I was surprised to learn that a brief two-minute walk around the block after eating a meal caused blood sugar levels to rise and fall more gradually compared to staying seated. Walking also helps stabilize insulin levels. Researchers also found that a brief 10-minute walk could lower blood pressure and improve mood. Kick it up to 11 minutes and you can lower your risk of several illnesses, according to the research.
Walking provides plenty of benefits, and I never really thought about how I walked or my “walking technique” until I couldn’t walk. After being in a wheelchair and learning how to walk again with physical therapy, I started paying attention to how I did such a simple, natural thing as putting one foot in front of the other. My physical therapist said I was leaning on and favoring my right side a little too much after surgery on my left side, so I had to learn to balance my weight more evenly and trust my left side again.
The importance of your knees in the gym
Researchers investigated whether foot positioning could help reduce the pain of wear-and-tear knee arthritis, with interesting results. It turns out, your foot placement and walking technique could be worth thinking about, especially if you’re dealing with knee pain and arthritis. Your knees are also crucial when it comes to lifting in the gym because they take a significant part of your body weight when you’re doing moves like squats and deadlifts. Let’s explore the research.
The study
In a study published in The Lancet Rheumatology, 68 participants with knee osteoarthritis walked on a treadmill while researchers recorded their gait. Gait refers to your patterns or manner of walking. A computer program simulated walking patterns and determined the maximum stress exerted on their knees while they walked.
The researchers produced computer models displaying four new foot positions that were either angled inward or outward by 5 or 10 degrees. The next step was to determine which of the four new foot positions would be the most likely to reduce stress on each individual’s knees. The study authors placed all of the participants into one of two groups:
- Group one trained in six sessions to walk with the foot angle that the researchers felt was best for them using the computer models.
- Group two carried on walking normally.
The results
The researchers concluded that:
- Foot positioning can lower stress on the knee joints.
- Those who angled their feet slightly inward or outward from how they would normally walk actually experienced a slower degeneration of the cartilage in their painful knees.
- Those who angled their feet slightly inward or outward based on the best foot positioning generated by the computer models also experienced bigger improvements in knee pain and function.
- Those who adjusted their gait (gait retraining) lowered the maximum loading in their knees by 4% compared to over 3% in the group who continued their typical stride.
