60% or more of your walking cycle is spent with one leg on the ground (stance phase) while the other leg is lifting off the ground to step forward (swing phase). This is done at least 5,000 times per day on average.
How you accomplish these steps, functionally speaking, can either stack up quickly against you creating pain, or prevent you from healing.
The photo on the left is just one of the many ways I could draw dysfunction and imbalance.
When the leg lifts up, the pelvis tilts back, the spine flexes, shoulders round, the knee flexes, and the entire system is stressed more than necessary to complete this simple task.
If we now reverse engineer this we can a clear window into why someone could have chronic or acute pain.
The leg can’t be lifted without the knee, back, and shoulders having to change position — how do you think they are going to feel after 5,000 steps?
Sore? Stiff? Achy? Inflamed? Fatigued?
Chances are high, hell yes.
Restoring function and balance to the body helps simple movement stay simple so you can live life fully with less wear and tear.
I believe this assessment is one of the most important movements I’ve come across which is why it’s one of the six assessment tools taught in our Movement Therapy Online Program!