Ross Hauser, MD.

Autonomic dysregulation, a malfunctioning of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), can cause  reduced walking speeds, shorter strides, and prolonged double support time (When both feet are on the ground) while walking, especially when moving in reverse. In addition to walking difficulties, patients reports other symptoms such as dizziness, lightheadedness, and orthostatic intolerance (difficulty in maintaining an upright position), which can indirectly influence gait and balance.

A July 2021 study in the medical journal Chronic Stress. (1) comes to us from researchers and doctors at the University of Florida. First some explanatory notes. This study will discuss Autonomic dysregulation and its impact on your walking. So let’s understand autonomic dysregulation.

Many of you are probably aware what autonomic dysfunction is from your own diagnosis. For those who have not received this diagnosis, autonomic dysfunction is diagnosed when the nerves of the autonomic nervous system are damaged. This also can go under the name dysautonomia. What the authors of this study suggest is a connection between autonomic dysfunction and walking ability.

From the study: “Autonomic dysregulation may lead to blunted sympathetic reactivity in chronic pain states. (Dysregulation may exist because of chronic pain) Autonomic responses are controlled by the central autonomic network.

• In this study, 31 people, 19 with chronic pain and 12 without chronic musculoskeletal pain had brain activity assessed during walking. The participants were given simple walking tasks and more complicated obstacle based walking.

What the researchers found was: “Sympathetic reactivity (your ability to respond to stressful or dangerous situations – like a more challenging obstacle course walking as opposed to normal walking)  is blunted during typical and complex walking tasks in persons with chronic pain. Additionally, blunted sympathetic reactivity is associated with central autonomic network brain structure. . . These results support the idea that chronic pain may negatively impact typical autonomic responses needed for walking performance via its potential impact on the brain.”

Similar articles

Determining the Cause(s) of Dysautonomia, Vagopathy, and Autonomic Nervous System Imbalances

References

1 Yeater TD, Clark DJ, Hoyos L, Valdes-Hernandez PA, Peraza JA, Allen KD, Cruz-Almeida Y. Chronic pain is associated with reduced sympathetic nervous system reactivity during simple and complex walking tasks: potential cerebral mechanisms. Chronic Stress. 2021 Jul;5:24705470211030273. [Google Scholar]