Antalgic gait refers to a posture or gait assumed in order to avoid or lessen pain. The pain itself can be caused by numerous conditions such as diabetic foot, osteoarthritis, joint or limb deformity, degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine (cervical spondylosis), gout, trauma, rheumatoid arthritis..., etc.
The key concept to keep in mind when dealing with antalgic gait is that the patient will try to minimize the amount of weight applied to the painful limb or joint and the amount of time that weight is applied. The result is a limp, a decreased single support time for the affected limb, a shortened stride length for the contralateral limb, and an increased double support time.
Antalgic gait is more difficult to recognize if it is bilateral or central. In such cases apprehension of movement may be the only sign visible to the physician.
The easiest way to picture an antalgic gait is to imagine that a stone is in your shoe or a nail is sticking through its sole. It hurts when you take weight on that foot and you lessen the discomfort by getting off it as quickly as you can.
In other words, you shorten the duration of the stance phase on this side. This produces a characteristic gait with uneven strides of different duration. Any condition that causes pain in a limb: bone or soft tissue injury or referred pain such as sciatica, can produce an antalgic gait.
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