Physical Therapist Diagnoses Patient via Watching Them Walk Across Parking Lot

Physical therapist Dr. Rachel Supination diagnosed a new patient with bilateral gluteus medius weakness, left-side iliotibial band tightness, and a compensatory Trendelenburg gait before the patient had even entered the building, based solely on watching her walk across the parking lot from a second-floor window. 'I saw her get out of the car and I knew,' Dr. Supination said. 'The left hip drop on every step. The compensatory trunk lean. The way her right foot externally rotates at toe-off. She played soccer as a kid -- probably right-footed, probably a midfielder. The body doesn't lie.' The patient, Jennifer Tibia, 38, had scheduled the appointment for knee pain she described as 'kind of achey sometimes.' She was unaware that her walking pattern had been analyzed from 200 feet away through tinted glass. 'She came in and I said, let me guess, left knee, worse going downstairs, started about six months ago, and you played soccer until college,' Dr. Supination said. 'She looked at me like I was psychic. I'm not psychic. I'm a gait nerd.' Dr. Supination's colleagues report that parking lot diagnosis is a regular occurrence. 'She can't turn it off,' said clinic receptionist Maria Fascia. 'She watches people through the window all day. UPS guy? Weak ankles. FedEx lady? Anterior pelvic tilt. Pizza delivery? Thoracic kyphosis and probable right shoulder impingement.' Dr. Supination acknowledged that the habit extends beyond work. 'I was at the airport last week and I diagnosed forty-seven people in the terminal,' she said. 'I had to physically stop myself from approaching a man whose gait screamed bilateral patellofemoral syndrome. My husband dragged me to the gate.' She has been asked by clinic management to 'at least wait until patients are inside the building before diagnosing them,' a request she has described as 'stifling my clinical instincts.'