Walking on the ball of your foot?

Pensworth

I have been interested in learning a more "proper" way to walk that will minimize pain in my heels and the soles of my feet. I have heard numerous times about walking on the ball of your foot instead of hitting the ground with your heel first, but I don't really understand how this works. It sounds like going from toe-to-heel, rather than heel-to-toe. Am I interpreting this correctly, or is there more to this that I am missing?

If there are good images or videos that demonstrate this, I would appreciate seeing them. It's a little hard to wrap my head around for some reason.

deathtaco

You walk on your heels. You're supposed to run on your forefront though.

JenBrown0210

If you are running then yes. Look up barefoot running. Traditional running shoes make you run on your heal. I tried merrell barefoot shoes and they were to minimalist for me. I am currently using Nike free. They are awesome. I would recommend to go to a specialty shoe store and have them check out your feet to see what would be best for you. Just so you know if you do start running on the balls of your feet your calves are going to be sore the first couple of times.

scottb81

Here are some videos for running on the forefoot vs. the heel.

http://www.barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/4BiomechanicsofFootStrike.html