Feet that stop as if stuck (Freezing)

In the graph

Response through the day
Time a dose was taken

An illustration generated for teaching. The curve itself does not represent freezing, and real curves differ from person to person.

Freezing often passes in a few seconds, so it rarely survives into a record. Yet in the clinic it is treated as important, because it ties directly to falls.

The curve does not tell you about freezing. What helps is marking the times you stopped as events, so you can see where those marks land. If they cluster in the low troughs, the time of day is involved; if they scatter across the day, the situation may matter more than the clock.

So for this pattern it especially helps to note the time and the situation together. Three stops today says far less than a stop at 10:40 at the bathroom threshold and another at 15:00 while turning. Once several days accumulate, whether it only happens at thresholds, or only in the afternoon, begins to show.

Near-falls are worth recording even when they last a couple of seconds. That is the one piece of information you cannot recover once it is forgotten.

People often put it like this

The first step will not come
My feet stop at doorways and in narrow spaces
I stick at the moment I try to turn
My head wants to go and my feet will not follow

Things often discussed alongside it

These are factors that come up in conversation about this pattern. This is not a list of confirmed causes, and more than one of them is often in play at once.

It is often described as appearing more in the lower stretches.
It sometimes appears in particular situations — thresholds, narrow passages, turning.
It is described as becoming more frequent when hurrying or doing several things at once.
For some people the situation matters more than the time of day.

Worth writing down alongside this pattern

The time it stopped Which stretch of the day it falls in is the most useful piece of information.
How well you were moving at the time This separates whether it comes in low stretches or has no relation to the clock.
What time the dose before it was This lets you see its timing in relation to the dose.
What the situation was A first step, a turn, a threshold, a narrow passage, a crowded place.
How long it lasted and how it resolved How many seconds, whether it released on its own, or what you did to release it.
Whether you nearly fell This ties directly to safety, so it is worth a note of its own.

What you could show your care team

A record is material for describing your situation. Decisions about which medication you take, at what dose, and at what time belong with the clinicians who look after you.