module 7

Q
A patient presents with an extremely painful corn on the sole of their foot. The corn is located directly under the first metatarso-phalangeal joint.
What gait pattern would be expected? What would the effects of their condition be on various parts of the gait cycle?
Word Count – 521 The concerned gait in the given case is antalgic gait. Even though there are a number of gaits that exist but this particular gait is the consequence of pain. It may be defined as the manner of walking of the person usually accompanied by a limp in order to minimize pain caused by exerting too much weight. When the patient walks, he tries to minimize the weight put on the area affected and also shorten the time duration especially during the stance phase. Hence in this endeavor of the patient the gait is altered. Further the length of the strides is also shortened on the side of the injury, which alters the posture or the underlying manner of the normal gait cycle of the patient. Antalgic gait may be caused suddenly or get develop over a period of time due to the damage caused to the musculoskeletal system or a particular nerve. Even though this gait can impact a person of any age and sex, but based on empirical researches it has been found that its prominence is more profound amongst seniors and athletes and also males are more vulnerable than their female counterparts (Nirenberg, 2014).[a1]
The normal gait cycle is comprised of primarily two phases i.e.[B2] stance phase and swing phase. When the gait is normal, the underlying movements are extremely coordinated and therefore the weight transfer from one leg to the other takes place extremely smoothly. The commencement of the stance phase is marked at the start of the walking movement i.e.[B3] as the heel is about to make contact with the ground and continues till the time the foot is fully on the ground. In the mid-stance, the weight of the whole body is gradually transferred on the foot and hence an abnormally functioning foot can create problems. Lastly the weight of the body is transferred at the front part of the foot causing the toe to lift off. Further the three subdivisions of the swing phase are initial double stance (acceleration), single limb stance (mid-swing), and terminal double limb stance (deceleration) and follow a similar pattern as in the stance phase (Kessler &[B4] Hertling, 2005).
It is apparent from the above description that for a normal gait, it is imperative that starting from the tip and continuing till the toe, in case any part is malfunctioning and lacks the requisite strength or balance, the likely result is an antalgic gait. In the given case the contact and mid-stance stages of the stance phase would be severely impacted particularly mid-stance as at this time the metatarsophalangeal joint experiences the maximum pressure as the whole body weight is on the foot. Additionally there would be unevenness witnessed in the swing phase. Hence to avoid this stress and pain, the person shortens the overall duration of the stance phase so as to lessen the pain (Mitnick, 2014). Further in case the antalgic gait sustains, it can cause considerable damage in the form of ankle ligament sprains, osteoarthritis of knee and ankle and may also lead to serious consequences such as metatarsalgia and intermetatarsal bursal fluid collection (A patient presents with an extremely painful corn on the sole of their foot. The corn is located directly under the first metatarso-phalangeal joint.
What gait pattern would be expected? What would the effects of their condition be on various parts of the gait cycle?
Word Count – 521 The concerned gait in the given case is antalgic gait. Even though there are a number of gaits that exist but this particular gait is the consequence of pain. It may be defined as the manner of walking of the person usually accompanied by a limp in order to minimize pain caused by exerting too much weight. When the patient walks, he tries to minimize the weight put on the area affected and also shorten the time duration especially during the stance phase. Hence in this endeavor of the patient the gait is altered. Further the length of the strides is also shortened on the side of the injury, which alters the posture or the underlying manner of the normal gait cycle of the patient. Antalgic gait may be caused suddenly or get develop over a period of time due to the damage caused to the musculoskeletal system or a particular nerve. Even though this gait can impact a person of any age and sex, but based on empirical researches it has been found that its prominence is more profound amongst seniors and athletes and also males are more vulnerable than their female counterparts (Nirenberg, 2014).[a1]
The normal gait cycle is comprised of primarily two phases i.e.[B2] stance phase and swing phase. When the gait is normal, the underlying movements are extremely coordinated and therefore the weight transfer from one leg to the other takes place extremely smoothly. The commencement of the stance phase is marked at the start of the walking movement i.e.[B3] as the heel is about to make contact with the ground and continues till the time the foot is fully on the ground. In the mid-stance, the weight of the whole body is gradually transferred on the foot and hence an abnormally functioning foot can create problems. Lastly the weight of the body is transferred at the front part of the foot causing the toe to lift off. Further the three subdivisions of the swing phase are initial double stance (acceleration), single limb stance (mid-swing), and terminal double limb stance (deceleration) and follow a similar pattern as in the stance phase (Kessler &[B4] Hertling, 2005).
It is apparent from the above description that for a normal gait, it is imperative that starting from the tip and continuing till the toe, in case any part is malfunctioning and lacks the requisite strength or balance, the likely result is an antalgic gait. In the given case the contact and mid-stance stages of the stance phase would be severely impacted particularly mid-stance as at this time the metatarsophalangeal joint experiences the maximum pressure as the whole body weight is on the foot. Additionally there would be unevenness witnessed in the swing phase. Hence to avoid this stress and pain, the person shortens the overall duration of the stance phase so as to lessen the pain (Mitnick, 2014). Further in case the antalgic gait sustains, it can cause considerable damage in the form of ankle ligament sprains, osteoarthritis of knee and ankle and may also lead to serious consequences such as metatarsalgia and intermetatarsal bursal fluid collection (Kessler &[B5] Hertling, 2005).