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Trait

Scissor gait

A type of spastic paraparetic gait in which the muscle tone in the adductors is marked. It is characterized by hypertonia and flexion in the legs, hips and pelvis accompanied by extreme adduction leading to the knees and thighs hitting, or sometimes even crossing, in a scissors-like movement. The opposing muscles (abductors) become comparatively weak from lack of use.

HPO HP:0012407

Summary

Also called
Scissor walk, Scissors gait, Scissoring gait, Scissoring of the lower extremities, Scissoring of the lower limbs
Body system
Abnormality of the musculoskeletal systemAbnormality of the nervous system

11 genes linked to Scissor gait

Changes in these genes cause rare conditions in which Scissor gait is seen. Most people with this trait have none of those conditions, and a gene on this list says nothing about anyone's own genome.

GeneHow often it is seenConditions
AMPD2adenosine monophosphate deaminase 2AlwaysIn 2 conditions
ARL6IP1ARL6 interacting reticulophagy regulator 1AlwaysIn 2 conditions
RETREG1reticulophagy regulator 1AlwaysIn 1 condition
RTN2reticulon 2AlwaysIn 1 condition
FBXO7F-box protein 7Very often (80–99%)In 1 condition
ERCC6ERCC excision repair 6, chromatin remodeling factorOften (30–79%)In 1 condition
FARS2phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase 2, mitochondrialOften (30–79%)In 1 condition
KIF1Akinesin family member 1AOften (30–79%)In 2 conditions
SLC39A14solute carrier family 39 member 14Often (30–79%)In 2 conditions
ATP6AP2ATPase H+ transporting accessory protein 2Sometimes (5–29%)In 1 condition
SHMT2serine hydroxymethyltransferase 2Sometimes (5–29%)In 1 condition

How often is among people with one of the gene's conditions, the most often across them, as the Human Phenotype Ontology records it. These pages describe traits and the research behind them; they are not a diagnosis, and a doctor or genetic counsellor is the person to ask about symptoms.

Broader traits

Spastic paraparetic gait

Where this comes from

  • The Human Phenotype Ontology, release 2026-09-01: the trait, its names, its definition and the genes linked to it. Find out more at hpo.jax.org.
  • Data release 2026.10.16-c6eea6bf.

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