What can be the dangers of hiking?

orthopedic traumatologist, chief podiatrist of the ORTEKA salon network

What are the dangers of walking? How to reduce the risk of injuries?

The benefits of walking have long been known, and no one questions them. Walking helps the respiratory and circulatory systems, lowers blood pressure, trains the heart. Walking in the fresh air contributes to the production of endorphins, which means that it raises your mood and improves your general well-being.

Despite all the positive aspects of such physical activity, it can have a negative effect if the load on the musculoskeletal system is distributed incorrectly. Let’s find out what to pay attention to and how to walk without harming your health.

The feet also perform the function of shock absorption, soften the impact on the surface. The level of deviation of the foot inward or outward when walking is called supination or pronation. Normally, a person rolls from heel to toe, evenly resting on the middle part of the foot – the metatarsal. At the same time, the foot should not fall over, especially the heel bone. This way you can keep an even posture and maintain good stability. In this case, walks are safe, since the feet absorb the maximum impact on the surface.

And here is what you should pay special attention to.

Reliance on the inner arch
If with each step the load is distributed on the inner edge of the foot, then we are talking about hyperpronation. In this way of walking, the lower leg tilts inward, bending the knee. The gait changes, posture is distorted, and the hip joint and lower back are strained. Unnecessary pressure is exerted on the ankle joints and feet – their muscles and ligaments suffer.

Clumsy gait
Hypersupination implies support on the outer edge of the foot. From the outside, it looks as if the person is slightly clubfooted. Because of this, the position of the torso changes while walking, the joints of the lower limbs and the lumbosacral spine are heavily loaded.

Wrong step
Both hyperpronation and hypersupination are most often caused by flat feet – the most common orthopedic disease. Statistically, more than half of the world’s population suffers from it. Longitudinal flatfoot causes a change in the shape of the foot and an increase in its size in length. Transverse flatfoot is caused by the weakening and flattening of the forefoot. In both cases, the load is not properly distributed to the entire sole.

What injuries can be sustained while walking?

Hyperpronation and hypersupination increase the risk of injury during running or normal walking. Injuries to the tibia and metatarsal bones, sprained ankle ligaments, strained muscles and Achilles tendon (located near the heel) can all be caused by improper foot placement when walking.

In addition, flat feet are often the cause of other foot problems: plantar fasciitis (“heel spurs”) and big toe bunions.

In addition, in the presence of foot pathologies, even short walks can end in pain, fatigue and heaviness in the legs. These are alarm “bells” that should never be ignored.

If the unnatural setting of the foot can still be detected independently, it is not possible to identify other pathologies and their degree of development without the help of a doctor. If you have pain in the legs or back after walking, you should immediately go to an orthopedic traumatologist – he will make a scan of the feet and conduct a complete examination of the musculoskeletal system.

Usually, symptoms of orthopedic disease appear unexpectedly and gradually worsen over time if you don’t work with the causes of their occurrence. Without proper care, the feet, for example, can hurt even when a person is not moving.