Walking disorders

What is it about ?

The term “walking disorders” includes all kinds of conditions that prevent and / or hinder a normal gait. Gait disorders can have a significant impact on mobility, independence and the risk of falling.

In young people, a gait disorder is usually caused by a specific condition. As you age, a gait disorder can be the result of a combination of several underlying conditions.

Gait disorders are classified into two categories according to their cause: neurological and non-neurological.

Here are some examples of non-neurological causes :

• fracture of the lower limbs;
• arthritis, arthritis ;
• poor circulation in the legs ;
• low blood pressure when standing up (orthostatic hypotension);
• localized problem in the leg or foot (calluses, deformation of a toe, flat feet);
• old lesions;
• decreased vision.

here are someneurological causes:

• conditions that compress the spinal cord (hernia, myelitis, etc.);
• brain hemorrhages, more particularly subdural hematoma (effusion of blood in the space between two determined meninges);
• stroke ;
• Parkinson disease ;
• alcoholism;
• polyneuropathy due, for example, to diabetes ;
• tumor in the brain or spinal cord ;
• amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) ;
• multiple sclerosis (MS).

How to recognize them?

Walking disturbances can be accompanied by several symptoms, such as frequent falls, difficulty walking, widening of the bearing surface (walking with the feet apart), a leaning forward posture and feeling of uncertainty and instability when walking.

How is the diagnosis made?

A specific questionnaire and a clinical examination will allow the doctor to find the exact cause. If necessary, he will ask for additional examinations.

What can your doctor do?

Treatment for a gait disorder depends on the diagnosis or its cause. The management will thus be totally different in a person suffering from Parkinson’s disease or in a person who has suffered a stroke. In addition, this care is often multidisciplinary, which means that it involves several care providers. In the case of walking disorders, it is most often a physiotherapist, a doctor (rehabilitation) and an occupational therapist. Sometimes special devices have to be used.

What can you do ?

In many cases, the key is to keep moving, even sometimes with a few adaptations.

Source

Foreign clinical practice guide ‘Gait disorders’ (2000), updated on 09.03.2016 and adapted to the Belgian context on 20.07.2019 – ebpracticenet