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Backpacker Magazine – August 2011
How to Walk
Yes, there's a better way to put one foot in front of the other. Improve your stride, trek farther, and end leg and back pain with our guide to the new science of healthy hiking.
Compared to all of the modes of land transportation nature has invented—galloping, slithering, hopping—walking on two legs is one of the most efficient at covering long distances. And easiest: A 2010 study by the University of Utah found that it takes 83 percent more energy to land first on the toes, as most mammals do, than to step first on the heel and rock forward, like humans. Clearly, when we left the jungle to roam the plains, bipedal locomotion gave us an advantage. We could cover vast distances while carrying tools, supplies, and carcasses—backpacking, in its most primitive form—and even wear down faster prey with our superior endurance (as famously argued in Christopher McDougall’s recent bestseller, Born to Run).
“Backpacking used to be a necessary part of survival,” notes author and back-pain specialist Esther Gokhale, who has studied healthy sitting, standing, and walking postures in native cultures in India, Africa, and South America. People have been doing it for millennia. It’s in our DNA. But if you think you learned everything you need to know about putting one foot in front of the other as a toddler, think again. In a modern world dominated by sedentary office jobs, cardio-focused gym workouts, and overbuilt footwear, the fundamental biomechanics of healthy walking often get, well, trampled. Even small problems in your gait—a sagging arch, cramped toes, a pronating ankle—can reverberate up your body and cause knee, hip, and back pain. And hiking on an uneven trail with a 35-pound pack on your back only increases the potential for problems. The waiting rooms of podiatrists, orthopedic surgeons, and chiropractors are full of people, including otherwise healthy backpackers, who are suffering from walking-related ailments. And as a result, a new science of smarter striding is evolving.
My own reeducation in walking started with what I thought was a pebble in my shoe. After emptying out my boot several times and finding nothing, it dawned on me that the sharp pain at the ball of my foot could actually be coming from my foot itself. A trip to the podiatrist and new hiking shoes with a stiffer, more-padded midsole provided some relief, but the pain nagged at me with every run and hike. As the snow melted off the trails come spring, I trudged on and unknowingly changed my gait in an attempt to relieve the foot ache, which subsequently expanded to include calf pain as well. Then one day, the pain in my right calf became so intense that it stopped me in my tracks. I could barely limp the mile back to my car.
The torn calf muscle landed me in a Flagstaff, Arizona, clinic where I hobbled on a treadmill as physical therapist and sports medicine expert Brian Schmitz analyzed my gait. I felt oddly self-conscious, since I had always prided myself on a sturdy stride. But I had obviously been doing something wrong. “You’re forefoot striking, probably due to proximal hip weakness,” announced Schmitz. Translation: After a long, snowy winter that kept me from my daily running and hiking routine, my hips and glutes had weakened and I had hit the trails that spring with a sloppy stride. And I had hit them hard—excited by the prospect of getting out—without allowing my body to rebuild strength. But I hadn’t been fully utilizing leg and hip muscles to ease myself forward, so I pounded my forefoot as I ramped up the miles. That caused the “pebble pain,” and I only got relief after a long break and treatment last summer.
After three months of physical therapy and focused training—literally, learning how to walk again—I returned to the trails stronger, pain-free, and with a mission to investigate the latest advice from sports medicine specialists, gait mechanics experts, and footwear designers. I wouldn’t make the same mistake again. Read their tips on stride, posture, strength, balance, stretching, gear, and injury prevention, and you won’t wind up with a rock in your shoe—or an ache in your calves or hips. What’s more, your more efficient, more fluid stride will help you log bigger miles with more speed and less fatigue.
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GREAT article. I leave basically untrained - for the Camino de Santiago next week - this will at least give me things to think about whilst walking:)
GREAT article. I leave basically untrained - for the Camino de Santiago next week - this will at least give me things to think about whilst walking:)
Confirmed: Check Barefoot Running for the Complete Idiot. When Foot strikes, first thing that happens is an outside heal strike. Further as this article demonstrates foot then rolls to the inside heal while almost at same time engaging little toe-mound, then back momentarily to the inside heal while progressing to big toe mound to a big toe lift-off. Each of the four corners of the foot engage a complete kinetic chain from foot to top of head. Hands follow same sequence as foot while running. A complete fluid flow of the body in motion occurs. This is very important stuff to review in both walking and running to identify compensations culturally induced, or through injury or stress.
Why am I hearing bagpipes when I look at your "take the test" guy?
The description of how to walk reminds me of racewalking. It is not that the stride on level ground is short, but that there is less of the stride is in front of the body and more of the stride is behind the body. Also when you are using your hips as described the effect is your overall stride length is longer.
Why no mention of shin-splints and stress fractures and how to prevent them? It's a very common long distance hiking injury.
Also, enough with the barefoot fad already.
I have been hiking barefoot consistently for a couple years, and can generally do it every season but winter (and as long as the ground isn't very wet, a pair or two of wool socks help). I have always hated shoes and wear then as little as possible. I guess it isn't for everyone, but I find the sensation of feeling the trail is just as exciting as the sights and sounds. I also feel like I am making less of a negative impact. I have to be conscious of where I step rather than clumsily tromping through the bush.
Short strides can lead to blisters due to overheating. So it's best in my opinion to find a good balance, not just start taking baby steps as recommended here.
You're kidding...??? Maybe backpacker will teach me how to dress myself as well...
You're kidding...??? Maybe backpacker will teach me how to dress myself as well...
i snow ski barefoot and find it to be a more in tuned way to enjoy the nuances of the snow. this is something you have to build up to for maximum thermal value.
The third picture downhill "right" is an error. Tell me someone else caught this? Ha.
I personaly walk around barefoot as much as I can, but I almost never hike barefoot. Anyone who goes barefoot will agree with me, gravel sucks. In the article it says to hike barefoot to strengthen your tendons. I don't think you need to go totaly barefoot, but have shoes that let your feet move the way they are supposed to. While I don't hike barefoot, a well made pair of mocasins and a pair of good socks get the job done great.
Walked in woods for 50 years, Tried the Vibram rubber foot gloves but are using them mainly for workouts indoors.Still married to good shoes and boots for outdoor treks and activity.
Very good analysis, but I think you could also mention stride frequency and oxygen debt. I am a former distance running coach, who constantly advised athletes to "start slow". On a Nepal trek I observed fellow hikers begin the day excited and striding quickly--only to begin gasping within 30 minutes. Oxygen debt should concern everyone, but especially hikers at altitude. Aside from starting every day at a slower & controlled pace, benefit will also result from deeper breathing--and even more so from yoga breathing.
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