30 years old patient with severe congenital deformation of the RT leg.
Patient was asked to go up and down the stairs sideways while holding the handrail. This exercise encourages the patient to put more weight on his right leg, as it needs to support his entire body while he lifts the other leg to the next step.
1. Although the patient puts a lot of weight on his hands, he still carries a significant weight on his right leg. He compensates this weakness by lifting his heel and standing only on his right toes, which helps him to shift his weight forward over his hands. The left leg lands loudly on the next step, which emphasizes his need to shift his weight to his left leg as soon as possible.
2. When the patient goes down the stairs, he uses the same compensations to reduce weight on his right leg.
Video Guide 24