Cerebellar Ataxia

Cerebellar Ataxia : this Cerebellar Sign is a spot diagnosis if you have seen it before.
Learn what is this gait ? What is a tandem walk? And localisation of the lesion just by looking at the way the patient walks.

Gait is the way the patient walks.
It comprises of stance and swing phase.
The functional task during the stance phase is to bear weight.
The functional task during swing phase is to advance the limb.

Station is the way a patient stands and it comprises of attitude, posture, or manner of standing.
The healthy individual stands erect with his head up, chest out, and abdomen in.
Abnormality of station may be an important indicator of neurologic disease.

Patients with unsteadiness standing often attempt to compensate by placing the feet wide apart in order to stand on a broader and steadier base.
In cerebellar disease, the patient usually stands on a broad base.

The gait of cerebellar disease is caused by involvement of the coordinating mechanisms in the cerebellum and its connecting systems.
Mild Cerebellar disease - inability to walk tandem.
Severe disease - there is a clumsy, staggering, unsteady, irregular, lurching, titubating, and widebased gait.
Leg movements are erratic, and step length varies unpredictably.