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Review
Neurological gait assessment
  1. Sofia Mermelstein1,
  2. Pedro Barbosa2,
  3. Diego Kaski3
  1. 1 Neurology, Pedro Ernesto University Hospital, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  2. 2 Divisão de Neurologia, Grupo de Distúrbios do Movimento, Universidade de São Paulo Hospital das Clínicas, Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
  3. 3 Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, UCL, London, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Diego Kaski, Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, UCL, London, UK; d.kaski{at}ucl.ac.uk

Abstract

Gait disorders are a common feature of neurological disease. The gait examination is an essential part of the neurological clinical assessment, providing valuable clues to a myriad of causes. Understanding how to examine gait is not only essential for neurological diagnosis but also for treatment and prognosis. Here, we review aspects of the clinical history and examination of neurological gait to help guide gait disorder assessment. We focus particularly on how to differentiate between common gait abnormalities and highlight the characteristic features of the more prevalent neurological gait patterns such as ataxia, waddling, steppage, spastic gait, Parkinson’s disease and functional gait disorders. We also offer diagnostic clues for some unusual gait presentations, such as dystonic, stiff-person and choreiform gait, along with red flags that help differentiate atypical parkinsonism from Parkinson’s disease.

  • GAIT
  • CLINICAL NEUROLOGY
  • PARKINSON-S DISEASE
  • APRAXIA
  • CEREBELLAR ATAXIA

Data availability statement

No data are available.

https://doi.org/10.1136/pn-2023-003917

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    Data availability statement

    No data are available.

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors SM and DK were responsible for manuscript conceptualisation; SM and PB compiled the first draft and videos; DK revised the manuscript, edited the videos and approved the final version.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Commissioned; externally peer reviewed by Jon Walters, Swansea, UK.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.

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