Psychomotor desadaptation syndrome

This article constitutes a description of a clinical entity that has been observed and that we have described in French literature for over 10 years. This syndrome has been named ‘la Régression Psychomotrice’ in the french language and is termed here ‘psychomotor desadaptation syndrome’ (PDS). Postural impairments, neurological signs and psychological features have been found to be associated with PDS. Postural and neurological disorders were characterized by retropulsion, muscle tone modification, and the loss of reactive and protective postural reactions. Psychological features consisted of slowness of cognitive processing, often associated with anxiety and a fear of falling. PDS may be considered as a functional disorder, and clinicians must identify not only predisposing factors, but also etiological ones. The medical treatment of these factors and specific readaptation approaches must be associated with the management of PDS. PDS appears to be a reversible syndrome if a multidisciplinary approach and early management are undertaken.