How to Walk Properly: Don't Push Off with the Toes with Todd Martin MD
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- čas přidán 25. 08. 2024
- A common instruction for proper walking says to push off with your toes. In this video I will tell you why I believe this is incorrect and I will show you exactly why, with the help of James Bond.
To see this video with the music restored, click on the link at the top of the video. I had to mute the James Bond music in this video due to the copyright.
All of the conscious actions in walking should come from the core. The core directs the other movements. You don't need to think about or try pushing off with the toes any more than you have to think about swinging your right arm forward with the left leg or the left arm forward with the right leg. All of these movements are reflexive actions, responding to the core rotation. It would be a bad idea to try to actively push off with the toes because, even if the toes were pushing, there would be no way to time it correctly with the rest of the body and you would throw off your rhythm. Whether walking or dancing, focus should always be on the core.
This is a repost of the video that I posted last year. While James Bond was happy to offer me his services, the composer of the James Bond music was not as happy, so claimed the copyright. Therefore I have swapped out the music with something equally enjoyable.
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The Core Movement technique in this video relates to the Tai Chi Technique of Roll Back. For more information you can see my Grasp the Sparrow's Tail video. The movements we do when walking, dancing, or doing martial arts like Tai Chi are all related to the same eight fundamental core energies. That is why I think it is so important to cross train in different activities so you can really discover how your body is designed to move. This will help you move more fluidly, move with more confidence, and move with less impact on your joints.
In Roll Back, the chest and waist turn toward the flexing hip. This is accompanied by extension of the knee and plantarflexion of the ankle, all on the side of the flexing hip. This is the movement we are doing as we bring the swing leg heel down and begin to lift the rear heel when walking. The movement is generated by the core, not by actively pushing down with the ankle, and definitely not by pushing down with the toe. After the swing leg heel hits, the rear foot passively rolls forward onto the flexed toes, which are not pushing off. The energy for moving the body forward at this point all comes from the core and the leg on the side of the forward leg. The rear leg does not need to give any energy for the body to move forward. If you are focusing on pushing off with your toe, your focus is on the wrong part of your body. Move from your core and let your lower legs respond.
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Thank you for this! My gait has been pretty screwed up for about 14 years ago since I survived a stroke. I've learned SO much from your video!
I am glad to hear that. My pleasure.
This was extremely descriptive and helpful! Thank you so much!
You're so welcome!
Thank you Todd.That detailed info you spoke about was extremely helpful and it cleared up alot of confusion in my mind about how to walk relaxed and normally.Thanks again your video was excellent.Chazy.
D
Thank you very much. I am glad it was helpful.
Very nice blog!!!🐬Giving cute example of Mr.Bond!!!👍Well done ✔!!!👈
Thanks
Haha, the British accent attempt at the beginning sounds much more like an Indian accent. BTW, I think video breakdowns of walking like this are a good idea and fun way to understand the nuances of it.
I kind of thought it sounded Pakistani, but I’m not going for an oscar
@@ToddMartinMD hahah
@ToddMartinMD agree with you, Doc.
I agree with you, the toes are not pushing anything. It's just wrong to say the toes are propelling you forward because you can't even feel the exertion. The exertion is felt when you are striking with the heel. The James Bond clip makes it clear.
Thanks. Glad you liked it.
excellent!
16:00 If we move with a relaxed fluid of core, your legs include your knees and ankles will move naturally, you do not need to focus on whether you need to extend your knees your ankles…. or push off the toes….. these thing are the natural consequence of the fluid core movement.
Very true
My brother, what is the reason for the heel of the foot hitting the ground while walking? Is an increase in the distance of steps the reason? Thank you.
It is the most efficient way to walk because the foot rolls from the heel to the flat to the toe, with very little energy needed. It is much more efficient than landing on either the forefoot or the midfoot and our bodies are naturally designed to walk in this manner when on level ground.
@@ToddMartinMD thanks YOU brother🫡.
It's fascinating how medical professionals still can't agree on how we walk but their prescription is often orthotics that they also don't undertand 😅
Honestly, I don’t think there is any significant difference on the basics. You can’t use what you see on CZcams as a representation of the medical community. However, I believe medical professionals get confused on some of the real mechanics because they do all their studies by watching other people walk and then describing what they see. That is not a good way to analyze complex movements.
@@ToddMartinMD I don't think most doctors or even podiatrist even know the basics mechanic or how to correct any problems. There are a lot of myths out there. People don't know if there gait problems are a function of some type of pathology, physiology or environmental condition, that is causing the problemic gait, so they try to fix these issues but they rarely can do that, because the root cause is perhaps an incorrect gait pattern itself that is causing the pathology.
I have one stiff foot for some imbalance reason. I have been told all sorts of things and tries all sorts of contraption, orthodics, wedges, stretching pretty much to no longterm avail, but I get relief from correcting my gait, the nervous system seems to correct the stiff foot more than any other intervention so far, so hopefully using the feet and the ankles the way they are meant to be used will be beneficial and help correct any imbalances up the chain. Unfortunately I have had to work this out over many years as the knowledge is not with most medical professionals. Thanks for your guides and keep walking! 🚶
Am confused. Some suggests pushing with the toes
I know, but that recommendation is wrong because all of our movement is generated in the core. The feet and toes move reflexively based on what the core is doing. The only way to fix you foot movement is to fix your core movement. If you try to push off with your toes, you will end up messing up the natural movement of the toes because you can’t possibly time it right consciously.
