optimize your gait for efficiency and healthy joints

We all do it on a regular basis and most of us don’t pay attention to it unless we are in pain or feel some sort of discomfort. What I’m talking about is walking. Like all movements, it can be optimized, so that we need less energy and effort and actually enjoy it and its positive effects for the body.

That’s right!

Healthy walking has numerous health benefits for the whole body.

Some of the health benefits of optimized walking include:

-          reduced tension in the shoulders and back

-          reduced wear and tear in the joints

-          improved cardiovascular and lymphatic circulation

-          better digestion

-          reduced internal stress

-          helps to balance blood pressure

-          helps to balance and relax breathing

-          supports the immune system

-          …

There are a significant number of ideas out there on what “correct” walking is or how it should biomechanically look like and the purpose of this article is to shed a light on this jungle of sometimes opposing concepts and their differences. However most importantly I will conclude with practical tips for everyone to apply. Those will help you to navigate the possibilities even if you are not a professionally trained mover.

Common key points of discussion between professionals

-          heel-, mid- or fore- foot stroke

-          pushing with the toes – yes or no

-          actively pushing with the glutes – yes or no

-          shoulders pulled back or in neutral

I will stick with those for the purpose of this article although the list could go on for quite some while. So let’s take a look at the afore mentioned points one step at a time.

Heel-, Mid- or Fore- Foot Stroke

Undoubtedly all three of them are possible. And even more so, all three of them can be done with mechanical coherence in a way that they support locomotion efficiently.

So what’s the difference?

Like the name suggests a heel stroke means that when taking a step forward the heel of the front foot is the first part to touch the ground again when placing the foot. And analogue to this a midfoot stroke means that pretty much the whole foot is placed down at once whereas a forefoot stroke means that the ball of the foot touches the ground first and then the heel follows.

The discussions around that often use impact intensity that is transmitted into the knee joint as the unit of measure when it comes to justifying one or the other way of walking as the one and only correct one. As you probably already guess from the way I’m saying this, I don’t share this opinion. But let’s take a real biomechanical look at it and let mechanics speak for themselves.

When we take a look at the human foot from the side, we can’t help but realize that we are dealing with something like a triangular shape spun out between the heel (calcaneus) touching the ground, the talus being the connection point towards the bones of the lower leg, and the ball of the foot touching the ground again. We also see, that the distance between the point of the heel that touches the ground and the center of the talus is a lot shorter than the distance between the center of the talus and the ball of the foot. So in other words, the lever is a lot longer in front of the lower leg than behind.

We also see, that there are more bones involved in forming the forefoot between the talus and the ball of the foot, which makes this area more mobile than the rear since the heel (calcaneus) is directly connected with the talus.
By simply observing this evidence one could conclude, that impact in the front of the foot doesn’t translate upward into the knee as much as impact in the heel does because there are more joints, more mobility and more soft tissue involved in stabilizing thus in this case absorbing shock. In a way that’s true but is only of real benefit if the arches of the feet are completely intact and the foot is healthy. Otherwise the adverse effects of loading the front foot become visible in the knee, hip, lumbar spine and shoulders as structural problems and even pain.

When the heel touches down first there is a much more direct path for any impact to travel up through the lower leg to the knee unless ankle can move and isn’t held stiff.
Now this is the crux of it because most people nowadays don’t use their ankle joint properly in walking. Neither in rolling off the ground nor in placing the foot back down. Given that stiffness in the ankle, there is more impact on the knee. But, if you learn to release the ankle so that the ball of the foot can drop and there is actual movement happening in the ankle joint then the pressure in the knee is similar to the pressure one can expect in fore foot walking. Still there is a major difference.

When you walk heel first you knee actually opens forward immediately after the heel touches the ground. Whereas when you walk on the ball of the foot the momentum initiated in the knee is directed backwards!
This leads us into the next part of this discussion that is essential for healthy walking.

