Doctors use tests such as tandem gait to determine if a patient has ataxia, a lack of voluntary muscle control that can affect various movements. Ataxia can have various causes, and radiological examinations can confirm the diagnosis. The tandem gait test is also used in field sobriety tests, where it is one of three main parts used to determine if a driver is impaired.
Doctors have several tests to help determine if a patient has developed a lack of voluntary muscle control, called ataxia. One way to determine this is called tandem gait, in which the patient walks slowly in a straight line, touching the heel of one foot with the toes of the other along the way. Used in concert with a variety of other walk-related tests, a variation of this walk is also a common part of the police officer’s field sobriety test.
Ataxia doesn’t just affect the body’s ability to walk in a concerted way. It can also hinder a person’s ability to perform many voluntary movements, from eating and speaking to writing and bathing. It could have many causes, including damage to the cerebellum such as in a tumor or stroke, deteriorating diseases such as multiple sclerosis, and developmental disorders such as cerebral palsy, congenital conditions, and alcoholism.
Several tests such as tandem gait are used to assess whether a patient has ataxia, at which point radiological examinations could ensure confirmation of the diagnosis. A “station test” is performed with the patient’s feet wider than normal apart, and then it is assessed whether a patient remains stable, with and without their eyes closed. In addition to the tandem gait, a normal gait can be done to see if that task is hindered as well.
Some patients will have ataxia of the lower body, some of the upper body, and some all over. With tests such as tandem gait, doctors can measure dexterity in the lower body. Others, such as the heel-to-shin test, have the patient seated and attempting to place the heel of the foot over the knee of the other leg – another difficult task for someone with ataxia. Conversely, a finger-to-nose test, another component of many field sobriety tests, can help doctors assess whether ataxia is so far isolated from upper body movements.
The tandem gait test is one of the three main parts of many field sobriety tests. By walking from heel to toe while performing basic tasks like counting backwards or simply counting steps, officers can often determine if a driver is impaired. Other parts of the test include holding one leg for a specified amount of time and analyzing the driver’s eyes in a horizontal gaze nystagmus test. According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 90 percent of the time drivers who fail all three parts of the test are drunk. To confirm suspicions, of course, officers will ask suspects to run an even less disputable blood or breath test.
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