Locomotor Ataxia is a kind of paralysis that causes muscle degeneration due to the damages or slow progressive degeneration of the spinal cord due to territory Syphilis stage or deprivation of essential nutrients as a result of which it causes inability to control one’s own bodily movements, may cause jerky walking, staggering gate etc.

Ataxia describes a lack of muscle control or coordination of voluntary movements, such as walking or picking up objects. A sign of an underlying condition, ataxia can affect various movements, creating difficulties with speech, eye movement and swallowing.

Persistent ataxia usually results from damage to the part of your brain that controls muscle coordination (cerebellum). Many conditions can cause ataxia, including alcohol abuse, certain medications, stroke, tumor, cerebral palsy, brain degeneration and multiple sclerosis. Inherited defective genes also can cause the condition.

Treatment for ataxia depends on the cause. Adaptive devices, such as walkers or canes, might help you maintain your independence. Physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and regular aerobic exercise also might help.

SYMPTOMS OF LOCOMOTOR ATAXIA

Ataxia can develop over time or come on suddenly. A sign of a number of neurological disorders, ataxia can cause:

• Poor coordination
• Unsteady walk and a tendency to stumble
• Difficulty with fine motor tasks, such as eating, writing or buttoning a shirt
• Change in speech
• Involuntary back-and-forth eye movements (nystagmus)
• Difficulty swallowing

CAUSES OF LOCOMOTOR ATAXIA

Damage, degeneration or loss of nerve cells in the part of your brain that controls muscle coordination (cerebellum), results in ataxia. Your cerebellum comprises two pingpong-ball-sized portions of folded tissue situated at the base of your brain near your brainstem.

The right side of your cerebellum controls coordination on the right side of your body; the left side of your cerebellum controls coordination on the left.

Diseases that damage the spinal cord and peripheral nerves that connect your cerebellum to your muscles also can cause ataxia. Ataxia causes include:

• Head trauma. Damage to your brain or spinal cord from a blow to your head, such as might occur in a car accident can cause acute cerebellar ataxia, which comes on suddenly.
• Stroke. When the blood supply to a part of your brain is interrupted or severely reduced, depriving brain tissue of oxygen and nutrients, brain cells die.
• Cerebral palsy. This is a general term for a group of disorders caused by damage to a child's brain during early development — before, during or shortly after birth — that affects the child's ability to coordinate body movements.
• Autoimmune diseases. Multiple sclerosis, sarcoidosis, celiac disease and other autoimmune conditions can cause ataxia.
• Infections. Ataxia can be an uncommon complication of chickenpox and other viral infections. It might appear in the healing stages of the infection and last for days or weeks. Normally, the ataxia resolves over time.
• Paraneoplastic syndromes. These are rare, degenerative disorders triggered by your immune system's response to a cancerous tumor (neoplasm), most commonly from lung, ovarian, breast or lymphatic cancer. Ataxia can appear months or years before the cancer is diagnosed.
• Tumor. A growth on the brain, cancerous (malignant) or noncancerous (benign), can damage the cerebellum.

• Toxic reaction. Ataxia is a potential side effect of certain medications, especially barbiturates, such as phenobarbital; sedatives, such as benzodiazepines; and some types of chemotherapy. These are important to identify because the effects are often reversible.

  Also, some medications you take can cause problems as you age, so you might need to reduce your dose or discontinue the medication.

  Alcohol and drug intoxication; heavy metal poisoning, such as from lead or mercury; and solvent poisoning, such as from paint thinner, also can cause ataxia.

• Vitamin E, vitamin B-12 or thiamine deficiency. Not getting enough of these nutrients,because of the inability to absorb enough, alcohol abuse or other reasons, can lead to ataxia.

For some adults who develop sporadic ataxia, no specific cause can be found. Sporadic ataxia can take a number of forms, including multiple system atrophy, a progressive, degenerative disorder.

HOMEOPATHIC MEDICINE FOR  LOCOMOTOR ATAXIA

Alumina : Useful for Ataxia with staggering gait with heaviness or numbness of limbs. The person walks with uncertainty. The person can walk in daytime although in a staggering way but at night, he or she experiences a complete inability to walk. There is heaviness or numbness in lower limbs .There is also problem in swallowing food too. The oesophagus feels constricted while swallowing at times with a feeling of a lump in throat. 

Argentum Nitricum : Useful  for Ataxia with a marked loss of balance while walking and standing, along with trembling. There is lack of control over his limbs while walking and experiences trembling. Standing and walking postures are quite unsteady. 

Causticum : Useful for Ataxia with unsteady while walking and has frequent falling episodes. The fall can be sideways or forward. Useful in preventing the falling tendency with an unsteady staggering gait. 

Gelsemium : Useful for ataxia when the loss of muscle control is accompanied by excessively weak muscles. There is utmost lack of muscle coordination and the muscles seem not to obey the will of the patient. The gait is slow and unsteady.  The person also feels tired from doing even the slightest work. There is drowsiness, dullness and dizziness with an inability to coordinate muscular action. Also there is difficulty in speech with trembling of tongue.

NEUROPLUS