We’ve all seen a patient walk in a way that we sometimes too quickly label as “pathological”. Circumduction, genu recurvatum, asymmetrical steps, limited weight-bearing… So many clinical signs often interpreted as defects to be corrected. But what if we changed our perspective? What if these atypical gaits were actually intelligent adaptation strategies implemented by the body?
What we commonly call a “gait defect” is often a perfectly logical response to a real constraint. The body doesn’t make mistakes: it organizes itself to maintain function, despite obstacles. It compensates for weakness, pain, motor or sensory deficits. It’s a strategy, not clumsiness.
Let’s take a few examples:
These “anomalies” are therefore effective solutions… in a given context.
The temptation to directly correct the movement is strong: re-educating foot placement, forcing symmetry, imposing the correct pattern. However, as long as the underlying constraint exists, the body will always return to its initial strategy.
What if, instead of seeing defects, we saw solutions?
What if each “pathological gait” was a message to decode rather than an error to correct?
It’s by understanding these strategies that we can truly support our patients. Because behind every atypical movement, there’s an effort by the body to preserve autonomy, balance, and efficiency.
Let’s learn to read gait… to better support those who experience it.
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