A profound loss of hip extension…
While sitting on the beach, our mind never rests. Even when on vacation we continue to watch how people move.
Luckily today, I had the gait cam (Dr Allen is holding down the Gait Guys Fort), so live from Sunset Beach, it’s Sunday night. See of you can see what I saw.
Sitting with my wife and watching the kids dig in the sand, this gal with the flexed posture caught my eye.
Why is she so flexed forward? The profound loss of hip extension made it impossible for her to stand up straight! It was difficult to say if she has bilateral hip osteoarthritis, or possible bilateral THR’s (total hip replacements), maybe just really tight hip flexors, painful bunions that do not like toe off, or even all of the above. She may have a leg length discrepancy, as she leans to the left on left stance phase; of course she could have weak hip abductors on the left. It does not appear she has good control of her core.
What do we see?
- flexion at the waist
- loss of hip extension
- body lean to left at left midstance
- shortened step length
- loss of ankle rocker
- premature heel rise
- decreased arm swing (she is carrying something in her left hand)
No one is safe from the gait cam! Stay tuned for more beach footage this week!
We remain, The Gait Guys, even on vacation.
