CONSCIOUS WALKING: Stop having falls while walking.

Most falls happen when our body is in motion: walking, turning, going backwards. If we pay attention while moving then our fall associated risk drops dramatically. And if we keep ourselves from rushing during these times then we stop falls in their tracks. This article is of special importance for those who have peripheral neuropathy of the feet because of the significant information provided for improving the connection between our feet and the ground.

Balance is a complex sense made up of other senses.

There are 3 major elements to the sense of balance:
We can improve how these three function:
  • The eyes inform the brain where the real world is.
  • The feet communicate back to the brain where the limbs are in space, called proprioception.
  • The inner ear tells the brain where the head is in space.
  • Improve your sight using eye exercises and awareness practice. Practice anchoring yourself using your eyes.
  • Practice proprioception. Pick your feet up.
  • Turn your head slowly. Focus your eyes as you turn. Always hold onto something first if you are moving your head.

What is Consicous Walking?

  1. Always look in the direction you are moving.
  2. ​Pick your feet up. Roll through your feet. 
  3. ​Improve the connection between your feet and the ground.
  4. Use your abdominals to stabilize your walking.​
  5. Restrain head motion.​
  6. Do not rush.​
  7. Practice, practice, practice!

1) Use your eyes to walk consciously:

Where should you look when you walk? A popular question. Especially for those who have had a fall and are afraid that they may fall again. The answer is to look straight ahead while taking advantage of skills developed to determine what is happening in your immediate surroundings. See Where To Look When You Walk for more information.

​Important as this subject is, it is not the crucial, terribly dangerous habit we all get into. Frequently we are simply not looking where we are going. We get distracted by all kinds of things and that causes many falls. Never take your eyes off of where you are going, even if just for a moment. 
Break yourself of the following habits: These very common practices take our attention off our walking and dangerously increase our fall risk:
  • We walk and talk at the same time. Talking to anyone while walking is very distracting and simply asking for trouble. Save your socializing for safer conditions.
  • We look off to the side when we see a cat or some pretty flowers. Or we look at something startling that is happening. We take our eyes off our path. 
  • Someone calls out to us and we look to see who it is. We keep on moving.
  • We drink water while walking: Stop to drink. Don't move and drink at the same time. 
  • We use our iPhones while we walk.
​
The secret is to stop moving in all these situations. Especially beware of talking. The action of walking consciously requires all our attention. All the above conditions just put you at a high risk of falling but talking while walking deserves special mention. Talking to anyone, your companion or on your iPhone, is very distracting and increases your likelihood of falling significantly. Stop moving if you need to do something else like look at a fabulous car passing by, talk to your friend, check your iPhone or wave to your pal across the parking lot.
Awareness Exercise: Notice how many times a day you are looking at something else other than where you are walking. For example, do you look at people you pass in the dining room to say hello? Do you stand still while saying it? Do you look at your cat who is asleep in the window as you walk through your room? You will be amazed how many times we look somewhere else while walking.

2) Pick your feet up:

The goal is to roll through your feet as you walk:
  • Place your heel on the floor first as you walk.
  • Push off with your back foot.
  • Flex your foot to be ready to place the heel down first.
  • Roll around the circumference of each foot before beginning. 
  • Increase flexibility in the knees, ankles and ball joints of the foot by warming them up before starting.

Walking consciously is a skill that requires practice. You need to develop the ability to walk consciously every step you take. Roll through your feet as you walk, trying to feel the ground with your feet. Keep bending and straightening your knees. Keep pushing off with your back foot. 

For more information see Walk Much More Easily.

3) Improve your sense of proprioception:

Improve the sensation in your feet and hands. This is of particular use for those with peripheral neuropathy. 
As we get older our extremities become less efficient. We tend to use our feet as solid blocks that we struggle to move. Many in addition have problems with sensation in their feet making their balance precarious, especially those with neuropathy. We can improve the awareness of our feet, making balance far better. We can learn to walk in more fluid manner, with a lighter touch. We can also supplement using our fingertip touch to stabilize ourselves. These are all functions of what is known as proprioception, defined as the awareness of the position and movement of the body. For more information:

4) Pull your belly in to stabilize how your body moves.

​This is a great trick anytime. Whenever you feel unstable, pull your abdominals in. Your weight will immediately centralize and your balance will return. When your abdominals are engaged, the spine straightens, the head shifts back and the eyes naturally look straight ahead, the perfect posture for conscious walking.

5) Restrain head motion:

As we age, dizziness and instability become more common and often display when we are walking. There is one very effective way to counteract this. Restrain how much you move your head. Train yourself to keep your head upright regardless of what else you are doing and you side step a prolific cause of falls. Beware of Head Movement has a wonderful analysis of what to do.

6) Rushing is the hobgoblin of life as a senior.

​It is by far the worst thing we can do. At all times resist the instinct to rush, unless you are in a dire situation. More falls are caused because someone was rushing at the time than probably any other reason. Cultivate a steady, smooth and moderate pace and stick to it, particularly when others get excited and try to rush you. Take a deep breath instead of reacting.

7) Practice: For some reason we tend to think that we only need to do something once and we will know how to do it. There are very few times that is true. Most of us have to repeat things over and over and over before our body understands what to do. But practice itself is so satisfying and fulfilling plus the end result is not only physical progress but improved confidence which in itself reduces falls.

None of these recommendations will do much good unless you practice them. Practice safely. Find a place you can walk which has something you can hold onto like a banister or a countertop. Keep your hands free of pocketbooks or bags. Start by practicing each element separately and then combine them. For example, eventually combine looking straight ahead and picking your feet up.

Things to practice:
  • Look straight ahead while walking. (Do not look down at the ground).
  • Sense the ground near your feet while using your peripheral vision as you keep your eyes straight ahead.
  • Shift your eyes downward and then straight ahead without tilting your head.
  • Pull your abdominals in as you walk.
  • Pick your feet up.
  • Practice how to see what you need to while wearing a face mask.

You will know that you are walking the right way when your knees move freely, gently bending and straightening. If your knees are stiff then do a knee warmup before walking, circling the knees standing or sitting.

Develop the skills to walk and move consciously:
Where To Look When You Walk
Beware of Head Movement
Improve Proprioception.
Published April 5, 2021.
Updated January 1, 2022.