Improve Your Walking Gait So You Don't Fall Down

Put your best foot forward in 2018!  Be one step ahead of the game; step up to the next level; keep on keeping on.   The new you, progress, growth; it all begins with the first step.  But which step is the hardest?  The first step. 

As an experienced balance and movement specialist, I teach people how to move; how to take that first step.  What is fascinating to me is how the forces transmitted from the ground move through the human body and affect how we move.  These forces pulse through the foot with each step and follow an integrated pathway through the body. 

HUH?  Ground forces?  Has she finally lost her mind?  No I haven't!!!!  It's a scientific fact that the ground, a solid structure, exerts forces when landed upon and these forces travel UPWARD through the body with each step.

Foot to ground.  The power of the force on the foot is directly related to your weight.  With each strike of the heel, forces two to three times your body weight  travel through the foot structures to the toes as you push off to take another step. 

This is the reason why the more you weigh, the greater the forces on your body with each step.

Don't Fall Down; Fall Prevention 101 by Kelly Ward

The pathway of ground forces from the heel upward through the body is:

• From the heel forces run up the outer side of the lower leg
• Outside the knee
• Up the outer portion of the thigh 
• Through the hip socket
• Up and around the backside of the pelvis   
• Cross at the SI joint (Sacroilliac=where the low back and hip meet)
• Up the other side of the spine
• Down the arm OR Up the jaw

If you want to put your best foot forward, take care of your feet!  Engage in regular toe and ankle exercises for the joints.  Use a lacrosse ball on the bottom of your foot to maintain smooth, efficient force transmission. 

If you don't do lower body flexibility and strengthening exercises, your walking gait will be affected.  This not only limits the fun activities you will be able to do but also increases the risk of a fatal trip and fall.

Maintain the foot so you can put the best foot forward.