Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Why is walking falling?

I've been wanting to post about this for a while now, because it really seems to be something a lot of people are confused about.  I hear lots of people say they don't do it, but truthfully there are few who don't.  So, to clear things up, I'm going to give you my illustrated version of why you're not walking, you're falling.

First of all, just because you don't end up flat on your face after every step doesn't mean you're walking without falling.  The falling motion, when it comes to gait, is actually quite small, not the head over heels face plant you're thinking of.  The problem comes from the way we move forward.  If you're lifting your leg out in front of you to walk like this:

then I'm sorry to say this, but you my friend are falling forward with each step.  With your leg bent at the hip and knee, there is no other way for your lifted foot to hit the ground unless you fall.  See?


Either you fall, or you bend your other leg to get your front foot on the ground, but then you'd look like you were supposed to be in a Monty Python sketch.  This is a really high impact way of walking on lots of different body parts.  First of all, your center of mass is constantly thrown over the front of your body.  This overloads your knee and the front of your foot, since they weren't designed to carry the weight of your body from the knees up.

The second problem is that this motion is causing you to pivot on your foot.  Instead of your body just gliding forward, it is pivoting from a single point (your foot on the ground).That means your big fat head has to travel a further distance than any other part of your body!  Not only does it have to travel further, it also has to do it in the same amount of time...which means it has to go FASTER.  That's right.  Your fat stupid head has to travel further and faster through space than the rest of your body.

Something has to eventually stop you from pivoting, though, or you'd end up face planting.

Luckily for you, your other leg is bent at the hip and knee to catch you every. single. time.  Ouch.  So, the leg breaks your fall, but something still has to stop the acceleration of your fast, monumental head.  Otherwise:
Guess what you're gonna do?  You're probably going to end up using your lower back to stop yourself from kneeing yourself in the face.

So, let's see.  We've got excessive loading on the knees and lots of repeated impact (a life time of steps worth of impact).  We've got excessive loading on the front of the foot.  Your spine is being used like a jimmy-wiggler to stop your massive, ugly, stupid head from flying through space and to stabilize your torso.  I'm not even gonna mention what it does to the hips.  (Not because I dont' know, but I think this is enough for now.)  On top of it all, your feet probably aren't even pointed in the right direction (hint: the outside edge of your foot should be lined up straight, not the inside edge).  Foot pain?  Knee pain? Back pain? Acceleration headaches? (I made that one up. but you might have acceleration neck pain...)  Big surprise.  You're bouncing around on your gear like a paddle ball.


So you're thinking "Thanks, GAIT keeper" (haha, get it?) "how the eff am I supposed to locomote then?"   Well, simply put, you're supposed to put your weight on one straight, vertical leg and push yourself forward.  Then you land on your other leg, which stays vertical beneath you, and that becomes your straight, vertical weight bearing leg which you then use to push yourself forward again.  This way, your weight is always stacked where it should be, and your whole body moves through space at the same speed!
Walking this way does require lots of lateral hip and butt strength, and nice long hamstrings.  But once you get it you can pretty much say good bye to shitty stuff like pelvic floor disorder (peeing when you laugh) back pain, and osteoporosis, to name a few.

A final note about walking: you cannot walk on a treadmill.  Walking requires that you push your weight forward off a fixed ground.  On a treadmill, the ground is already moving, so you have no other choice than to....*drum roll please* lift your leg out in front of you and fall down onto it.  And that, my friends, is not walking.

21 comments:

  1. I'm pretty sure that you meant to type 'Peeing when laughing,' although I have often done it in the order that you wrote! I love your illustrations and your forthrightness!

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    1. what a dummy!! I'll blame it on the fact that I was proof reading while my 16 month old tried to climb up my leg. :) Fixed!

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    1. Yea me too. I think I'll start calling it my velocity ball.

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  3. A friend linked this on FB and I'm intrigued. How does this help with Pelvic Floor Disorder? I'm preggo for the 4th time in 6 years and pee about 20 times a day, so I'm willing to try about anything!

