Legs characterised by hypertrophy of the proximal muscles, and marked peroneal muscle atrophy with tapering of the distal extremities, which imparts an inverted champagne bottle or ‘stork leg’ appearance; CBLs are typical of advanced Charcot-Marie-Tooth type of chronic familial peripheral neuropathy; pes cavus may be the only early finding, which is followed by foot drop—leading to a high ‘steppage’ gait; walking is difficult given the combination of sensory ataxia and muscular weakness EMG Decreased conduction velocity, increased distal latency
champagne bottle legs
Neurology Marked distal peroneal muscle atrophy of the legs with tapering of the distal extremities and hypertrophy of the proximal muscles, imparting an inverted champagne bottle or 'stork leg' appearance; CBLs are typical of advanced Charcot-Marie-Tooth type of chronic familial peripheral neuropathy; pes cavus may be the only early finding, which is followed by foot drop–leading to a high 'steppage' gait; walking is difficult given the combination of sensory ataxia and muscular weakness EMG ↓ conduction velocity, ↑ distal latency. See Onion bulb, Piano playing.