Walking: the Most Complex Exercise pt2 + prevent hip trouble later

Posted on by Gina Schatz

We’ve been talking about walking and all of it’s complexity. Today the focus is the feet and what you can do to increase the power in your walk and prevent hip trouble in the future.

Did you know that that is the number one way the senior population are susceptible to breaking a hip is because they lose the ability to roll fully onto their big toes?  This shows up as a ‘shuffling’ gait and is an indication of not fully using the muscles in the feet to be able to ‘push off’ which affect the legs and hips.

Just like most things in the body if you don’t use it you lose it.

Are YOU rolling through on your big toe and using the muscles in your feet while you walk?   It’s hard to tell what your feet are doing when walking, in fact most never even think of it.   A full roll through the foot is needed to keep the muscles strong and optimal in walking and running.IMG_0093-300x200

Here’s how you check:

  • Sit down on the floor with your knees bent and your shins underneath you contacting the floor
  • Lean forward on your hands, lift your bum in the air and curl your toes underneath you – all 10 of them! You may need to reach back and encourage your pinky toe to reach the floor
  • Sit back on your heels with your toes curled under and align your shoulders over your hips.  Be sure not to shrug your shoulders.

Notice what you feel in the big toe joint and the bottoms of your feet.  There will most likely be a sensation of pressure (let’s be honest and call it discomfort) on the bottom of your feet – that’s an indication of dense fascia and muscle restriction.  The good news is you’ll be lengthening them at the same time!

It’s so important to fully use the joint of your big toe to push off while walking and to access all the muscles in the bottom of your feet.  There are four layers of muscles in the bottom of your feet along designed deliberately to absorb impact as you pound the earth and to propel you forward. The arches of the feet are designed to distribute the load and impact from heel to toe.  There is a lot going on down there!

Sit in this position daily for 90 seconds until the feeling of discomfort dissipates. If 90 seconds seems like an eternity, try 10 seconds at a time and work up to 90 seconds.  The key here is to be able to do toe stretch without all that crazy sensation on the bottom of your feet.  This isn’t one of those “I’m not flexible enough”.  If you walk, you are flexible enough for this one.  Hang with it, breathe, know it gets easier.

Here’s to healthy hips for life,