Everyone has a different walking posture because people have subtle differences in muscle strength, tendon and bone length, bone density, visual acuity, physical coordination, as well as weight and degree of muscle or bone damage. Normal gait is accomplished through a series of activities in the pelvis, hips, knees, ankles, and toes. In layman’s terms, there are 3 joints in the human lower extremity, namely the hip, knee and ankle joints. The center of these 3 joints should be in a straight line, and once there is a problem with these joints, the original gait will change. Some typical abnormal gait is indicative of specific diseases and can be diagnosed by visualization. Intermittent claudication refers to the patient’s unilateral or bilateral lumbago, numbness and weakness of the lower limbs, or even limping after starting to walk or walking for a period of time, and after squatting or sitting down to rest for a moment, the symptoms are quickly relieved or disappear and the patient can still continue to walk. However, after walking for a period of time, the above symptoms recur. Most people mistakenly think that this performance is an error of the lower limbs or joints, but in fact it is one of the main clinical manifestations of lumbar spinal stenosis. Elevated leg gait When walking, the affected leg is elevated, the affected foot droops, and the small stride limps, as if crossing a threshold, also known as straddling gait. It is mainly because the patient’s calf extensor muscle is paralyzed, the foot cannot be dorsally extended and becomes drooping, and the leg is consciously elevated to avoid the toe rubbing the ground when walking. This gait is usually seen in sciatic nerve, common peroneal nerve paralysis or trauma. Swaying gait When walking, the patient’s trunk swings on both sides, which raises the pelvis on the opposite side to drive the lower limb to lift the foot forward. So every step forward, the trunk has to swing to the opposite side, which looks like a duck walking, also called duck gait. This gait is common in children with congenital bilateral hip dislocation, progressive muscular dystrophy, severe “O” shaped legs, and damage to the superior gluteal nerve. Heel gait When stepping, the foot follows the ground, and the gait is unstable, manifested by gentle swaying of the torso, dorsal extension of the foot, and high arch of the foot. This gait can be seen in tibial nerve palsy, Achilles tendon rupture, hereditary ataxia and other conditions. The circle gait is characterized by straight and stiff knees of the affected leg, mild internal rotation and drooping of the foot, and downward hooking of the toes when walking. When starting, first turn to the healthy side, raise the affected pelvis to lift the affected limb, then take the affected hip joint as the axis, straight leg rubs the ground and draws a half circle to the outside to take a step forward. Since this gait is mostly seen in people with spastic hemiplegia of the lower limbs, it is also called hemiplegic gait. Dragging limp When walking, the healthy leg is in front, the affected leg is dragging behind, the forefoot of the affected limb is on the ground, and the heel is lifted to show a dragging limp. This disease can be seen in children with acute hip sprain, early hip tuberculosis or hip osteochondritis, etc. The affected foot just point the ground when walking, the healthy foot quickly start forward; healthy foot touch the ground for a long time, the affected foot point the ground for a short time; affected leg stride small, healthy leg stride large; affected leg weight-bearing small, healthy leg weight-bearing large. This kind of protective affected foot point ground limp is mostly seen in people with lower limb injuries. In addition, there are common clinical panic gait, mostly seen in cerebral arteriosclerosis, brain tumors, old head trauma, etc.; drunkard’s gait, mainly seen in cerebellar or vestibular disorders; stepping gait, commonly seen in polyneuritis, spinal cervical spondylosis; cross gait, mostly seen in cerebral palsy, paraplegia and other patients.