Walking is part of our everyday activities; whether it is going to work or to the store, or walking in a park. Most of us take numerous steps daily and perform them without thinking of how we are moving through space. It is not until we begin to feel discomfort that we notice how many times we have moved through the day.
But it is not as easy as it seems; by definition, it involves a complex and coordinated series of walking biomechanics movements that occur within your feet and the joints and muscles of your lower body, and how these functions are coordinated by your nervous system. Therefore, any inefficiency or lack of coordination within this gait function may lead to increased stress on the body and ultimately result in fatigue, discomfort, and/or injury over time, often with no prior warning. Read this article to understand the entire process and movement inefficiencies in detail.
Many people assume walking is instinctive and therefore immune to dysfunction. It is a common belief that walking is such a natural thing that it cannot possibly go wrong
Factors that influence walking biomechanics include:
As these variables shift, the body adapts. Sometimes those adaptations are good. Other times, they create stress in areas not designed to absorb it.
Most walking-related issues don’t cause immediate foot pain. Instead, they create micro-stresses, small loads repeated thousands of times a day.
Examples include:
Because these stresses are subtle, the body compensates. Pain only appears once tissues exceed their tolerance.
By then, the problem has usually been developing for months or years.
One of the most misunderstood aspects of walking biomechanics is pain location.
Heel pain, for example, may not originate in the heel. It can reflect:
Likewise, pain in the knee or hip can also come from the foot mechanism being changed, such that the forces are traveling on the kinetic chain in a different way.
Treatment that only targets pain is blind to the larger situation.
Singapore’s environment places unique demands on walking mechanics:
Demands of this kind gradually wear out inefficiencies which might not show up in quieter surroundings.
Tiredness builds up, the body posture changes, and the way we move deteriorates.
Gait analysis allows podiatrists to observe how the body moves as a system.
It can reveal:
These findings often explain pain patterns that imaging alone cannot.
Good walking mechanics aren’t just about pain avoidance. They support:
As people age, maintaining walking quality becomes increasingly important for maintaining independence and preventing falls.
The earlier walking inefficiencies are identified, the easier they are to address.
Targeted interventions may include:
Despite the feeling of "automatic" walking, there are many inefficiencies in the walking biomechanics that can cause pain, fatigue, and decreased mobility later in life due to compromised joints and/or compromised muscle mass capacity for activity. The focus should not be on treating symptoms, but on addressing the movement pattern itself in order to promote joint health and confident movement that comes with promoting the functional nature of the skeletal system.
At East Coast Podiatry, we utilise scientifically proven methods of analysis combined with thorough examination and personalised care of each patient to better address the root problems causing the issues and therefore causing improvement in the overall function of the foot.