Based in the heart of NY, Advance Foot and Ankle Solutions offer the best treatment for your gait abnormalities. Look no further when you can have direct access to the globally acclaimed team of foot and ankle doctors, supervising & managing your condition of gait abnormalities with diligence and dedication.
Advance Foot and Ankle Solutions support team is absolutely attentive to your gait abnormalities related issues. Call & book an appointment right away for professionally treated gait abnormalities to lead a healthy, avid lifestyle.
Gait Abnormalities: Explained By Your New York Podiatrist
Gait abnormalities are the disorderly patterns of walking noticed in an individual. These undue treading styles are involuntary, becoming nearly impossible to be brought under control. The abnormal walking ways may cast a telling effect on the bones, muscles or nerves of the affected leg.
Gait problems are the outcome of problematic foot, leg or certain portions of the leg, spinal cord, brain or inner ear. These issues may be presented as long-term or short-term, related to their underlying source. The more severe cases require continuous medical assistance along with physiotherapy.
Gait Abnormalities: Causative Factors
- Foot Problems such as corn, callus, ingrown toenail, skin sore, wart, pain, inflammation or spasm
- Broken Bone anywhere in the hind limb
- Arthritis of the foot or limb joints
- Unequal Length of the hind limbs
- Intramuscular injections causing soreness in the gluteal or leg region
- Trauma Or Injury affecting the gait directly
- Tendinitis whereby tendons are turned inflamed
- Myositis whereby muscles are turned inflamed
- Inappropriate Footwear creating continuous discomfort
- Infections in the podiatric or leg region
- Shin Splints that compromise normal locomotory action
- Testicular Contortion giving rise to pubic discomfort
- Conversion Disorder causing a certain mental anomaly
Gait Abnormalities: Signs & Symptoms Associated
Relative to their manifested signs and symptoms, gait issues have been categorized into 7 major groups:
- Propulsive Gait refers to a drooping, stiff condition with the head and neck thrust forward while treading along.
- Scissors Gait refers to a slightly inward flexed leg at the hip joint, with cowered knees, with the thighs and knees hitting or crisscrossing in a scissor-like fashion.
- Spastic Gait refers to a walking pace that looks stiff, with foot-dragging carry through, stemming from a long muscle contraction on any one side.
- Steppage Gait refers to a walking stride whereby the foot drop causes the foot to hang, with toes pointing vertically down towards the ground so that they abrade it while walking, needing to lift the affected limb slightly higher than the surface.
- Waddling Gait refers to a side-to-side walking motion similar to a duck’s that may appear at any point in life.
- Ataxic Gait refers to a walking style with feet separated widely from each other, moving with jerky, irregular and slapping steps.
- Magnetic Gait refers to a movement with shuffling feet owing to a false feeling of the feet being adhered to the ground.
Gait Abnormalities: Diagnostic Procedure
While diagnosing your gait disorders and deriving a conclusion to initiate treatment, your foot and ankle care doctor follows the below mentioned steps:
- Physical Examination
- Review The Present Symptoms
- Take Down Medical History
- Observe Your Walking Pattern
- Perform Tests To Evaluate Muscle & Nerve Functions
- Using X-ray For Confirming Fractures & Their Location
- Using MRI Technique To Verify Torn Tendons & Ligaments
Gait Abnormalities: Course Of Treatment
- Traumatic Condition, as soon as it heals, improves the walking gait.
- Fractured Bone, as soon as it heals via casting or bracing, normalizes the gait issue.
- Physiotherapy is performed to strengthen and revitalize your muscles, and corrects your walking pattern.
- Oral Medicinal Therapy with antiviral and antibacterial drugs subside the infections to rectify your symptoms.
- Using Assistive Devices such as crutches, cane, leg braces or walker in lifetime walking instability lends a helping hand.
Gait Abnormalities: Care & Prevention
- Genetic Or Congenital Disabilities are unpreventable and have to be borne with throughout one’s life.
- Acquired Abnormalities are evitable while adopting the following preventive measures:
- Wearing Protective Gear at maximum while participating in extreme sportive activities
- Using Footwear that is soft, comfortable, sturdy and fitting
- Fastening the legs and feet with kneepads, heel covers and ankle braces