Clinical staging optimized for degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) gait analysis.
Myelopathic Gait Probe
Identify the functional disability grade based on balance, cord symptoms, and employment capacity to guide surgical timing.
Guidelines & Evidence
Clinical Details
Section 1
When to Use
When to Use
Initial outpatient rapid assessment of patients with known cervical stenosis.
Documenting gait preservation or deterioration over time.
Section 2
Literature
Development
Proposed by Dr. S. Nurick in 1972. While the modern mJOA score captures arm, leg, and sphincter function, the older Nurick grade focuses almost entirely on the one thing that ruins independence fastest in myelopathy: the loss of ambulation due to spastic gait.
Section 3
Pearls/Pitfalls
Employment Bias
Grade 2 vs Grade 3 is entirely defined by "prevents full-time employment." Because many patients with DCM are elderly and already retired, this dividing line is notoriously difficult to standardize in modern practice. Use mJOA for a more rigorous, objective metric.
Section 4
Evidence Appraisal
Primary Reference
The pathogenesis of the spinal cord disorder associated with cervical spondylosis
