Watch Your Step!

Walking is a complex process. It involves your body, from head to toes, including several parts of your brain.

Some strides do more than just get you from point A to point B. Your gait, posture, and pace, may also be broadcasting clues, about your health and personality.

Fast Pace

• Longer life: Studies on people over 65, show that a natural need forspeed when walking, tends to mean you’ll live longer. But it doesn’t workinreverse; you can’t expect to extend your years if you push yourself to move quickly. It’s likely a slow stride reflects underlying issues, that may be taking a toll on your overall health.

Veering Left

• Anxiety: When you’re tense and worried, you’re less likely to be right, when you walk, that is. Researchers tracking peoples’ movements as they walked blindfolded, found that the more stressed someone felt, the farther left they strayed, when aiming for a target straight ahead. This may be because the right side of your brain is working harder, to handle your doubts and dread.

Tip-Toe

Mechanical trouble: It’s normal for a young child to walk on their toes,as they learn to be upright in the world. But if that doesn’t stop as they get older, it can mean their Achilles tendonis too short, to let their heel touch the ground comfortably. Or it could be a sign of muscle issues, like cerebral palsy, or muscular dystrophy. Toe-walking is also common in children with autism.

 

Limping

Osteoarthritis:  An unexpected or unnoticed injury could cause a limp, but it could also be a sign of something more. If you’re favouring one leg over the other, or if your legs seem to be buckling from time to time when you walk, you may be showing symptoms of the type of arthritis that wears away your joints over time.

Slapping Steps

Weak muscles: If it looks like you’re climbing invisible stairs, you may  have foot drop. This typically causes your toes to drag as you walk, and you may step higher to make up for it. It’s more common for only one foot to be floppy, but sometimes it can affect both. It may mean you’ve injured a nerve in your leg, or it could be a sign of a nerve, muscle, brain, or spinal disorder, like muscular dystrophy, or multiple sclerosis.

 

 

Slower Than You Used to Be

Alzheimer’s disease: Scientists say changes in the speed of your walk over time, could be one way to predict whether Alzheimer’s or other memory problems are on your horizon. If Alzheimer’s is behind the downtick, the trend will continue as the disease gets worse.

Swaying

Brain injury: Do you rock back and forth to keep it together as you walk? Assuming it’s not an alcohol problem, you may want to have a doctor take a look at your head. A knock to your noggin can cause mild brain damage, that makes the world spin for a while. Athletes, take note; this is common among people who play contact sports.

Moving One Whole Side Together

Bad back: It might mean a thing if you ain’t got that swing! When you’ve pulled a muscle, or have a herniated disc in your lower back, you’re likely to turn your chest and shoulders to match your hips as you stroll, to avoid twisting. Your arms will sway with your legs as you walk briskly, instead of the opposite hand and foot, being ahead of you at the same time.

Dragging Your Feet

Parkinson’s disease: Slow, scraping footsteps, especially if you’re a man over 60, can be a sign that your brain is having a hard time getting the “move” message, to your leg muscles. Shuffled steps, in a bent-over posture, with little to no arm motion, is often called the “Parkinson’s gait”. It’s very common among people with the disease.

Stiff, Twisted, Unsteady Gait

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) : This condition, can show up as several specific weaknesses in your walk. You may move with stiff, swinging steps, withtoes pointed inward, or you may lose your balance more often. Your knees may cross when you walk, which doctors call “scissoring”. Or you may lose feeling in your feet, making it hard to know where the floor is.

These are some insights into varied situations and conditions, hope they help!

              Your feet mirror your general health . . . cherish them!