Abstract
<sec> <title>BACKGROUND</title> <p>An estimated 2.4–2.6 billion people worldwide have health conditions benefiting from rehabilitation, with approximately 80% residing in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Biomechanical assessment—a cornerstone of effective rehabilitation—remains inaccessible to the majority of the global population due to cost, infrastructure, and workforce barriers. This inequity, which we term 'movement poverty,' represents a significant and underexplored dimension of global health inequality.</p> </sec> <sec> <title>OBJECTIVE</title> <p>This paper aims to systematically review the existing literature on biomechanical assessment access and equity, quantify the global distribution of rehabilitation infrastructure and workforce, and introduce the concept of 'movement poverty' as a framework for understanding and addressing disparities in movement health.</p> </sec> <sec> <title>METHODS</title> <p>We conducted a literature review of peer-reviewed publications and grey literature on biomechanical assessment, rehabilitation access, and global health equity. We analyzed WHO and World Bank data on rehabilitation workforce density across income groups and geographic regions. A regional case study approach was used to illustrate variation in access to movement health services.</p> </sec> <sec> <title>RESULTS</title> <p>Our review confirms severe disparities in rehabilitation and biomechanical assessment access globally. High-income countries have several hundred rehabilitation professionals per million population, while many LMICs report fewer than 10 per million. Clinical gait analysis laboratories, force plates, and motion capture systems are concentrated overwhelmingly in high-income settings. Smartphone-based markerless motion analysis represents an emerging technology with potential to democratize access.</p> </sec> <sec> <title>CONCLUSIONS</title> <p>Movement poverty is a measurable, addressable form of health inequity. Closing the global gap in biomechanical assessment access will require targeted investment in affordable technology, workforce development in LMICs, and policy prioritization of rehabilitation within universal health coverage frameworks. Smartphone-based markerless motion analysis systems represent a promising pathway toward democratizing movement health globally.</p> </sec>