@ToddMartinMD Dear Doc Martin, Thank you for your response. Hello from Karachi Pakistan. I will try to follow your advice. Currently trying to recover from Achilles tendinitis, which happened because I was trying to sprint 🏃♂️ 😅
@@Alinikki110 Speedy recovery. That can take a long time.
Hm… ok but in my understanding when walking uphill we have to push down the foot and toe(s) to accelerate!??
I’m talking about walking on flat ground here. On a hill, there is a phase that comes after the typical swing through where we do engage a push with the glutes and accompanying ankle plantar flexion, so push off the toes. It is not present on level ground, which is when people are usually talking about the need to push off.
I step is left leg Or right leg tell me bro
I don't understand the question.
First step is left leg Or right leg our walking bro
@@user-bu6xm1pb1s The first step can be with either the left or right. But you first have to shift weight. If you want to step with the left, you have to start with the weight on the left then shift to the right before stepping with the left. I hope that answers the question.
@@ToddMartinMD thank you❤❤
Hi Dr tood i have pb in my walk i see a lot of the Dr phisical thérapie and day can't fond my mistke in my walk in my country that spécialisty IS not very devlopp .if you don't mind i will send to you a vedeo and analyse the misatke and devation i have to Taken it to my Dr may that will be help . Plz dr help me .
You can email me a short video and I will see if there are some videos I can steer you to.
So in terminal stance, your energy/propulsion is from the pelvis/ core? If so, are you not consciously activating the calf muscles or is it an automatic response
Focusing on pressure on the forefoot here
In every phase, the controlling energy comes from the core (upper and lower waist and either hip flexors or hip extensors). The knee and ankle actions are largely postural reflex. allowing you to stay upright. You do not have to put any focus on them. Just like you don't have to think about pointing your toes when you jump. It is automatic. Just like you don't need to consciously flex your knee when going down stairs. Once you activate the correct core movement, the knee flexion is automatic. So the ankle plantarflexes but you do not have to think about it.
And then why the toe flexion exists if it isn't say used in a walk?
The toe has to flex for the body to move over the foot completely for one thing. For the second, toe flexion is the opposite of pushing, which would be toe extension, which we do use when we run.
So the front foot is pulling us forward?
Everything on the side of the front foot is pulling you forward. This includes your upper abdominal and lower abdominal core rotation and the flexion of the front knee during the change of weight. By the time the front foot reaches the flat position, there is no weight left on the rear foot, so it can’t push during the swing through either. The front foot does assist with pulling forward during the swing through because it is actively dorsiflexing.
@@ToddMartinMD makes alot of sense thank you.
👍👍👍👍👍👍🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
But isnt heelstrike like putting the breaks on somehow? Dont we need to land on the middle foot like in barefoot running?
No, heel strike is nothing like putting on the breaks. That would only occur if the knee was locked in extension, which of course it is not. As soon as the heel touches, the knee flexes and the pelvis tucks, rolling the foot forward with zero pause in the flow of the motion. The notion that heel strike is akin to putting on the breaks has been popularized by people promoting their own version of walking (like Chi Walking), but their description bears no similarity to how people walk. Nobody leans back and sticks their leg out in front of them with a hyperextended knee like they were slamming on the breaks, as is demonstrated in the Chi Walking video. If you watch me walking in any of my videos, you will not see any breaking action at all. I believe people promoting the "breaking action" mistakenly have tried to take the concept of midfoot strike when running and assume it applies to walking. The mechanics of walking and running are entirely different. Since both of your feet are off the ground at the same time in running, it is possible to cycle the front leg back underneath your center of gravity when you run. This is not possible in walking unless you are either leaning forward, which is terrible and is the actual cause of hard heel striking, or your are walking like on a tightrope, which looks cool but is an incredibly inefficient means of traveling anywhere.
@@ToddMartinMD czcams.com/video/4zFvEBSTYx8/video.html check this video out of barefoot running, seems similar mechanics to what you are describing in the type of gait that we want to achieve for effortless walking, what do you think?
His description of the rates of cycling are correct, and the use of midfoot or forefoot striking is fine when running. He does a good example of heel strike when jogging. I review the core mechanics of all three of these in my video on foot strike when running. I don't agree with the description of the feeling of falling forward or the idea that you are just lifting up the feet and your body will propel off the ground. Getting off the ground requires extension of the hip. It cannot be passive. His description is consistent with the Chi Running idea. The problem is they do not understand the contribution of the core rotation which is actually making the movements happen like they are. So their technique is fine. The description is misleading. The whole point of Tai Chi is to NOT be falling at the mercy or gravity.
@@ToddMartinMD I saw your running video, so you suggest more extension behind the body for the midfoot gait?
When I say extension, I do not mean behind the body necessarily. What I am saying is the action that lifts the body off the ground is not the lifting of leg up. You can't get off the ground without pushing off from the hip of the standing leg. The standing hip is extending at the time of takeoff regardless of what style of running. In mid foot strike, we bring the forward leg down using rotation of the lower abs and pelvis while the rear keg continues extending behind the body with extension of the hip. This is talked about in Chi Running, but not so specifically. In forefoot striking, the forward leg is brought down to the ground with extension on the hip, using a pushing action like when riding a bike. The landing is on the forefoot and the body immediately pulses back off the ground using only the rotation of the core since the hip is already in extension. That is why sprinting with a forefoot strike is so fast, as I demonstrate in the video.