I used to walk weird because my upper body swayed from side to side, because of weakness in my sides. Those muscles seem to be stronger. Now my problem seems to be around my knees. As I step forward with one leg, the other leg bends back too far--I mean my knee goes into the "locked" position (I don't mean anything actually gets stuck). I also seem to walk with a very pronounced limp, which I don't quite understand. I'm not (I try to remember to be grateful for this) in any pain at all. Maybe there is some weakness in my hip muscles contributing as well.

Any help figuring this out would be appreciated. Are there terms to describe this sort of gait? What words do I use to describe the way my knees go back too far?

Abby

There are some videos of abnormal gaits here:
http://library.med.utah.edu/neurolog..._abnormal.html

Mine is a bit like the myopathic gait, I guess.

Abby

Sorry, Abby, I'm not a doctor. I think that's what you need to put all of this together!

What you describe is hyperextension of the knee most likely due to weakness of the quadriceps muscles. Your quads aren't controlling your knees well, you have to stabilize them in some way to walk so you hyperextend them for stability. Then comes the old question, how much exercise can you tolerate to increase the strength without exacerbating the problem? Only you can answer that question and it takes trial and error.

Suddenly, thanks. At first I thought, no, that's not it--I'm not hyper-extending them on purpose. They just slip back. But now I'm not so sure. Maybe I am doing it to compensate for other weaknesses. Isn't it weird how little you can understand what's going on in your own body--even when it's a matter of voluntary muscles? When I first noticed symptoms of MG, my doctor and I thought it was inner ear trouble, because my balance was off. It took months to realize it was weakness in the muscles of my sides (and I'm still not sure which muscles). We were so far off.

Anyway, that's very helpful. Annie, I will, of course, mention it to my neuro, and maybe he'll send me to a PT or something, but I frankly have very little confidence in that route. Meanwhile, this disease is always shifting on me.

Abby

I wasn't suggesting you hyperextend on purpose. The body is an amazing thing and will accommodate and adjust for weaknesses by balancing itself in any way possible. Hyperextending your knees isn't especially good for the knee joints but it does keep you up and moving and off the floor. It could also be aggravated by weakness in your hip muscles. It's hard to say without seeing you in person. You do need to talk to your neuro and see if you can get a referral to PT. Just be careful with PT, don't let them overwork you.