Heel-stroke or forefoot walking – which one is more effective for walking forward

When I say more effective I mean which one helps you to propel yourself forward with the least amount of effort and energy expenditure.

Once again let’s take a look at the mechanics of the feet and legs to get a clearer understanding of the dynamics.

When the ball of the foot touches the ground first (the long lever) the heel will sink backwards. While this pull on the heel downward will trigger the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles (the calf) to fire and prime the leg for the next roll off phase it generates a backward momentum in both the knee and the hip, standing in direct opposition to the intent of moving forward. (pic-2)

On the other hand when the heel touches ground first (the short lever but on the other side of the talus where the lower leg connects to the foot) a forward momentum is initiated when the ball of the foot drops.

This forward pull on the lower leg (if the ankle is moving) opens the knee forward thus facilitates a smooth forward motion exactly in the direction where we want to go.

So as you can see, there is no one single answer to the question of what is the one correct way of walking.

“Choose the way you walk according to your intents and needs!”

When to use which type of walking

As shown in the last paragraphs, there are major differences between the different ways of placing the foot however the differences don’t stop there. The way we use our body also has effects on our mind and the way we interact with our surroundings in general. To go deeper into the why these links between behavior, thoughts, even emotions and our body exist and how they work goes way beyond this article, but this holistic view point serves as the template for the following comparison.

-          When we want to walk as biomechanically efficient as possible, as quickly as possible with the least amount of energy spent, a clear focus and minimal stress created in the body from A to B on a more or less horizontal path the best choice is a heel-stroke pattern.
A heel-stroke walking pattern also focuses our mind and supports strength of purpose.

-          When we walk up on a steep hill, or walk up or down the stairs, the most efficient pattern is a front foot stroke.
Also if we use a front foot stroke our awareness is spread out evenly around us almost in a spherical pattern, which is why many indigenous populations use a front foot walking pattern when walking in the forest to improve awareness of their surroundings.

-          A mid-foot-stroke is mechanically quite complex, supports the arches of the feet and can be described as quite a soft way of walking. It generates less forward direction than the heel-stroke and facilitates a great deal of centered awareness especially for feet and lower body. We instinctively use it when the surface we are walking on is quite slippery and also in traversing steep slopes sideways. Sometimes it’s also a good choice to walk uphill in uneven terrain when we want solid footing and maximum stability.

The power that propels us forward

With all that being said, one of the most intriguing questions that remains is, what is that actually propels us forward. Is it the toes pushing off, or is it a solid push from our glutes, or both, is it not so much the push as it is the swinging the leg forward etc..

Again the answer lies where one probably wouldn’t expect it. And it’s our head. As vertebrates we are mechanically governed by what’s called the “head leads” principle. So basically our whole structure adapts depending on the orientation of our head and our high cervical spine and seeks to follow in the direction “opened” by those areas.
Being a “highly evolved” being with a lot of brain capacity it’s obviously possible for us to uncouple this link between the orientation of the head and the movement direction of the body for better and for worse. In a way it’s good because it allows us to look to the left and right when crossing a street, making sure we stay safe from oncoming cars, but there is also a downside to it. Since we use the mind way to extensively when it comes to governing our basic movement functionality or rather we are not using our resources consciously enough, most people nowadays lost the fine motor control that comes from the bodies intrinsic feedback mechanisms. More often than not, this leads to increased tension and mal- coordination in the body.

Regarding walking this means the following.
Basically walking is the combination of a controlled forward fall and the right mechanics of feet, ankles and legs. Together a smooth forward momentum is generated.

To make this a bit more understandable, try the following or watch the video:

Stand upright on a flat surface with some meters of open space in front of you. now without moving your feet on the ground slowly bring your head , upper body and hip forward and let yourself fall (being pulled by gravity) forward. Obviously do take a step forward to catch yourself before you actually hit the ground.
So what you just experienced is you shifting your center of gravity further forward away from your feet. as soon as this happens gravity pulls you forward. When you now use a simple step to bring at least one of your feet underneath your center of gravity again you don’t fall, but you just made a step forward that was almost entirely powered by shifting your bodies center of gravity and the earths gravitational force.

