Gait Deviations

Question 1

What are some of the gait deviations that occur during stance phase?

Answer 1

• foot slap (drop)
• Trendelenburg
• vaulting

Question 2

What is foot slap caused by?

Answer 2

weak anterior tibialis (eccentric DF control)

Question 3

What is Trendelenburg caused by?

Answer 3

weak contralateral hip ABD

Question 4

How do pts compensate for Trendelenburg?

Answer 4

• ipsilateral trunk lean/lateral flexion

- slight circumduction on contralateral limb (abn swing phase)

Question 5

What are good strengthening exercises for Trendelenburg gait?

Answer 5

hip hikes

Question 6

LEFT Trendelenburg is caused by:

Answer 6

RIGHT weak hip abd

Question 7

LEFT Trendelenburg leans to:

Answer 7

left side

Question 8

Why does vaulting happen?

Answer 8

unable to clear the contralateral leg

Question 9

Potential causes for vaulting

Answer 9

• huge leg length discrepancy
• foot drop
• locking out joint immobilizer or KAFO

Question 10

How is gait altered with a patient who vaults?

Answer 10

no swing phase on that limb

Question 11

What are some gait deviations that occur in the swing phase?

Answer 11

• circumduction
• steppage
• scissoring
• crouched gait
• antalgic gait

Question 12

Circumduction is used if a patient doesn’t want to/can’t ____ the knee

Answer 12

flex

Question 13

causes of circumduction gait

Answer 13

• weak knee flexors
• OA
• ankle that stays in PF (fused)
• pain in knee » decreased ROM
• fused knee and don’t want to vault

Question 14

Which population often uses circumduction gait?

Answer 14

geri-ortho (pain)

Question 15

What does contact and swing look like with circumduction gait?

Answer 15

• foot flat in contact

- swing leg around and land

Question 16

What is steppage gait?

Answer 16

• affected limb has excessive hip/knee flexion
• foot stomps as it lands
• you will hear this patient coming

Question 17

causes for steppage gait

Answer 17

• foot drop

- weak dorsiflexors

Question 18

Impact of steppage on gait

Answer 18

abnormal initial contact

Question 19

What is scissoring caused by?

Answer 19

• spasticity
• CP, Parkinson’s, TBI, stroke, etc.
• neurological issue

Question 20

What does scissoring look like?

Answer 20

• unweighted leg comes up across midline

- tonal issue of hip abductors

Question 21

PT for scissoring

Answer 21

• facilitate with landing properly
• visual cues
• etc.

Question 22

What is crouched gait?

Answer 22

• t-rex
• excessive knee flexion and DF
• sometimes excessive hip flexion

Question 23

Major problem with crouched gait

Answer 23

• never get any momentum or extension to rest muscle
• always firing to get limbs moving
• eccentric firing to keep from falling down

Question 24

Crouched gait is a problem of both of theses

Answer 24

• swing

- stance

Question 25

Causes of crouched gait

Answer 25

• late stages of Parkinsons

- Kyphosis/poor posture from putting them in flexion

Question 26

With antalgic gait, what has to be done?

Answer 26

need to specify in your documentation

Question 27

antalgic gait: clarifiers

Answer 27

• decreased stance time
• decreased weight shift
• antalgic gait because of _______

etc. etc.