Other names: problems with walking, walking motor disorders

Gait disorders along with other movement disorders are a sign of damage to the spinal cord or brain.Among gait disorders are usually not counted limb injuries (fractures, sprains, etc.) And vascular,muscle and joint disease of the limbs, which mainly for its tenderness walking also impossible (see. Flag “limb pain”).

Gait disorders in the narrower sense, meant a nervous disorder that prevented the actual effect movement (whether it was painful or not, simply can not initiate motion) or induced movement is weak or somehow modified (but not for pain).

Gait disorders are thus manifested either only a slight decrease in muscle strength, clumsiness, * poor coordinated movement, or the heavier partial disability (paraparesis, paralysis of the lower limbs) or complete loss of physical activity (* paraplegia, paralysis of the lower limbs).

Disorders in diseases of the spinal cord

Failure occurs when walking spinal cord injury, spinal tumors and inflammation (less frequently) in disrupting vasculature and metabolism of the spinal cord in multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. If the spinal cord “surface” or is also a damage to any of the nerves to the leg, it is called. Poor (peripheral) paresis or plegia, when a limb is in a limp condition is in the no voltage and faster atrophies (atrophy – failure nutrition).

minor disorders

When lighter faults (or rather paresis than if plegia) and restricted to one limb is walking possible, but the patient is not good bounce ailing leg, while walking to her attacks, sometimes it drags behind, sometimes it makes shorter steps or to her healthy leg just attracts. The failure of the lower segments of the spinal cord (usually during the oppression prolapsed intervertebral disc), the patient is unable to either walk on his toes or heels. When the fault is in the higher segments of the spinal cord, the man was buckling his knees and not able to climb on a chair or the stairs.

heavier disorder

If the spinal cord “deeper”, are usually affected by neural pathways in the spinal cord that leads from the brain signals for movement of limbs and paralysis (paresis) or plegia then becomes known.Spastic: The limb is elevated tone is like a stiff, can not it passively move in only one limb disability (or handicap lighter – paresis), the foot hardly peeled from the floor, hardly rises and bends the kneewhile trying to move.

The polios may also occur when brain damage accidents, tumors and especially inflammation (eg. The previously dreaded cerebral palsy).

Disturbances in brain diseases

Special walk will feature some brain diseases, which do not lead to polios, but the failure of “fine tuning” and coordination of movements, walking is therefore possible, but can be rough, unstableor slow. It is a disease of the cerebellum, and basal ganglia – e.g. in Parkinson’s disease is characterized by a short walk slow steps, difficult to initiate, as well as makes the problem change the direction of movement (spins left, right, etc.). For cerebellar damage lurched walking or rolling on a broad basis (see. Flag walking on a wide basis). It stems from the uncertainty of movement. More information about these disorders walk read in symptom poor coordination of movements.

Disorders in psychiatric disorders

Gait disorders are a symptom and some psychiatric diseases, whether congenital (mental retardation, etc.) Or acquired. E.g. hysteria is frequently bizarre walking with a tendency to fall, always on the side of expectations and rescue is even more pronounced when a person’s audience.

Treatment of gait disorders

Treatment of walking is often difficult, especially for polio and paraplegia, which, when persistent, practically can not be restored movement and treatment is only supportive (rehabilitation, passive exercise to prevent malfunction nutrition limbs), some paresis are of a temporary nature (eg., after some inflammatory disease affecting the nervous system – after diphtheria and botulism).

Treatment of these diseases are always in the hands of the doctor!