Now what propels us forward?
In a biomechanically optimized way of walking it’s a combination of shifting your center of gravity forward, opening the ankle forward (see video) thus also opening the knee forward by engaging the calf to roll the foot off the ground and a bit of gluteal activation if we want our step to become longer.

You will see that if you combine those elements with each other your steps will suddenly flow forward with ease the pressure in the joints, mainly the knee will be massively reduced and it’s actually joyful to walk.

Actively digging your toes in the ground and trying to push off of them on the other hand creates a lot of tension and compression in the structure and is not advisable.

Note: we are still talking about walking and not running! In running, due to a completely different set of forces and way more forward momentum many of the described mechanics work differently and one would have to draw different conclusions!

The shoulders and our posture in walking

Last but not least let’s take a quick look at the rest of our body. A slouching posture is obviously not exactly beneficial to walking with ease. But pulling your shoulders back like there is no tomorrow, isn’t either. While a slouching posture creates a lot of pressure on the joints of the lower body and creates dysfunctions of the hipflexors, glutes and pelvic stability, pulling the shoulders back often leads to too much opening in the chest, shifting the organizational center of the body upwards, locking the spine in the process.
Like I keep mentioning in many of my publications pulling the shoulders back to open the chest forward and up also leads to shortness of breath and higher stress levels.

So once again, the truth lies somewhere in between. A healthy natural upright posture is the most beneficial for walking and standing.

 Here is another nugget that’s quite important in walking and that many overlook when suggesting to stabilize the spine. It’s COUNTERROTATION!

Counterrotation is important for balance in walking. if we don’t do it the muscles around our hips have to work double in order to stabilize the hip and prevent us from tumbeling around or falling.
I’ve put together some infos on how to retrain healthy counterrotation in the following video..

Walking nowadays

Many trends emerge over time and while they also don’t stop from having an influence on basic human movement patterns like walking, we should exactly treat them as such- emerging fitness trends that twist a natural pattern adding a specific intent like cardio training or even muscular training.

The fitness trend of walking where you use sticks in your hands or even wrist weights has nothing to do with healthy regular walking. It puts additional emphasis on over exaggerated arm movement and use of the glutes and calves completely distorting normal walking mechanics.

When your goal is to walk as healthy, biomechanically sound as possible, with the least amount of pressure in your knees, hips and lumbar spine and at the same time supporting proper cardiovascular flow and oxygenation then you might want to review the suggestions in this article and the video links provided.

Despite us doing it so often we hardly pay attention to it, walking is an incredibly complex mechanical pattern with way more elements to it than even described in this article.

The best way to start a step

The best way to start a step forward is to start the mechanical chain as it’s supposed to be.
From standing, head leads aside (which you should obviously include aswell), open the ankle of the foot you want to make the first step forward with towards the front and lightly up. This engages the calf and triggers the knee to pen forward. The swing of the leg is already initiated by doing so, and increased by shifting the weight forward through head leads, taking a lot of strain off the lumbar spine because the hip flexor doesn’t have to work as hard any more to propel the leg forward.

Depending on the surface you are walking on and your intent choose a roll off method (heel, mid or forefoot) and there you go.

If you have specific questions which I can easily imagine, please reach out to me in person and/or review the video trainings that I linked throughout this article. When using the videos remember, that in every video I pick one small element of the full mechanical flow that is walking, over-exaggerate and use an exercise to train it in isolation. This means that those exercises are there to teach a basic pattern that helps you to understand one element of walking better. Once you train those separate patterns, just a little intention like opening the ankles forward is enough trigger for the body to relate to the exercise and incorporate the principle in walking to optimize it.

 Additional related videos