Ataxia: What is it?

In short, ataxia is the inability to coordinate one’s muscle movements due to a dysfunction of part of the nervous system. In my work as an internal medicine consultant on the Acute Rehab floor at St. Mary’s Medical Center in San Francisco I have had the opportunity to work with people who suffer with various forms of ataxia.

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There are three types of ataxia: cerebellar, sensory, and vestibular. The cerebellum is the part of your brain that sits at the lower part of the back of your head. A dysfunction here can affect the balance and control of eye movements, cause a person to walk with a wide-spaced gait, or have difficulty performing voluntary movements. On physical examination it can be observed that a person with cerebellar ataxia will walk with their feet spread wide and will have difficulty standing up with their feet together. They will also have an intention tremor, which is a trembling that gets worse with voluntary movement.

A sensory ataxia describes the inability to judge the position of a joint or body part, called the loss of proprioception. The problem here tends to occur in the dorsal columns of the spinal cord. The physical exam test for this type of ataxia is called the Romberg test in which a person is asked to stand with feet together and eyes closed. Without the visual input to compensate for poor proprioception the person’s stability will worsen noticeably.

Vestibular ataxia is caused by dysfunction of the inner ear and can cause symptoms of nausea, vomiting and vertigo.

Ataxia has a variety of causes and ways in which it manifests. For those types without a reversible cause physical therapy remains the mainstay of treatment. Now that I’ve become aware of an online community of people with ataxia I thought it important to give an overview of what it is. • About Dr. Savant

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1. Ataxia: Welcome to Ataxia Community