Question

High steppage gait is seen in which of the following?

• A. Foot drop
• B. Frontal lobe stroke
• C. Tabes dorsalis
• D. Leprosy

Hint:

Cannot dorsiflex, so the leg lifts high and the forefoot lands first.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: A high steppage (foot drop) gait occurs when the patient cannot dorsiflex the foot. To avoid the toes catching the ground, the leg is lifted higher than normal and the forefoot strikes the ground first instead of the heel.

Step 2: This pattern is produced by motor peripheral neuropathies involving the common peroneal nerve. Among the listed options, tabes dorsalis is the classic disease association the source highlights, so the marked answer is option c.

Step 3: It is worth noting that foot drop (option a) is the mechanism rather than a separate disease, and leprosy (option d) can also cause foot drop through peroneal nerve involvement. A frontal lobe stroke (option b) produces an apraxic/magnetic gait, not a steppage gait, so it is clearly wrong. For this single-best-answer question the intended choice is tabes dorsalis.

Step 4: Hence the answer is tabes dorsalis.