What Your Walk Says About You - Good Health Oct2013.pdf

8/14/2019 What Your Walk Says About You - Good Health Oct2013.pdf

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SAYS ahoutyouDo you walk quickly and confidently, or are you a dawdler? Your gait

can tell you a lot about your health, discovers BonnieVaughan

[l he length of your stride, the pace of your wallg and you] proPensity toI either swing your arms with abandon or leave them dangling like dead

weights can all give clues about the state of your health. We talked to Australiangait experts to find out what your walking style could reveal about you.

TAKING SMALI- SHORT STEPS TRIPPING & STUMBLING

A short stride could indicate tightress inthe hamstrings orhip flexors that could,warns Dr Sian Williams, research fellowinthe School of Physiotherapyat C\rrtinUniversity, ultimately lead to kneeproblems due to addedpressure on thatjoint. Short, quicksteps can also suggestthat you're having balancing issues.

'lthat couldbe from injury, painor problems with the inner ear," saysToni Green, physiotherapy lecturer atthe University of Canberra. "It can

be neurological or musculoskeletal."

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Ifyou repeatedly lose your footing,you're not clearing your feet offtheground. "People who are alwaystripping don't have enough kneeflexion in their stride," saysWilliams. "As a result, they mightcompensate by abducting their legaround from the hip. So rather thanwalking in more of a forward/backrarardkind of motion, they'rebringing their leg around from theside to clear the ground. And that

can cause some knee problems."

MINIMALARMSWING

If you barely swing your arms orkeep them locked at your sideswhen you walk, you may have alack of lower back mobility resultingfrom a stiffthoracic spine or a tightpsoas, our major walking muscle.

"We sit a lot in our culture andthat means our psoas muscle doesn'tget stretched out sufficientlyenough," says Green. To counteractthis, she recommendsbreaking upall that sitting by standing up at yourdesk whenever you're on the phone.Or, when you get home, try a gentlecobra pose (where you lie facedown, palms flat on floor beneathshoulders and push your upperbody off the floor, straightening

arms and stretching upwards). )

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T Your walk not only reveals thei state of your health, it can alsotelegraph your state of mind.'All body language is an outwardrefl ection of emotion," saysbody language expert AllanPease. "Your walk reveals yourpersonality and attitude."

Pease has broken down thehuman gait into four basic types:

The direct taalk"This is demonstrated by a person

who's going somewhere in a hurry

- you have places to go, things todo, calls to make, deadlines tomeet. You walk straight aheadand you expect other people

to get out of your wayl'The expressiue ualk

"You don't walk in a straight line,your arms tend to fling out, youlook around a lot, and you mightdo a little dance in the middle ofyour walk. ltl a loud, freestyletype of walk, and it usuallymatches your personality aswell: You're outgoing andlooking for opportunitiesl'

The re lations hip -styleu;rlL "You tend to hold handswith yourself or cross yourarms when you walk. lf walkingwith other people, you havea tendency to walk right besidethem. You tend to be a touchy-feely person - you're more

interested in the personyou're with, how they'refeeling, where they're goingl'

The thinker utalk"Youobey all the rules. You drive at theright speed and you walk at theright speed. lf there's anything

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.?.il'; * ur'reveN srRrDE LENGTHNext time you walk barefoot inthe wet sand, take a look at yourfootprints. If the distance betweenyour left and right footstep isunequal, Green says this can bean early sign of arthritis symptomsin your hip, knee or ankle.

FASTWALKING

Recent research by AssociateProfessor Gordon Waddington, aphlsiotherapist from the Universityof Canberra, found that briskwalking in seniors helps to buildstronger bones. "We need to strcssourselves to make things strong,"

explains Green, "and it's thestimulation from the ground

reaction force from brisk walkingthat helps us laydown morebones as we age. This is especiallyimportant for women, to he$reduce the risk ofosteoporosis."

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Walking slowly may suggestproblems with chronic painand arthritis. According to newresearch, it can alsobe an earlyindicator of cognitive decline. "Ifyou notice your mum or anyoneelse you knowwell startingto walkmore slowly you might want tomake sure they get their brainhealth checked out," says Green.

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t HoW To IMPRoVE YoUR GAIT ]MAKE SUREINJURIES AREFULLY HEALED

"When walking, you get mostof your power from aroundthe ankle joint," explainsWilliams. "A single problemwith the ankle joint or thecalf muscles can lead to hiptightness or back pain or kneeissues down the track.'That'swhy it's vital to deal with

injuries in that region properly.In a pilot study conducted

on people with sprainedankles who used rest, ice andelevation to heal compared toothers who had physiotherapy,Green found that those whodid the latter healed faster andmore completely "Not gettingit fixed properly can causesubtle, tiny changes over timethat can throw everything outof alignment,' she cautions,

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"leading to balance problems,additional sprains or arthritis."

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Stand facing a wall, bend oneknee until it touches the walland stretch the other leg outbehind you as far as you canfor a maximum stretch to

your Achilles tendon whilekeeping your heel on the floor.Measure from the wall to thebig toe of the foot that isstretched out behind. Thenswap legs and repeat.

"lf the measurement isn'tequal on both sides, that showsyou're not walking or runningevenly," says Green. "And

asymmetry's not good." See aphysiotherapist for advice onevening out your stride.

SWITCH UPYOURFOOTWEAR

Whether you favour loafersor Louboutins, wearing anyone style of shoe day in andday out is going to result incomplications. Serial heel-wearers are continuallycontracting their calf muscles,effectively shortening thatmuscle so much that lowering

their heels causes pain.Anyone who lives in balletflats, thongs or ugg bootsisn't getting adequate archsupport, which can lead toplantar fasciitis or arch pain.

Weekend heel warriorsshould also beware. "Because

they're novices, theyte wobblyand keep changing their gaitpafterns to take shorter steps,"

Williams says, "so their wholecentre of mass shifts to make

them fall forward. They're ata massive rlsk of injury.'

I(ICK OFFYOU RsHoFS

More than half the bones in ourbodies are found in our handsand feet, each employing anintricate network of muscles allworking in sync to keep themmoving. But because they're

encased in shoes most ofthetime, our foot muscles don't getmuch of a workout. "Each oneof those muscles has a job," saysGreen, "and the best way tokeep them strong is to walka fair bit without shoes. Gobarefoot on the sand or onpebbles - all that stimulus willhelp you with your balance.Feet need good sensory input,and if youte always in a shoeyou're not getting that." o

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What Your Walk Says About You - Good Health Oct2013.pdf