gait assessments

Question 1

what do you observe during a gait assessment

Answer 1

stride height
length
symmetry
fluidity
trunk position
sway

Question 2

leaning back

Answer 2

pseudo parkinson

Question 3

leaning forward and grabbing furnitiure

Answer 3

common in patients with multiple falls and loss of confidence; no single diagnosis

Question 4

veering to one side

Answer 4

consider stroke or balance problems

Question 5

limping/antalgic

Answer 5

consider hip or knee or foot problems

Question 6

unsteady on turning

Answer 6

consider ENT pathology

Question 7

unsteady when first stands

Answer 7

consider postural hypotension

Question 8

difficulty setting off

Answer 8

parkinsons

Question 9

wide based gait

Answer 9

consider cerebellar and subcortical disease and normal pressure hydrocephalus

Question 10

freezing or halting

Answer 10

consider anxiety and fear of falling, Parkinson’s disease, or frontal brain lesions

Question 11

footdrop

Answer 11

consider stroke or localised anterior tibialis lesion

Question 12

difficulty rising from a chair

Answer 12

consider proximal muscle weakness

Question 13

what is a hemiplegic gait

Answer 13

arm is adducted, flexed, internally rotated
leg extended and plantar flexion
drag affected leg in a semicircle

Question 14

where is hemiplegic gait mostly seen

Answer 14

stroke

Question 15

what is a diplegic gait

Answer 15

both sides are affected with spasticity in lower extremities worse than upper extremities

narrow base dragging both legs whilst scraping the toes

Question 16

where is diplegic gait seen in

Answer 16

bilateral periventricular lesions - cerebral palsy

Question 17

what is neuropathic gait

Answer 17

foot drop, lift the leg up high enough during walking so that the foot does not drag the floor

Question 18

unilateral neuropathic gait cause

Answer 18

peroneal nerve palsy

L5 radiculopathy

Question 19

bilateral causes of neuropathic gait

Answer 19

Amyotropic lateral sclerosis
Charcot Marie Tooth Disease
other peripheral neuropathies ie diabetes

Question 20

Myopathic gait

Answer 20

Hip girdle muscles

• unilateral trendelenberg sign
• bilateral waddling

Question 21

myopathic gait bilateral seen in who

Answer 21

muscular dystrophy

Question 22

what is choreiform or hyperkinetic gait

Answer 22

display irregular, jerky, involuntary movements in all extremities

Question 23

hyperkinetic or choreiform gait seen where

Answer 23

basal ganglia disorders - sydenham’s chorea, huntington, chorea, athetosis or dystonia

Question 24

what is ataxic gait

Answer 24

clumsy, staggereing movements with a wide based gait

titubation

can’t walk from heel to toe or in a straight line

rombergs test

Question 25

ataxic gait seen in who

Answer 25

acute alcohol intoxication
cerebellar disease

more truncal instability - midline cerebellar disease at the vermis

Question 26

sensory gait

Answer 26

when you lose proprioception

slam the foot hard

stomping gait

Question 27

sensory gait seen where is it seen

Answer 27

B12 deficiency

peripheral neuropathy - uncontrolled diabetes