Coordination and Gait: Exam Demonstration

Gait

In casual gait observation, there are several gaits indicative of lesions. Spastic hemiparesis is associated with unilateral hemispheric disease; scissors gait is associated with bilateral spastic paresis of the legs; steppage gait is associated with foot drop secondary to lower motor neuron disease; and parkinsonian gait is associated with the basal ganglia defects of Parkinson's disease.

Ataxia can be associated with the loss of position sense in the legs (sensory ataxia), or associated with disease of the cerebellum or associated tracts (cerebellar ataxia).

Tandem walking difficulty is a sensitive indicator of truncal ataxia, usually associated with a lesion in the cerebellar midline.

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