Toe first or Heel First?

Before civilization, the primary way humans walked was toe first. Or more specifically one put their ball of their foot (which includes the toes) to the ground first. This is called the hunter's walk or the stealth walk. In fact this way of walking is still found in much of the non-western world still. For a human body is actually better served by walking ball and toe first rather than heel to the ground first.

It is my present belief that sometime before the Roman Empire, soldiers used marching and stomping their heels to the ground in unison, on cobblestones, rocks, whatever to intimidate and scare into submission their enemies and their families. Then young boys and men copied this soldiering behavior and so some women did too. In this way they had to only fight and kill the most macho and fearless self selected few men in any group. Just their marching while stomping their heels to the ground often made the ground shake as they came near. You can imagine the fear of the uneducated and superstitious masses.

However, though marching heel first and stomping ones heels into the ground might save lives in a war or battle, it is harmful long term on the heels and Achilles tendons of whoever is doing this long term. Likewise, walking on ones heels first is really only a second choice for long term foot health.

So, whenever I can now if I'm out alone on the trails I walk toes first if I am completely alone with my dogs who don't really care how I walk.

Recently, I got a bursa on my lower heel which is affecting my Achilles tendon of my right foot and has been causing me a lot of pain the last three months. To make matters worse any operations for this kind of thing is usually unsuccessful. So my only real useful choice is to walk less and to wear 3/4" gel cups in the heel of my shoes and to use anti inflammatory creams on my heel to keep the swelling down.

I'm 61, I have surfed, skied, built homes walked 20 to 50 miles while camping within a few days for years now, so I'm paying the price for a very active lifestyle now. However, I also know that there are some people who can sit still and never do anything and live to 100. I'm not one of those. So I feel very threatened by not being able to walk 2 to 4 miles a day with my dogs through the woods and it is taking its toll on my physical and psychological health. Now, the bursa is about 97% better than it was. But at its worst it was excruciatingly painful just to stand up out of bed. Sometimes, I thought I was going to faint from the pain it was so bad. So I would wake up in the night to take a leak and forget because I was dreaming that my foot was going to hurt and wake up when I put my foot on the ground to unbelievable pain.

However, after 3 months of being very careful and keeping walking to a minimum I have reduced the pain by 95%. But still, if I walk a couple of miles it comes back and I have to rest a while to reduce the swelling and the pain.

I'm not one to use pain killers because they only tend to reduce ones life span and mental and physical ability anyway. So unless I'm dying I tend not to use any painkillers as long as I can still sleep at night. If the pain is so bad I can't sleep then I'll use some sort of painkiller because none of us can sustain a healthy immune system if we can't sleep.

So, to not get into the state I'm in when you are old try walking ball and toes to the ground first to protect your heels from bursas as long as you feel safe doing so. Because some people think that people who walk like this are trying to sneak up on them and do mischief. So the hunter and stealth walk is best when you are alone in your home or out on a trail alone away from other people.

You've heard people say, "My bursitis is killing me." This is what they are talking about.