Approach to a Child with Gait Disturbances

There is a need for improvement of diagnostic methods used by physicians to evaluate children's balance/gait issues. Almost 90% of children with gait disorders are labeled with "unspecified dizziness," suggesting that the figures of prevalence may underestimate the true global burden of these conditions. Gait disturbances can be the earliest indicator of emerging neurologic conditions in a patient. A focused and structured assessment may thus have significant implications for both diagnosis and treatment. This article highlights neurologic gait disorders in pediatrics and outlines a step-by-step approach that begins with the basics of gait terminology and age-related normal variations in gait.