Gait Disorders

Our movement disorder experts will conduct a detailed medical history, including a discussion of your family and personal history of symptoms such as:

• Propulsive gait – a stooped, stiff posture with the head and neck bent forward that can be caused by Parkinson’s disease, toxins such as carbon monoxide poisoning or certain medications such as Haloperidol.
• Scissors gait – the legs flex slightly at the hips and knees like you are crouching, and the knees and thighs hit or cross in a scissors-like movement. This gait can be caused by conditions such as traumatic brain injury, brain tumor, stroke or cerebral palsy.
• Spastic gait – a stiff walk with a foot that drags due to contraction of a long muscle on one side of the body. This gait can be caused by other brain injuries or neurological conditions.
• Steppage gait – when the foot drops, hanging with the toes pointing downward. The toes scrape the ground, and patients need to use a walker to lift their legs higher while walking. This condition can be caused by Guillain-Barre syndrome, multiple sclerosis or a spinal cord injury.
• Waddling gait – a duck-like walk that may appear in childhood or later in life. This gait can be caused by muscular dystrophy or spinal muscle weakness.

Next, we will perform a physical and neurological examination to assess your cognitive abilities, movement control and underlying conditions, if any. Depending on your results, we may request MRI and CT scans to locate lesions that might be causing your symptoms.