A crouched gait is an abnormal walking pattern that causes excessive flexion, "bending" at the hips, knees and the ankles, which results in a "crouched" or bent over posture while walking.
Crouched gait is often associated with cerebral palsy and other neurological conditions that affect motor control.
With a crouched gait the knees remain flexed or bent throughout the stance phase of walking, instead of extending fully as in a normal gait.
And the hips also remain flexed, which contributes to the overall stooped posture.
The ankles are also often held in a dorsiflexed position, which is where the toes point upward, instead of being plantarflexed, in which the toes point down as they normally would during the stance phase.
With a crouched gait it also leads to the inability to fully extend your knee during the stance phase of gait.
Involuntary muscle contractions and impaired motor control are also signs of a crouched gait.
Crouched gait is often caused by spasticity, which is a type of muscle stiffness which is a result of disrupted communication between the brain and the muscles.
And other factors such as limited range of motion, muscle imbalances and muscle weakness can also result in a crouched gait.
Cerebral palsy is the most common cause of crouched gait although other neurological conditions that affect motor control can also result in and cause a crouched gait.