Page 23 of 26
Patients with spastic hemiplegia are usually ambulatory by the age of 18 months and show a unilateral abnormality of gait. It is important to carefully observe the “normal” side since the patient may also manifest either subtle or compensatory alterations on this side. As a consequence of the hemiplegia, these patients will have asymmetry in muscle bulk and limb length.
Temporal-spatial and EMG features of spastic hemiplegia are beyond the scope of this slide kit.
However, useful kinematic features of the gait in patients with spastic hemiplegia include:
- Toe strike
- Flexion of the hip and knee or knee recurvatum
- Pelvic retraction and elevation
- Greater knee flexion or vaulting on the contralateral side
- Posturing of the ipsilateral upper extremity