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    1. Lisa, you should try lengthening your hamstrings, and learn to squat. This first link is from Katy Bowman, the woman who taught me all that I know! Have a look throug her blog under "birth" and "squat" and "hamstrings". There's some great info there!

      http://www.alignedandwell.com/?p=1310&option=com_wordpress&Itemid=223

      Here's my favorite stretch for my hamstrings. You can do it with a rolled up towel under the balls of your feet, or with nothing at all (if your hamstrings are really tight).
      http://images.lifescript.com/Media/Lifescript%20Media/Slideshow_Images/OAB_exercises/ex_1_double_calf_stretch.jpg

      The problem is that having tight hamstrings and weak glutes tends to tilt your pelvis and tuck your tailbone under. This puts slack in your pelvic floor, which makes it weak. (this is the VERY short version I'm giving you here!) When you lengthen your hamstrings, it allows your pelvis to return to a more neutral position, which allows your pelvic floor to return to its full length, and regain it's strength. Don't do any kegals, ever. EVER. Here's why:

      http://www.alignedandwell.com/?p=1205&option=com_wordpress&Itemid=223

      If you have any other questions, please do email me and I'll do my best to help you out! You can also think about purchasing the "down there" DVD from Aligned and Well. It may not all be appropriate for you to do now (some of it is though) but especially after the birth it will help you return to normal quickly!

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    2. Woah -- thanks so much! I've only ever heard to do more Kegals, more Kegals, which have been like putting a band-aid where stitches should go. I'm excited to have a new plan to try!

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    3. Lisa, it's even worse than a bandaid, because it actually causes the problem it is supposed to fix! Spread the word to your friends, we've gotta stop the misinformation!! I'm excited for you. Let me know how it all goes for you :)

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  4. Jill, You're absolutely hilarious. And totally right! Thanks for this :-)

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  5. Love this post (and your illustrations!). Hadn't thought of the head piece of falling while walking, but whoa. I used to think that walking was the most boring thing until I started practicing walking vs. falling. It's a totally different experience! Takes more concentration and works my muscles completely differently.

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    1. I know right? Feels totally different. Walking "aligned" feels so much more controlled and smooth. I love it. :)

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  6. F-ing hilarious...so well put...and I can't wait to meet you...you'll be in Sequim right?

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    1. Sadly, no I won't! :( I'll be going to Ventura in July. Sequim was too early for me, both academically, and my baby is still too dependant on me for milk. :(

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  7. Awesome! love the illustrations too : )

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  8. This made me do a huge OHHHHHHHHH. I've been reading katy's blog, and learned a lot, but I just "got" the walking bit from your stickman/lady. I tried it, and oh my goodness!!

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  9. okay - I get it - now how do I train myself to walk instead of fall?? help!!

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    1. Hey Ro Ro :) First you have to train your walking muscles, since they've probably been neglected for a long time ( i know mine were!) You'll want to lengthen the backs of your legs as well as build up strength in your lateral hip so you can use it to hold yourself up, instead of using the front of your leg. I'd suggest picking up this DVD from Katy Bowman (my teacher) as it outlines 5 exercises that will get you in tip top shape for relearning how to walk. You'll use the pelvic list to hold yourself up, your glutes and hamstrings to glide yourself forward, and you need to have lots of flexibility down the back of the leg so your heel can stay on the ground while your body moves in front of you.

      http://www.alignedandwell.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&product_id=4&flypage=flypage.tpl&pop=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1

      and here is a youtube clip of what walking should look like. here Katy is walking like the good stick man. If you watch it like, 20,000 times you'll start to get an idea of what it should look like :)

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    2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImyBAW_9irQ

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  10. wonder if this is why im' so much happier now that i've gone to minimal footwear. i.e. When you first start with vibram five fingers - you have to start slowly and build up and learn to NOT walk with a heavy heel strike - and that may be why since then i've had a lot less knee and back pain... hmmm

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  11. Yea, the slow transition is key! I recently wrote a post about that on my new blog!

    http://www.livealigned.ca/2013/04/12/safe-transition-to-minimal-footwear-with-a-video/

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  12. Hi Jillian, which of Katy Bowman's DVDs are you suggesting to help re-learn to walk correctly? The link takes me to her shop but not a specific DVD. Thank you!
    Maureen

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