Walking is an easy leisure activity. My aim with this blog is to suggest a few bio mechanical aspects that could optimize walking.
If we consider walking from the ground upwards, we come across the foot as the first point of contact. It is essential to have good mobility in the multiple joints there.
When we walk we should have a nice smooth transition of weight from the heel to the toe. It is also important to not favor either side while walking. Most of this control comes from the core control of the trunk and the gluteal muscles. These God given strategies allow the human body to translate forward and not collapse with each step.
The ability to maintain a slight bend without full locking the knee and the hip needs to translate well forwards and backwards for optimal function.
When we consider the trunk the weight of the body needs to the centered and not either forwards or backwards. The rest of the upper body would follow this centering. A good arm swing to maintain good rotation of the thoracic spine and shoulder is also essential. Relaxed shoulders and a stable head posture would add on to the optimization of our gait pattern.
From a bio mechanical perspective it is important to maintain foot mobility, good quadriceps and hamstring control, adequate ability to maintain centering of the trunk, maintaining good thoracic rotation and adequate centering of the head above the rest of the body. These processes would be part of a walking assessment and treatment.