Tandem gait is a

gait Gait is the pattern of movement of the limbs of animals, including humans, during locomotion over a solid substrate. Most animals use a variety of gaits, selecting gait based on speed, terrain, the need to maneuver, and energetic efficiency. Di ...

(method of walking or running) where the toes of the first foot touch the heel of the next one at each step.

Neurologist Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal c ...

s sometimes ask patients to walk in a straight line using tandem gait as a test to help diagnose

ataxia Ataxia is a neurological sign consisting of lack of voluntary coordination of muscle movements that can include gait abnormality, speech changes, and abnormalities in eye movements. Ataxia is a clinical manifestation indicating dysfunction of ...

, especially

truncal ataxia Truncal ataxia (or trunk ataxia) is a wide-based "drunken sailor" gait characterised by uncertain starts and stops, lateral deviations and unequal steps. It is an instability of the trunk and often seen during sitting. It is most visible when sh ...

, because sufferers of these disorders will have an unsteady gait. However, the results are not definitive, because many disorders or problems can cause unsteady gait (such as vision difficulties and problems with the

motor neurons A motor neuron (or motoneuron or efferent neuron) is a neuron whose cell body is located in the motor cortex, brainstem or the spinal cord, and whose axon (fiber) projects to the spinal cord or outside of the spinal cord to directly or indirectly ...

or associative

cortex Cortex or cortical may refer to: Biology * Cortex (anatomy), the outermost layer of an organ ** Cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the vertebrate cerebrum, part of which is the ''forebrain'' *** Motor cortex, the regions of the cerebral cortex i ...

). Therefore, inability to walk correctly in tandem gait does not prove the presence of ataxia. Profoundly affected tandem gait with no other perceptible deficits is a defining feature of

posterior vermal split syndrome Posterior may refer to: * Posterior (anatomy), the end of an organism opposite to its head ** Buttocks, as a euphemism * Posterior horn (disambiguation) * Posterior probability The posterior probability is a type of conditional probability that r ...

. Suspects may also be asked to perform a tandem gait walk during the "walk and turn" part of a

field sobriety test Field sobriety tests (FSTs), also referred to as standardized field sobriety tests (SFSTs), are a battery of tests used by police officers to determine if a person suspected of impaired driving is intoxicated with alcohol or other drugs. ''FSTs ...

.http://www.nhtsa.gov/People/injury/alcohol/SFST/appendix_a.htm

References

External links

* http://www.neuroexam.com/content.php?p=38 Gait abnormalities {{med-diagnostic-stub