older people’s health issues
Gait Disorders in Older Adults
Abnormal Changes in Gait
A number of disorders can contribute to a dysfunctional or unsafe gait. Common causes are Neurologic disorders, including Dementia and Muscle or bone disorders, including Compression of the Spinal Cord None A gait can be abnormal in various ways, and certain types of abnormalities help doctors understand what is causing the gait problem. Asymmetry:When healthy, a person’s body moves symmetrically while walking (that is, motions are equal on the right and left sides). If a person consistently does not have symmetry while walking, the cause is often a problem with nerves or bones and joints on one side of the body—for example, a limp caused by a painful hip or ankle. If the reason for the lack of symmetry is not obvious, the cause may be malfunction of the brain or the use of certain drugs. Loss of synchrony:Normal synchrony of gait involves moving the upper and lower limbs in a regular, rhythmic way and smooth coordination of the limbs. Synchrony enables a person to move forward. Neurologic or musculoskeletal disorders that affect specific aspects of gait result in loss of synchrony. Older people may have difficulty starting or continuing to walk. When they start to walk, their feet may appear stuck to the floor, typically because they do not shift their weight to one foot to allow the other foot to move forward. Doctors may look for a movement disorder, such as Parkinson Disease (PD) , to find the cause of this gait problem. Once gait is started, a person's steps should be continuous, with little variability in the timing of the steps. Freezing, stopping, or almost stopping usually suggests a cautious gait, a fear of falling, or a problem with the Retropulsion is when a person unintentionally steps backward when trying to start walking or falls backward while walking. Doctors may look for a problem with the front lobes of the brain, Parkinsonism , Footdrop:Footdrop is difficulty lifting the front part of the foot because of weakness or paralysis of the muscles involved. A person's toe drags when taking a step. To avoid catching the toe, people with a dropped foot may lift their leg higher than normal during a step. Footdrop may be caused by nerve damage or muscle weakness. Short step length:Short step length may be caused by a fear of falling or by a nerve or muscle problem. The leg with the short step is usually the healthy one, and the short step usually occurs when a person spends less time on the problem leg than on the normal leg during walking. Increased step width:As gait speed decreases, step width normally increases slightly. A wide-based gait can be caused by a problem in the knees, hips,the brain's cerebellum. Variable step width (lurching to one or both sides) may be due to poor muscle control because of a problem in the brain. Circumduction:Circumduction is moving the foot in an arc rather than a straight line when stepping forward. Circumduction may caused by pelvic muscle weakness or difficulty bending the knee. Leaning forward while walking can occur in people with Kyphosis , Festination is a progressive quickening of steps (usually while leaning forward) that can cause a person to break into a run to prevent falling forward. Festination can occur in people with Parkinson Disease (PD) and rarely as a side effect of A person whose trunk leans sidewards may be compensating for joint pain due to Osteoarthritis (OA) or foot drop. People with Parkinson Disease (PD) or 