European neurologists have studied the approach of the Russian president. According to them, he does not suffer from Parkinson’s but from the “gunslinger’s gait”.
As every year, the prestigious British Medical Journal offers us its special Christmas edition. Published studies present strong results on unexpected research topics. And the 2015 vintage is surprising: we learn how to prepare for zombie invasions, that horror films literally freeze blood or even the origin of the so particular approach of Vladimir Poutine.
European neurologists have sought to find out why the Russian president walks with his right arm still while the left swings widely. Many specialists have speculated that this asymmetrical sway was reminiscent of the onset of Parkinson’s disease. “We are trained to observe and detect walking disorders,” explained Bastiaan Bloem of the Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands and responsible for this work. And when we watch videos, we don’t do it without even thinking about it. It is a professional distortion ”
Parkinson’s disease ruled out
In all the videos the researchers have watched, Vladimir Putin does not move his right arm. But neurologists who carefully studied his gait quickly ruled out Parkinson’s disease. Because, according to them, if the Russian president had this disease, other evocative signs, such as tremors, should have appeared. However, his approach so singular has been the same for years and nothing new has jumped to the eyes of these neurologists.
In addition, Vladimir Putin is still very athletic. He practices judo and karate at a high level which shows that his right arm is functional and that his shoulder is still mobile. But more interestingly, scholars have discovered that Medvedev, the Russian prime minister, also walks with his right arm still.
An approach learned at the KGB
One of the neurologists, Rui Araújo, had a brilliant idea: what if their former KGB career had something to do with it? He then found an old instruction manual which he had translated into English. The team then discovers that it is written that the right arm must always remain still and be held on their chest in order to be ready to grab their weapon in the face of the enemy.
Result: after years of training, Russian politicians who came through the KGB keep this habit. An unexpected conclusion confirmed by Russian neurologists.
To support their hypothesis, they explain having found other examples in Afghan soldiers or in Western films. However, they indicate that this particular attitude is not found in all soldiers.
The authors then very seriously conclude that this gunslinger’s approach should be taken into account by neurologists during their examinations. According to them, it represents a new cause of “unilaterally reduced arm swing”, just like Parkinson’s disease or a pathology affecting the shoulder.
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