 weeks post-surgery
View evidence from paper
“Quantitative histomorphometric analysis and catwalk gait analysis showed similar improvements by ES on NCSCs (p < 0.05).”
Immunohistochemical analysis
Assessment of viable NCSCs and Schwann cell differentiation
Note: A higher number of viable NCSCs was shown via immunochemical analysis, with higher Schwann cell differentiation in NCSC + ES group compared to NCSC group
View evidence from paper
“A higher number of viable NCSCs was shown via immunochemical analysis, with higher Schwann cell (SC) differentiation in the NCSC + ES group compared to the NCSC group (p < 0.05).”