A Simple Guide to the Gait and Its Use in Diagnosis of Diseases

By Kenneth Kee

This book describes the Gait and the its uses in the diagnosis of diseases such as Stroke, Cerebral Palsy, Parkinsonism, and other Gait Diseases which are seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

“Elementary, My dear Watson”
-Sherlock Holmes on his observation of the gait of suspected villains
Sherlock Holmes, the fictional detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was known for his keen powers of observation and deduction.

In several of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Holmes demonstrates his ability to deduce information about a person based on their gait, or the way they walk.

Holmes believed that a person's gait could reveal a great deal about them such as their occupation, habits and even their emotional state.

He would often make detailed observations about a person's stride, posture, and the way they carried themselves.

Holmes could often deduce a person's occupation based on their gait.
As an example, a soldier might have a distinct military stride, while a laborer could have a different way of walking that indicated physical labor.

Holmes was also able to make inferences about a person's health and habits based on their gait.

Holmes believed that a person's emotional state could influence their gait.

Stress, fear, or excitement might manifest in subtle changes in the way a person walked.

In some cases, Holmes could deduce a person's background and upbringing based on their gait.

He was particularly adept at noticing subtle cues that revealed a person's social class or education.

Last week I was resting on a deckchair on a cruise ship observing the people walking past me.

Toddlers walk slowly and carefully stumbling from 1 place to another.

Young children will walk fast or skip past quickly especially when they are happy.

Female children will walk with smaller steps compared to male children.

Taller children will walk faster than shorter due to their longer stride.

Arm swinging slows down the speed of their walk.

Some adults walked leisurely while others walked fast.
An adult person may walk with a limp or with a walking stick due to injury or after a leg operation

Some older person may walk past with shuffling steps possibly due to Parkinson disease
He or she may walk with a quick shuffle or rapid small steps

Then there is an older person walking past holding the arm to one side and dragging the same side of the leg along in a semicircle. These people most likely have a previous stroke.

Occasionally I also saw a person who lifted their legs with each step as he or she walked past.
This can be due to a weak foot or a foot drop.

Occasionally a fat person may walk past with excessive up and down movements of the hips resulting in a waddling gait

A blind person may walk with his or her white walking cane tapping the ground in front and around the person before moving forward.

The Gait is how a person walks.

Watching a patient walk is one of the most important parts of a medical physical examination.

Observation of the gait can give information that may provide clues to diagnosis about the underlying musculoskeletal and neurological disorders that produce the gait.

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 The Gait
Chapter 2 Abnormal Gait
Chapter 3 Causes of Gait Disorders
Chapter 4 Diagnosis of Gait Disorders
Chapter 5 Types of Gait Disorders
Chapter 6 Treatment of Gait Disorders
Chapter 7 Parkinson’s Disease
Chapter 8 Cerebral Palsy
Epilogue

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Nov 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9798201454685

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

A

Simple

Guide

To

The Gait

And

Its Use In

Diagnosis Of

Diseases

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B., B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2023 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes the Gait and the its uses in the diagnosis of diseases such as Stroke, Cerebral Palsy, Parkinsonism, and other Gait Diseases which are seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Know about Gait Disorders)

This e-Book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog: http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiography account of my journey as a medical student to family doctor on my other blog: http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiography account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

My diagnosis and treatment capability has improved tremendously from my continued education.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

The Gait and Its Diseases

Elementary, My dear Watson

-Sherlock Holmes on his observation of the gait of suspected villains

Sherlock Holmes, the fictional detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was known for his keen powers of observation and deduction.

In several of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Holmes demonstrates his ability to deduce information about a person based on their gait, or the way they walk.

Holmes believed that a person's gait could reveal a great deal about them such as their occupation, habits and even their emotional state.

He would often make detailed observations about a person's stride, posture, and the way they carried themselves.

Holmes could often deduce a person's occupation based on their gait.

As an example, a soldier might have a distinct military stride, while a laborer could have a different way of walking that indicated physical labor.

Holmes was also able to make inferences about a person's health and habits based on their gait.

As an example, he might deduce that someone had recently taken up a new form of exercise or that they were a habitual smoker based on the way they walked.

Holmes believed that a person's emotional state could influence their gait.

Stress, fear, or excitement might manifest in subtle changes in the way a person walked.

In some cases, Holmes could deduce a person's background and upbringing based on their gait.

He was particularly adept at noticing subtle cues that revealed a person's social class or education.

Holmes' ability to analyze the gait of a person was just one aspect of his overall method of deduction, which involved keen powers of observation, logical reasoning, and an encyclopedic knowledge of various subjects.

Arthur Conan Doyle (the author of Sherlock Holmes) wrote his doctorate on Tabes dorsales which causes the famous Tabetic gait.

Last week I was resting on a deckchair on a cruise ship observing the people walking past me.

Toddlers walk slowly and carefully stumbling from 1 place to another.

Young children will walk fast or skip past quickly especially when they are happy.

Female children will walk with smaller steps compared to male children.

Taller children will walk faster than shorter due to their longer stride.

Arm swinging slows down the speed of their walk.

Some adults walked leisurely while others walked fast.

An adult person may walk with a limp or with a walking stick due to injury or after a leg operation

Some older person may walk past with shuffling steps possibly due to Parkinson disease

He or she may walk with a quick shuffle or rapid small steps

Then there is an older person walking past holding the arm to one side and dragging the same side of the leg along in a semicircle. These people most likely have a previous stroke.

Occasionally I also saw a person who lifted their legs with each step as he or she walked past.

This can be due to a weak foot or a foot drop.

Occasionally a fat person