Toe and heel walking can help improve balance when reaching up, for example into high cupboards or supermarket shelves. Stand tall beside a chair or table. Hold on and keep your exercising leg straight, with the foot straight forward.
Heel walks are an incredibly simple yet effective way to activate the tibialis anterior (the muscle that runs along the shin bone). The movement also helps to improve balance, develop better ankle stability, and can be a great exercise to include in warm-up drills for professional athletes and beginners alike.
"The activity of the major muscles of the ankle, knee, hip and back all increase if you walk on the balls of your feet or your toes as opposed to landing on your heels," says Carrier. "That tells us the muscles increase the amount of work they are producing if you walk on the balls of your feet."
Researchers have found that balance begins to decline in midlife, starting at about age 50. In one recent study, adults in their 30s and 40s could stand on one foot for a minute or more. At age 50, the time decreased to 45 seconds. At 70, study participants managed 28 seconds.
It's noted that wearing heels strengthens muscles in the lower leg and ankle where wearing flat shoes don't. Heels are also purported to aid pelvic floor muscles and with core strength.
Heel-first walking is more efficient than toe-first at transferring stored energy into motion, so our muscles don't have to do as much work. With each step, some energy of motion is lost when your feet hit the ground.
A combination of activities such as walking, strength training, and specific workouts can improve balance and prevent falls, especially in older adults. Walking helps build lower-body strength, an important element of good balance.
Loss of balance or unsteadiness
Losing your balance while walking, or feeling imbalanced, can result from: Vestibular problems. Abnormalities in your inner ear can cause a sensation of a floating or heavy head and unsteadiness in the dark. Nerve damage to your legs (peripheral neuropathy).
Your balance will not improve overnight, but may improve over just a few weeks. I encourage my patients to take balance training seriously for at least 3 to 4 weeks before expecting significant results.
The study, published this month in the International Journal of Clinical Practice (IJCP), found that wearing high heels can strengthen the ankle initially, but leads to weakening and instability over time.
Physical examination
Your doctor will then give you a thorough physical exam. They will watch for signs of nerve damage while you walk on your heels, toes, and soles of your feet. The doctor may test your reflexes using a reflex hammer. This is usually done at the knee and behind the ankle.
Toe walking is a pattern of walking in which a child walks on the balls of their feet, with no contact between the heels and ground. Toe walking is common in children who are learning to walk. After the age of 2, however, most children outgrow toe walking and begin to walk with a normal heel-to-toe pattern.
If you're forefoot running, then you'd want your forefoot to hit first. If you're mid-foot running, you'd want the entirety of your foot to land at just about the same time. And if you're heel striking, then your heel should land first and then smoothly transition to a toe take-off.
Heel striking: Heel striking describes the action of your heel making contact with the ground first, followed by the ball of your foot, in a continuous rolling motion. This method of walking or running has become natural for us over time because it requires minimal effort.
The reason why you can't walk in high heels, or why you're finding it very VERY difficult, is because high heels throw us off balance. Elevating our heels increases the amount of pressure placed on our foot, pushing our bodies forward and changing the way we balance and walk.
“High heels, especially those over 3 inches, do not help you stand up straight. Instead, they cause your pelvis to tilt forward, accentuating the curve in your lower back. This puts strain on muscles that now have to try and work overtime trying to achieve upright positioning.”
The amount of stress we put on our feet and heels in a normal situation is a lot. Having too much weight on your frame, and especially being obese, can make this much worse and cause extreme heel pain, and a variety of other medical issues.
Certain conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, or problems with your vision, thyroid, nerves, or blood vessels can cause dizziness and other balance problems.
The most common causes of imbalance without dizziness are related to dysfunction of the muscles, joints and peripheral nerves (proprioceptive system), or the central nervous system (brain). People with bilateral vestibulopathy have balance issues but no dizziness if the damage affects both ears at the same time.
What Causes Balance Problems In Seniors? Balance problems in seniors often occur with age, even for those with good health. Loss of balance happens for various reasons, such as stiff or damaged joints or something more serious such as a neurological condition. However, inner ear problems are the most common culprit.