Hysterical Gait/Psychogenic gait disorders

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Hysterical Gait/Psychogenic gait disorders:

Bizarre gait patterns and inconsistencies in the neurological assessment  indicative of a non-organic cause of gait – either a feigned illness or a conversion disorder.

Lempert et al (1991) found 6 characteristics of psychogenic gait that either occur alone or in combination:
Momentary fluctuations of stance and gait, often in response to suggestion
Excessive slowness or hesitation of locomotion incompatible with neurological disease
“psychogenic” result from a Romberg test, with a build up of swaying amplitudes after a silent latency or with improvement by distraction
uneconomic postures with wastage of muscular energy
“Walking in ice”, characterised by small cautious steps with fixed ankle joints
sudden buckling of the knees, usually without falls

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