The way you walk can reveal a lot about your health

The exaggerated walk of a catwalk model is far from the way ordinary people walk. However, everyone moves in a unique way and this way of walking can say a lot about your overall health.

Gait is the way you walk. Although everyone's gait is different, you can develop an abnormal gait due to illness, injury, genetics, or problems with your legs or feet. Abnormal gait is characterized by irregular movements such as shuffling, tiptoeing, or crossing the legs when walking.

The speed at which you walk can also be an indicator of your health. In fact, it is becoming one of the vital signs, along with body temperature, pulse, respiration, blood pressure and oxygen saturation.

Vital signs provide critical information to assess and predict your health status and enable proactive intervention to keep you as safe and healthy as possible.

Below, see why, according to experts, it may be beneficial to have your gait analyzed by a healthcare professional.

What gait analysis can reveal about your health

Gait assessment can predict gross motor delays (ability to perform large general movements) in children, risk of falls in the elderly and, when associated with cognitive impairment, risk of dementia.

Additionally, a slow gait may be a sign of premature mortality, cardiovascular disease or cancer, according to a meta-analysis published in Journal of the American Medical Directors Associationin July 2018.

The meta-analysis covered 44 studies with a combined total of 101,945 participants.

Gait analysis for physical and sports performance

When it comes to sports and fitness, gait analysis can indicate the likelihood of injuries, mechanical issues that need to be addressed, and when you will be ready to resume activity after an injury or surgery.

“For people who have suffered certain injuries, a gait analysis can help us correct the mechanics that may cause them to recur,” says Bryan Heiderscheit, professor of orthopedics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of Badger Athletic Performance in Madison.

These injuries are often related to bone stress, knee pain, hip pain and Achilles tendinopathy, the expert said. The latter is a painful condition of the Achilles tendon, often caused by overuse.

According to experts, a professional analysis can also indicate movement inefficiencies that, once corrected, can improve running speed, racquetball play and even the golf swing. But be prepared to work after the analysis.

“Gait is not something that can be corrected instantly,” says Heiderscheit. “It's not as simple as saying, 'Walk differently.' You might walk a certain way because one calf muscle is half the size of the other, and the only way to correct that is to focus on certain exercises.”

The evolution of gait analysis

Healthcare professionals analyze gait in different ways, and the type of analysis that is best for you will depend on the problem you are trying to solve.

Some tests are as simple as asking a specialist, usually a physical therapist, to watch the patient get up from a sitting position, walk a certain distance, and sit down again, explains Heiderscheit. The specialist will measure the quality of the movement and the time it takes to do it. Elderly people usually have six minutes to walk as much as they can.

Clinical labs like Heiderscheit's are equipped with treadmills connected to cameras and sensors that capture and recreate your movements. But some patients are advised to run outdoors, with sensors attached, especially if they have difficulty running or changing direction while running.

Recently, artificial intelligence also monitors people's progress. One example is OneStep, a digital health platform that healthcare professionals can use with their patients. People download the OneStep app on their phones and put them in their pockets. The app continuously tracks your movements, which can be easily reviewed by experts.

“We observe gait speed, cadence – the number of steps per minute -, variability in gait speed and cadence, step length, the time both feet remain on the ground, posture, etc.”, he explains Stephanie Wakeman, physical therapist and director of clinical operations at OneStep.

In addition to allowing healthcare professionals to track the progress of a person's recovery or physical therapy, the device, included on the FDA list (Food and Drug Administration), United States regulatory agency, can alert them to other potentially serious problems, Wakeman explains.

“If someone has a very slow walking speed, but their cadence is very high, their steps are very short, and their double support time is very high, this combination may suggest a shuffling gait, which is associated with Parkinson's disease.” Wakeman said. “It’s not an absolute predictor, but it can alert a doctor.”

One patient was using the OneStep faithfully, in addition to doing some exercises requested by her physical therapist, when her therapist noticed that her walking speed and exercise sessions abruptly decreased, Wakeman said.

The therapist came to check on her and discovered she was depressed after the death of a close friend. “So the physical therapist put her in touch with someone to talk about her pain,” Wakeman said.

“He got an intervention that she wouldn’t have had otherwise. This is just one example of how this can help.”

When to review your progress

If you have an injury or pain that you suspect is related to your gait, it may be helpful to schedule a gait analysis with a physical therapist, as they are experts in body movement issues. Insurance should generally cover the cost.

But if you're interested in gait analysis to improve your athletic performance or prevent injuries, you may have to pay out of pocket. These tests can cost US$100 (about R$500) or more, depending on the length of the session, the equipment used and other variables.

Even if you have to pay for an analysis, it can be worth it.

Walk this way

Whether you're an experienced athlete or an amateur walker, both Heiderscheit and Wakeman said it would be great if everyone's gait was analyzed periodically and if all healthcare professionals paid attention to their patients' gait.

“I would also love for gait analysis to be part of the recovery program for anyone undergoing knee, ankle or hip surgery,” Heiderscheit said. “We will see this become more common because technology is advancing rapidly.” “Mobility is kind of the fountain of youth,” Wakeman said.

“If we want to maintain a good and healthy quality of life, we have to be very concerned about our mobility.”

Melanie Radzicki McManus is a freelance writer specializing in hiking, travel, and fitness.