On the first day of orthopaedics class at medical school, our professor limped in, stopped, and then proceeded to teach us specifically which ailment causes such a limp.

He went on to explain: “By the time you finish this didactic course in orthopaedics, you will be able to diagnose a patient’s problem just by watching them walk!”

At the beginning of each class, the professor would enter with a new limp, and then show us which muscle groups were affected, what caused the dysfunction, and how we might prepare our subsequent patient history.

The final exam involved the professor ambulating in front of the class with various limps, while we wrote down which muscles, ligaments, tendons or bones were involved and what the diagnoses might be.