Coordination and Gait: Exam Demonstration

Upper extremity coordination

Rapid alternating movements (RAM) of the hands test several aspects of coordination. When a patient has cerebellar disease, one movement cannot be quickly followed by its opposite and movements are slow, irregular, and clumsy. This condition is called dysdiadochokinesis.

Another test of coordination is finger-to-nose testing (FTN), as demonstrated.  In a patient with cerebellar disease, movements of the ipsilateral extremity are clumsy, unsteady, and inappropriately varying in their speed, force, and direction. The finger may overshoot its target, but finally reaches it Dysmetria is the inability to initially find the target, and intention tremor occurs when tremor get worse when a patient is trying to touch a target.

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