penguin gait

A fanciful descriptor for the waddling gait of one with muscular dystrophy in whom there is marked exaggeration of the lumbar lordosis, a rolling of the hips from side to side in the stance phase of each forward step—in order to shift the weight of the body—exaggerated lateral tilting and rotation of the pelvis to compensate for the weakened gluteal muscles accompanied by overuse of the trunk and upper extremities during ambulation

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penguin gait

Neurology A fanciful descriptor for the waddling gait of muscular dystrophy in whom there is marked exaggeration of the lumbar lordosis, a rolling of the hips from side to side in the stance phase of each forward step–in order to shift the weight of the body, exaggerated lateral tilting and rotation of the pelvis to compensate for the weakened gluteal muscles accompanied by overuse of the trunk and upper extremities during ambulation. See Muscular dystrophy.

McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.