Gait Training
Walking Right
Does it seem odd that your doctor might be telling you that you “walk wrong?” Well, it’s true: many people are walking wrong. The problem is that most modern shoes discourage good walking mechanics and encourage bad habits and poor biomechanics. These bad walking habits, along with muscle imbalances (like a tight calf or weakness of the intrinsic muscles of the foot) are the cause of many of the foot and ankle problems Dr. Hoopes treats on a daily basis. These problems can be treated with surgery, but sometimes these problems can be solved by reversing the bad habits of a lifetime. Solved by: “walking right.”
Quick Tips
- Toes straight ahead
- Takes mental and physical effort for first few weeks or months
- After a while, you’ll be fixing yourself instead of hurting yourself
- Roll off toes that are widely splayed out (click here for a video demonstration by Ray McClanahan)
- Most easily done barefoot
- If you’re in shoes they need a wide-toe box (Altra or Lems)
- Push off the pads of the toes, not the tips of the toes
- Toe-off from the base of the big toe, then the big toe last
Information from Vivobarefoot on standing and walking mechanics
