Eight common mistakes when walking can make you sick

Mistake 1: Lowering your head and hunching your chest

Lu Yifan, a professor at the Sports Medicine Laboratory of Beijing Sport University, said that many people always stare at the floor and look down at their feet when they walk. "This way is most likely to cause fatigue." Moreover, when the chest is hunched, the expansion space of the lungs is "squeezed", and breathing becomes short, which can easily affect cardiopulmonary function. Over time, you will find that your breathing is very shallow, and the air is often exhaled hastily before it enters the lungs, which is not conducive to the body's reorganization of oxygen supply. The correct method should be to keep your head up and chest out, your chin parallel to the ground, and your back slightly "tuckered" backwards. This can prevent pain in your shoulders, neck and back. Looking 3-6 meters ahead can help you avoid obstacles effectively.

Mistake 2: Taking too big a step

Many people think that walking with big strides is "vigorous and high-spirited" and is a sign of good spirits and physical strength. Especially when the elderly are exercising, they are more likely to walk with big strides. "In fact, this posture can also hurt the body." Gou Bo, associate professor of the Sports Medicine Research Laboratory of Xi'an Sports University, said that everyone can feel that when taking a big step, the thigh often drives the calf to "swing" out, and the foot falls to the ground with a "bang". Walking in this posture will reduce the cushioning force of the soles of the feet, which will aggravate joint injuries for people with poor knee joints. For daily walking, just use the stride that is most comfortable for you; if you are walking for a brisk walk, your stride can be slightly larger, but it should not affect your foot's landing.

Mistake 3: Dragging the ground with your feet

Some people are unable to "rotate" their feet from heel to toe when walking because they are too tired, their shoes are too heavy, they have shin injuries, or their leg muscles are too weak. Instead, their feet "drag" on the ground and land on the soles of their feet. This walking posture also has poor cushioning and can easily cause strain on the joints, muscles, and arches of the feet. In addition, walking like this can easily give people a sloppy feeling. Gou Bo said that people who walk in this way need to strengthen the strength of their tibia, ankles and calves. The simplest way is to walk on tiptoe, with toes touching the ground or on the heels. The tiptoe exercise is to stand on the edge of the steps with the heel of the shoe hanging in the air, first press the heel down as much as possible, then lift it up as much as possible, and do it 10-20 times; the toe exercise is to write the 26 English letters on the ground with the toes; walking on the heels, as the name suggests, is "walking only on the heels", and 20 steps each time is appropriate.

Mistake 4: Not swinging your arms or swinging them too much

Under normal circumstances, swinging the arms while walking is to balance the movement of the legs. If the arms are swung effectively, the athlete can not only walk more easily but also gain greater power. If you don't swing your arms while walking, your walking balance will be affected, and you will easily "turn sideways" or even fall; if you swing your arms too much, it will not only affect your speed, but also cause excessive fatigue in your upper arms, or even strain them. Lu Yifan introduced that the correct posture for arm swinging is to let the upper arms hang naturally, and then swing naturally on both sides of the body after walking. The swing amplitude should be between 30-45 degrees. When you walk slowly, swing your arms with a small amplitude; if you are walking fast, you can clench your fists, bend your arms 90 degrees, and slightly increase the swing amplitude like running.

Error 5: Inner and outer characters

Walking is like driving a car, the wheels should always be parallel. A crooked wheel cannot roll the car. However, few people can walk straight, and most people walk slightly inwards and outwards. Among them, the inward-turned toe is relatively rare, and most people have the outward-turned toe. The cause of pigeon-toed walking is related to walking habits. That is, the center of gravity must be moved left and right when moving, so the toes tend to turn outward to the left and right. This kind of walking posture is neither comfortable nor elegant. The correct way is to find a straight line on the ground (floor tiles or cement joints) when walking, align one foot first, with the toes and heel aligned with the straight line, and keep the other foot parallel to it, then walk in this direction, and you can slowly correct the wrong posture.

Mistake 6: Leaning

Gou Bo said that many people do not stand straight when walking, and they tend to lean forward, backward, or left or right. This posture can easily cause back pain and also affect walking speed. To change your body's tendency to lean when walking, do sit-ups to strengthen your abdominal muscles, which will help you stand straighter.

Mistake 7: Choosing the wrong shoes

Shoes that are not suitable for walking have the following characteristics: 1. The sole is too thin, and your feet will feel uncomfortable when walking; 2. The sole is too thick and heavy, and your legs will feel particularly "heavy" when walking, or there will be a particularly loud sound when landing; 3. The upper is too high. Some people wear outdoor sports shoes when walking. Although they can provide full protection for the feet, the too high upper is not conducive to the flexible movement of the ankle; 4. The sole is too hard, and the sole cannot bend to adapt to the "rolling" of the sole of the foot when walking. Wendy Bogardner, a certified marathon coach in the United States, recommends that it is best to choose "jogging shoes" or "comprehensive training shoes."

When choosing shoes, you should pay attention to choosing light shoes. The soles should bend easily when you "bend" them. There is a properly protruding lining tongue on the top of the heel to protect the Achilles tendon. After putting them on and walking a few steps, I found that the sole has a slight elasticity but is not too soft and has a certain degree of non-slip properties. Additionally, if you walk more than 30 minutes a day, you should wear shoes that are slightly larger than your usual size.

Mistake 8: Wearing shoes that are too old

Shoes are like cars. They need to be replaced if they travel more than 800 kilometers, otherwise their cushioning and protective effects will be reduced. Gou Bo said that the best way to check is to look at the wear of the "pattern" on the sole. If these anti-slip stripes are almost worn out, it means it's time to buy a new pair of shoes.