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What are Functional Gait Disorders?

Posted by:

Johannes Sauer

Reviewed by:

Emilee Fechter

Updated at: January 22, 2025

Table of Contents

  1. Normal Gait Mechanics

  2. Most Common Types of Functional Gait Disorders

    1. Dragging Gait

    2. Freezing Gait

    3. Tremulous Gait

    4. Scissoring Gait

  3. Common Characteristics of Gait Disorders

  4. Improving Functional Gait Disorder

An issue affecting the nervous system can sometimes lead to a functional gait disorder, causing individuals to walk in an unnatural or unhealthy manner.

A functional gait disorder is an abnormal walking pattern that is not caused by a specific neurological or orthopedic condition, but rather by a disturbance in the nervous system's control of gait. This disturbance can be due to a variety of factors, such as psychological stress, physical trauma, or neurological dysfunction.

Here are some of the effects and patterns of walking that can be attributed to functional gait disorder.

Normal Gait Mechanics

To understand functional gait disorders, it helps to first know what a normal gait is supposed to look like.

A gait is comprised of a heel strike, loading response, mid-stance, terminal stance, and pre-swing. 

A full discussion of normal gait mechanics is beyond the scope of this post, but you can view diagrams and read details for each stage in this presentation.

A normal, healthy gait features continual forward progression, conserves energy, and is stable. It also is ergonomic.

Most Common Types of Functional Gait Disorders

Now that you know what a normal, healthy gait looks like, let’s take a look at some common types of functional gait disorders.

Dragging Gait

“Dragging gait” is another name for a condition called “foot drop” or “steppage gait.” With this type of gait, a person cannot fully lift the front part of their foot (or sometimes, both feet). As a result, the foot drags along the ground while walking, unless the person lifts their feet unnaturally high with each step to clear the ground.

Freezing Gait

This is a gait where a person “freezes” sometimes, unable to continue moving forward. It is caused by Parkinson’s disease.

Tremulous Gait

“Tremulous gait” is an unsteady, unbalanced, somewhat “bouncy” gait that may also feature pauses between steps. Stride lengths, however, are normal. It can also be called a “bouncy” gait, though there are some other types of bouncy gaits as well associated with specific conditions.


Scissoring Gait

A type of gait abnormality that can occur in patients with cerebral palsy is known as “scissoring gait.” People who walk with this gait look a bit like a marionette on strings. The knees or thighs may be pressed against each other, or even cross.

Jan 22, 2025

Common Characteristics of Gait Disorders

When you have a gait disorder, it can adversely impact your life in multiple ways.

  • Fatigue: Since a disordered gait is not as energy efficient as a normal gait, you can fatigue quickly when walking.
  • Stress: You may feel stressed by having to walk.
  • Anxiety: You could feel anxious about the effort of walking, the possibility of stumbling, or how your gait appears.
  • Trips and falls: You may be more prone to losing your balance or falling.
  • Strains and pains: You might strain your muscles or feel pain from walking.
  • Reduced mobility and independence: It may be harder for you to get around and do everyday tasks.

Improving Functional Gait Disorder

Your doctor may assign you gait training exercises as part of physical therapy (PT). You also may need to participate in behavioral therapy, or take medication. 

While you walk to re-train your gait, you should wear therapeutic footwear such as Cadense Original Adaptive Shoes.

These novel shoes feature patented variable friction technology. Even if you have foot drop, this technology lets your feet “glide” across uneven surfaces. These shoes also are made of lightweight materials to prevent fatigue, and feature a wide base to improve balance and stability.

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FAQ

How is a functional gait disorder different from other walking problems?

A functional gait disorder specifically has a neurological, but non-structural, cause. Some other types of walking problems do result from structural causes.

Can functional gait disorders be cured?

Functional gait disorders can be treated. Whether or not one can be fully cured depends on the patient and the cause.

What causes functional gait disorders?

Functional gait disorders can result from precipitating events. Examples of such events include illness, injury, trauma or dissociation. Sometimes, learned behaviors and social factors can also play a role. 

Sometimes, functional gait disorders also co-occur alongside MS, Parkinson’s disease, or brain injury. These conditions also can cause an unnatural, unhealthy gait.

How are functional gait disorders diagnosed?

A neurologist will give you a series of tests to examine in your gait, and will also check for signs of functional limb weakness or tremor.

Posted by: Johannes Sauer

Johannes is the CEO and Co-Founder of Cadense and passionate about helping people with walking difficulties. Johannes is the CEO and Co-Founder of Cadense and passionate about helping people with walking difficulties. He was immediately drawn to the mission of the company because his cousin lost his lower leg in a tragic motorcycle accident a few years ago and is experiencing walking difficulties ever since. Johannes brings over a decade of experience in working for consumer product companies to Cadense. He holds an MBA from the University of Graz in Austria. Johannes lives with his family in Santa Barbara, CA.

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Reviewed by: Emilee Fechter

Emilee, originally from Augusta, Georgia, earned her Master's degree from Georgia College in May 2018. Emilee, originally from Augusta, Georgia, earned her Master's degree from Georgia College in May 2018. During her time at Augusta University, she researched the proliferation of pancreatic cancer cell lines, while her graduate thesis focused on the re-localization of cellular proteins during adenovirus infection. Emilee has been recognized for her research by the American Physiological Society and the Georgia College Department of Biological Sciences. With a strong passion for virology and immunology, her work has been published in the Georgia Journal of Science and Molecular Carcinogenesis.

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