Your walking posture, may have been wrong all along! It’s unsightly and hurts your legs! The correct way is ……
Walking, the vast majority of us must do a thing in our daily lives, but do you know, your walking posture, may have been wrong!
Walking although it seems simple, which need to pay attention to a lot of places in fact, master the correct gait and posture can reduce the risk of injury, improve the body shape, but also through walking fitness to achieve the effect of weight loss and shaping.
01
Correct Walking Posture
Let’s take the right leg as an example, you can follow these words below and feel for yourself how the muscles fire.
When the right heel touches the ground (pre-support phase), it is mainly the muscles at the back of the thigh (hamstrings), the buttocks (gluteus maximus) and the front of the calf (tibialis anterior) that are firing.
The center of gravity shifts from the right heel to the forefoot (mid-support phase), at which point the force is primarily generated by the glutes (gluteus medius), the muscles of the front of the thigh (quadriceps), and the muscles of the back of the calf (gastrocnemius).
When the whole foot touches the ground and the opposite leg is lifted (middle of the support phase), the force is mainly generated by the muscles at the back of the calf (gastrocnemius and flounder muscles).
When the heel is lifted, the toes are stomped backward and the toes are about to leave the ground (later in the support phase), the force is mainly generated by the muscles at the back of the calf (gastrocnemius and flounder), the muscles at the front of the thigh (quadriceps) and the iliopsoas (inside the small stomach).
The right foot is fully raised (pre-swing phase), when the force is mainly generated by the muscles in front of the calf (tibialis anterior), the muscles in front of the thigh (quadriceps) and the iliopsoas.
The right foot lifts and steps forward (mid-swing phase), at which time the front calf muscles (tibialis anterior) are the main force, controlling the toes from drooping.
Before the right heel touches the ground again (late swing phase) there is a deceleration process, at this time the muscles of the back of the thigh (hamstrings), the muscles of the buttocks (gluteus maximus), the muscles of the front of the calf (tibialis anterior), and the muscles of the front of the thigh (quadriceps) exert force.
This is a cycle of normal walking on one leg, with both legs repeating the above actions alternately with each other, creating our normal walking gait.
02
Common Wrong Walking Postures
- Tiptoe walking (forefoot walking)
When walking on tiptoe, the forefoot has to support the pressure of the whole body, which is easy to cause chronic injuries to the ankle as well as the toe joints. In addition, this posture also increases the pressure on the knee joints, resulting in knee bone and soft tissue injuries.
One more thing, when walking on tiptoe the calf muscles exert more force and are involved for a longer period of time, which can easily lead to thickening of the calves.
- Dragging
Drag to walk, all the palms of the feet on the ground “drag”, not from the heel to the forefoot of the transition process, giving people a very sloppy feeling. At the same time, because this posture can not play the buffer role of the foot, a long time will cause chronic damage to the knee, ankle and surrounding ligaments and muscles.
- Inside and Outside Eights
If you deliberately use the inner and outer eight walking, will change the correct muscle force, in the long run there is also the risk of causing the knee joints inward and outward (also known as looping legs, X-shaped legs), not only unattractive, but also increase the prevalence of arthritis.
- Incorrect upper body posture
Walking with the chest hunching, left and right crooked, hands in the pocket and other bad habits, will affect the normal gait cycle, thus affecting the joints of the lower limbs and muscle health, should be prohibited these bad posture action.
03
Things you should pay attention to when walking on a regular basis
- Stable and even pace
The foot should land on the ground with the heel first, then transfer to the palm of the foot, and finally to the toes, there should be a rolling process.
- Posture should be correct
Keep your body upright when standing, shoulders naturally relaxed, abdomen tightened, knees slightly bent, keep a normal pace when walking, don’t bend or rock your body.
- Step speed should be mastered
When walking, you should control the pace and the length of the journey appropriately, and should not be overly fatigued or in a hurry.
- Choose the right shoes
In order to avoid wear and tear of the soles and prevent foot injuries, you need to choose the right type of shoes, pay attention to the non-slip and cushioning of the soles, and don’t wear old shoes.
04
Sole wear can be determined
Whether the walking posture is correct
Depending on the characteristics of the correct walking posture, wear normally occurs on the outside of the back of the heel and on the area of the foot corresponding to the five toes.
However, if the following areas are badly worn, you need to pay attention to them!
If the forefoot is badly worn, tiptoe walking may be present;
If the outside of the sole is badly worn, it may be due to walking in an outward-facing position, or it may be due to a condition known as high arched feet;
If there is excessive wear on the inside or center of the sole, it may be due to the loss of the arch, such as flat feet.
If any of the above conditions occur, you should force yourself to walk according to the normal walking posture. If this cannot be corrected, it is recommended that you go to the hospital to have your pelvis, hip and knee joints, ankle joints or feet examined for congenital deformities, so that early detection and treatment can be carried out.
So, check your soles now and see if you are walking the right way?