[pct-l] ROLLED & SPRAINED ANKLES - FOOT PLACEMENT

[Eric Lee]

Mendo-rider wrote:
>
NOW HERE IS MY THEORY:  My own natural foot placement is straight forward -
heel to toe. I have noticed that most people walk naturally with their toes
pointed either slightly or very noticeably outward. I think that you are
less likely to roll your ankles if you naturally walk with your toes
pointing outward.
>

That matches my own experience and hypothesis.  I have a nasty history of
spraining my ankles, sometimes for no good reason at all.  Seriously, like
walking down a smooth sidewalk and not paying attention, and all of a sudden
my ankle folds under me.  It's quite embarrassing.  For that reason I've
always hiked in lightweight leather boots that offer some ankle protection
(except once when I tried low-tops on a section hike, which resulted an ugly
sprain that took 9 months to fully recover from).

A couple of years ago I had an epiphany when I went for a training hike in a
park near my house.  There had been a slight dusting of snow the previous
night - just enough to make footprints show up sharp and clear.  I was the
second person on the trail that morning and I amused myself by comparing my
footprints to those of the person who had gone through ahead of me.  I was
struck by the fact that this unknown person's stride placed his toes pointed
slightly or noticeably outward while mine were clearly pointed *inward*.
Because of this, my ankles are always right on the edge of stability and the
slightest misplacement will cause them to roll.

As a result of that observation in the snow, I've been trying to alter my
natural gait by envisioning my toes pointing outward as I hike, especially
when going downhill.  This has made a clear improvement in my stability and
resistance to injury.  The most dangerous times for me are at the end of the
day when I'm tired and stop paying attention to my gait, but fortunately as
I continue to practice this it's becoming more and more ingrained and
automatic.

Eric