How to walk?

Walking is a basic activity that our bodies are designed to do. Yet walking can be injury-prone unless done correctly. "Even though it is a low-impact exercise that requires no technical help, we need to monitor it because every step we take, either helps to strengthen our back muscles or can give rise to poor posture,” says Dr Swati Sanghvi, Head of Department, Advanced Physiotherapy, at Saifee Hospital, Mumbai. Walking is individual-specific and everyone has their own unique gait. But, there are certain ways to enhance everyone’s walking experience. Posture, foot motion, stride, and arm swing define a healthy walking style – the kind that does not leave you with upper neck or lower body pain, stiff knees, shin splints, pelvic spasms or aching ankles, says Dr Maninder Singh, Senior Consultantat at Delhi’s Indian Spinal Injury Centre.