Walking comes so naturally to us that it is regularly prescribed without a second thought. For example, the Department of Health and Human Services exercise guidelines published in October 2008 advise all adults, regardless of age and health status, to strive to walk vigorously for a total of at least two and a half hours a week. Yet nowhere do the guidelines suggest how to walk.

Nor would we expect them to. For healthy adults, walking is so automatic that it’s impossible to remember having learned how to do it. Yet it’s likely that as we’ve logged pedestrian miles, many of us have picked up a few bad habits along the way that are making our walks less efficient — and maybe even injurious.

The good news is that decades of research have shown that even patterns established over a lifetime can be reversed.
Footwork forensics

Ideally, by adulthood a person will walk with head erect, back straight and upright, arms bent, knees extending and flexing, feet striking the ground with the heel and pushing off with the toes. The pelvis should rotate back and forth about 8 degrees and list a little downward on the side that isn’t bearing weight. The knee of the weight-bearing leg should flex as we push off our toes. And while we all bob up and down a little when we walk, the pelvic rotation and list, in combination with the movements of the knee, ankle, and foot, manage to smooth out that vertical movement.

Our upper bodies also get into the act. At moderate speeds, rotation of the trunk and shoulders should be out of phase with the pelvis. As a result, the forward swing of one leg is matched by the forward swing of the arm on the opposite side, a balancing act plainly visible in the exaggerated movements of a marching soldier.

Unfortunately, few of us achieve the ideal gait, and even fewer maintain it. Over time, we may lower our heads and thrust our trunks forward at the waist, so our center of gravity is pitched as if we are always about to tumble forward. Instead of swinging smartly, our arms may dangle listlessly at our sides. The rhythmic heel-to-toe movement may become a slap on the pavement.
7 tips on striding right

It’s possible to correct decades of ingrained walking habits with a little work. In fact, even if you don’t think your gait is ungainly, you might benefit from the following tips:

1. Look ahead. Lift up from the top of your head. Don’t tuck your chin or look at the ground, but train your sights 10 to 20 feet ahead of you. If you need to check the ground to avoid obstacles, lower your eyes, not your head. An erect head reduces the likelihood of neck and shoulder pain.

2. Stretch your spine. Your shoulders should be level and square, neither thrust back nor slumped forward. Tuck your buttocks in. When your body is in alignment, you should be able to draw an imaginary straight line from your ear to your shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle when viewed from the side. Maintaining correct posture while you walk will help you to avoid hip and lower back pain.

3. Bend your arms. Flex your elbows at close to 90-degree angles and let your arms swing at waist level. Your fingers should be curled, but not clenched in a fist. If you’ve gotten into the habit of dangling your arms, it may take some conscious effort to keep them raised.

4. Swivel your hips. A slight pivot at the hip can add power to your stride.

5. Flex your feet. Come down on your heel; lift up off your toes. Assume that the person walking behind you wants to see the sole of your shoe as you walk.

6. Take measured steps. Too long a stride throws you off balance. Concentrate on taking shorter steps, but more of them.
7. Share your load. There’s a lot to be said for carrying parcels on one’s head; any load on the back or shoulders is likely to affect posture by thrusting the trunk forward. A backpack, which distributes weight evenly across the shoulders, is the best choice for carrying objects. If you use a shoulder bag, transfer it from one side to the other every few minutes as you walk.