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Walking abnormalities

• Overview
• Treatment

Definition:

Walking abnormalities are unusual and uncontrollable walk patterns, usually caused by diseases or injuries to the legs, feet, brain, spine, or inner ear.

Alternative Names:

Gait abnormalities

Considerations:

The pattern of how a person walks is called their gait. Many different types of walking abnormalities are produced unconsciously. Most, but not all, are due to some physical condition.

Some walking abnormalities are so characteristic that they have been given descriptive names:

• Propulsive gait -- a stooped, rigid posture, with the head and neck bent forward
• Scissors gait -- legs flexed slightly at the hips and knees, giving the appearance of crouching, with the knees and thighs hitting or crossing in a scissors-like movement
• Spastic gait -- a stiff, foot-dragging walk caused by one-sided, long-term, muscle contraction
• Steppage gait -- foot drop where the foot hangs with the toes pointing down, causing the toes to scrape the ground while walking
• Waddling gait -- a distinctive duck-like walk that may appear in childhood or later in life

Abnormal gait may be caused by diseases in many different areas of the body. For example:

• Vestibular disorders (the inner ear is responsible for maintaining balance, and damage results in vertigo )
• Central nervous system disorders of the brain that cause muscular problems resulting in gait disturbance such as multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy )
• Spinal cord abnormalities (disease, trauma, degeneration)
• Peripheral nerve diseases (nerves from the spinal cord to the muscles may be damaged by disease or trauma and result in gait abnormalities)
• Degenerative muscle diseases ( muscular dystrophy , myotonic dystrophy, myositis )
• Neurodegenerative illnesses (Parkinson's disease)
• Skeletal abnormalities and disease
• Arthritis
• Foot conditions ( plantar warts , bunions , ingrown toenails , pressure ulcers)
• Toxic reactions (alcohol, drugs, allergens)

Common Causes:

ABNORMAL GAIT IN GENERAL

• Trauma
• Foot problems (such as a callus, corn, ingrown toenail, wart, pain, skin ulcer, swelling, spasms)
• Chondromalacia patellae
• Fracture
• Hemophilia
• Immunization (soreness in the leg or buttocks)
• Legs that are different lengths
• Myositis
• Tight or uncomfortable shoes
• Shin splints
• Infection
• Tendonitis
• Torsion of the testis
• Conversion disorder (a psychological disorder)

CAUSES OF SPECIFIC GAITS

• Propulsive gait:
  • Carbon monoxide poisoning
  • Manganese poisoning
  • Parkinson's disease
  • Drugs including phenothiazines, haloperidol, thiothixene, loxapine, metoclopramide, and metyrosine (usually drug effects are temporary)
• Scissors gait:
  • Cerebrovascular accident (stroke)
  • Cervical spondylosis with myelopathy (a problem with the vertebrae in the neck)
  • Liver failure
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Pernicious anemia
  • Spinal cord trauma
  • Spinal cord tumor
  • Syphilitic meningomyelitis
  • Syringomyelia
  • Cerebral palsy
• Spastic gait:
  • Brain abscess
  • Brain tumor
  • Cerebrovascular accident (stroke)
  • Head trauma
  • Multiple sclerosis
• Steppage gait:
  • Guillain-Barre syndrome
  • Herniated lumbar disk
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Peroneal muscle atrophy
  • Peroneal nerve trauma
  • Poliomyelitis
  • Polyneuropathy
  • Spinal cord trauma
• Waddling gait:
  • Congenital hip dysplasia
  • Muscular dystrophy
  • Spinal muscle atrophy

• Review Date: 3/5/2007
• Reviewed By: Daniel Kantor, M.D., Director of the Comprehensive MS Center, Neuroscience Institute, University of Florida Health Science Center, Jacksonville, FL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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