a good neurologist, min yin tells me, needs to be able to identify and imitate gaits. in stroke patients' attempts to walk the leg is swung outwards in circular motion (circumductive) in order to clear the ground, as they have difficulty in bending their knee or flexing their feet at the ankle. that's called hemiplegic. a shuffling gait is often a symptom of parkinson. the patient has difficulty in starting to walk and has to stoop forward to push off, the feet lagging behind then attempt to catch up with the rest of the body, resulting in a dragging shuffle. a high-stepping gait is observed in patients with problems with their leg nerves because they have foot drop, which is the inability to bring the feet up at the ankles, and so they pull their leg up higher, as if stepping over something. a "drunken" stumble is called ataxic gait and is a motor-neural problem also. an antalgic gait is an off-balanced limp such as we use when favouring a painful leg and doesn't have to have a neurological cause. you have to know about stride and swing and limb advancement and load and support and all sorts of body physics. isn't that interesting?