It’s easy to dismiss walking as a passive activity. You lace up your shoes and go, trusting your body to manage the incredible forces involved in propelling you forward. But the average person takes over 2,000 steps per day, and with each step, your joints, muscles, and connective tissues endure impact forces equal to 1.2 to 1.5 times your body weight. Over time, faulty mechanics in this cycle are not just inefficient, they're a direct source of the chronic pain, stiffness, and joint vulnerability we often see in the clinic.
Let’s talk about the whole person
At Parkside Clinic, we often talk about the whole-person approach. This philosophy recognizes that the body’s systems are interconnected, moving along a continuous kinetic chain. Consider your shoulders: we recently explored how years of repetitive motion and deconditioning can lead to chronic issues in Caring for Mid-Life Shoulders. Now, imagine that same concept applied to the lower half of your body, where impact forces compound thousands of times daily.
A dysfunctional gait cycle creates a cascade of stress, traveling from the ground up to your ankles, knees, hips, and even your spine—which is why understanding your posture is just as crucial as understanding your gait, as we detailed in Decoding Your Posture: For a Healthier Spine.
Stepping out
The sheer complexity of the seemingly simple act of walking is pretty astounding. It is a carefully choreographed series of muscular contractions and joint rotations designed by nature to be the most resilient, energy-efficient form of terrestrial locomotion.
In a single step, over 20 muscles and 10 joints engage in perfect, split-second synchrony. The process requires a dynamic balance of flexibility, stability, and power. Your brain is managing a continuous feedback loop from your feet to your core, adjusting muscle tension, stride length, and balance hundreds of times per minute without you even having to think about it.
When one part of that system malfunctions—be it due to a tight calf, weak arch, or poor motor control—the stress has to be absorbed somewhere else. Often, that “somewhere else” is the articular cartilage of the knee, the labrum of the hip, or the discs in the low back.
From a holistic perspective, movement and internal health are inseparable. While no amount of ideal nutrition can fix a mechanical fault, the fuel you provide your body certainly impacts its ability to repair the damage caused by that fault. The tissues that form your joints and stabilize your body require high-quality nutrients to handle the repetitive stress of movement. This is why we advocate for diets rich in anti-inflammatory powerhouses, like the GBOMBS we outlined in Get Your Daily GBOMBS, to ensure your body has the raw materials needed for ongoing maintenance and repair.
The goal isn't to walk "perfectly", like a robot, but to identify and correct the most common mechanical issues that lead to chronic joint overload.
Your gait has three parts
The gait cycle is defined as the time interval between two successive occurrences of the same event for the same leg—for example, the time between the heel strike of the left foot and the next heel strike of the left foot.
Phase I: The heel strike — Over-striding and braking forces
The single most common gait fault in modern life is over-striding. This occurs when the foot lands too far out in front of the hip or the body's center of mass. Instead of absorbing impact efficiently, the extended leg acts like a powerful brake, sending a massive, unmitigated shock wave up the entire limb.
The consequences of this harsh impact are severe:
Knee overload: The braking force places disproportionate stress on the knee joint, contributing to chronic pain and conditions like patellofemoral pain syndrome.
Hip flexor strain: The prolonged contact time stresses the hip flexors and surrounding muscles, leading to unnecessary tension.
The fix: Land softer, land closer.
The correction is simple but requires conscious effort: reduce your stride length. Focus on ensuring your foot lands beneath your center of mass or only slightly in front of it. Your goal is to achieve a much softer, quieter step. A shorter stride automatically increases your cadence (steps per minute), which numerous studies have shown is one of the quickest ways to reduce peak load rates on the knee and hip joints. Think of landing as a gentle push rather than a harsh collision.
Phase II: stability — pelvic drop and cross-body strain
Once the foot is flat on the ground and your entire body weight is directly over that foot, your small stabilizing muscles—primarily the gluteal muscles and the core—are tested.
The crucial stabilizing muscle here is the gluteus medius, located on the side of your hip. If this muscle is weak, when you transfer your weight onto one leg, the pelvis on the opposite side drops down. This is sometimes called a Trendelenburg gait.
The problem is that this instability doesn't stay localized to the hip. To keep your head balanced over your foot, your entire torso and spine must compensate, which can lead to:
Lower back stress: The drop and subsequent twisting motion place chronic shear stress on the lumbar spine. This instability makes it almost impossible to maintain a neutral, healthy spinal alignment.
Knee collapse: The weakness causes the femur (thigh bone) to rotate inward, placing torque on the knee and leading to the arch of the foot collapsing (pronation).
The fix: Stabilize from the ground up
Addressing this issue requires targeted strengthening. Focus on single-leg exercises that train the gluteus medius to hold the pelvis level, such as side planks, lateral band walks, and single-leg balance work. When you walk, consciously try to engage your lower abdominal muscles and glutes before your foot leaves the ground, creating a solid base for the rest of your body to move around.
Phase III: Propulsion — ankle and big toe rigidity
The final moment of the stance phase is when your heel lifts and you prepare to push off the ground, transferring all momentum into the swing phase.
If your calf muscles are tight or your ankle mobility is limited, your body cannot achieve proper dorsiflexion (lifting the foot toward the shin) or plantarflexion (pointing the foot). Without a full range of motion, the body looks for power elsewhere, perhaps causing:
Knee compensation: A rigid ankle forces the knee to overextend and hyperextend to achieve forward momentum, straining the ligaments and tendons around the knee cap.
Weak arch: The push-off relies heavily on the powerful spring mechanism of the arch and the great toe. If these are weak or rigid, the propulsion becomes inefficient, draining your energy and making your muscles work harder than necessary.
The fix: Regain ankle freedom
Prioritize daily stretching for the calves and strengthening the intrinsic muscles of the foot. Use a foam roller or a tennis ball on the bottom of your feet to release tightness and restore the natural spring mechanism. A strong and mobile ankle acts as a powerful dampener, protecting the joints above it from excessive wear.
Putting it all together: Cadence and consciousness
Achieving a healthy gait doesn't require obsessive analysis of every step; it requires conscious awareness and the development of better habits. Here are two immediate micro-adjustments you can start today:
Increase your cadence: Most people walk too slowly with too long a stride. Aim for a quick, rhythmic pace. Shorter, lighter steps naturally reduce your over-striding and significantly lower the impact on your knees and hips.
Focus on the ground: Instead of looking at the horizon, take a moment to feel your foot landing. Is it a heavy, thudding heel strike, or a soft, rolling contact? A quieter step is generally a healthier step.
Movement is the oldest medicine, but like any good medicine, it must be administered correctly. A dysfunctional gait is a source of chronic, low-level stress that can wear you down over time. .
The goal of improving your gait is not just to reduce pain today, but to ensure your body remains resilient, mobile, and independent for decades to come.
November in Portland: Zoo Lights
Image: Literary Arts
“The idea that you can have a festival of books and ideas that’s incredibly fun to be at, all distilled into downtown with a huge book fair and an entire museum, for [the ticket price of] $15–25 — this is something that could only happen in Portland.” Lots to do!
Come visit us at Parkside
Come see our expert team at Parkside Clinic where we tailor our care to your specific condition and tap into your body’s natural healing ability. Make an appointment, or if you have any questions, contact us.