After which injury does Gregory House use a cane in House, M.D.?

Gregory House uses a cane after suffering a muscle infarction in his right thigh.

The infarction damaged muscle tissue in House's right leg after a blood clot blocked circulation. Doctors initially considered amputation, but House underwent treatment that preserved the limb. The injury left him with chronic pain, a limp, and a distinctive dependence on a cane.

House's disability is central to his characterization, but the cane is not merely a visual trademark. His physical pain contributes to his reliance on Vicodin and shapes the way he approaches both patients and colleagues. The show gradually reveals the medical history behind his gait rather than treating it as an unexplained character detail.

Viewers sometimes describe the event generally as a leg injury, but the more specific diagnosis is a muscle infarction in the right thigh. That precision matters because the infarction, not a broken bone or spinal trauma, explains the lasting damage shown in the series.