Top 5 Facts about Gower’s Sign: How to easily demonstrate Gower’s sign?

Gowers’ sign is a medical sign that indicates weakness in the pelvic girdle and proximal lower limb muscles. It’s characterized by a patient using their hands to “walk” up their body to get to a standing position. 

How it’s performed 

1. Start in a supine or sitting position
2. Roll onto your stomach with your arms and legs extended
3. Put your hands on the ground and shift your weight onto your extended arms
4. Push your body backward to extend your legs
5. Put your hands on your knees
6. Walk your hands up your thighs until you’re standing

What it can indicate

• Duchenne muscular dystrophy: A characteristic sign of this condition 
• Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS): Can be a sign of recovery from GBS 
• Pelvic girdle weakness: A sign of weakness in the pelvic girdle and proximal lower extremity muscles 
• Diskitis: Can be associated with diskitis at the L4-5 intervertebral space 

Who described it?

Gowers’ sign was described by neurologist Sir William Richard Gowers in 1879.