Many diseases such as vitamin deficiencies and diabetes can be detected by the way you walk

Although the way we walk, such as stride length and speed, varies from person to person, the way we walk can actually function as a barometer of our health. Professor Adam Taylor of Lancaster University explains the relationship between walking style and health.

What your health says about your health
https://theconversation.com/what-your-gait-says-about-your-health-233910

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease
According to Professor Taylor, 'decreased walking speed' and 'decreased walking smoothness' may be early signs of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease interferes with the command system from the brain to the muscles, causing muscle movement to slow down and impair symmetry. If you watch the following movie that records the walking of a Parkinson's disease patient, you can see that even in the early stages of Parkinson's disease, there is a difference in the speed at which the left and right legs and arms move.

Gait impairments in Parkinson's disease - YouTube


◆ Decline in cognitive function
Research has shown that as cognitive function declines, stride length becomes significantly shorter.

Diabetes
When nerves are damaged by diabetes, the muscles in the front of the shin do not function, making it difficult to lift the toes upward. This increases the risk of tripping over one's own feet and falling. In other words, if you find that you trip over your own feet more often, this could be a sign of diabetes.

Peripheral arterial disease
If you feel pain in your buttocks, back of your legs, or calves while walking, and the pain goes away when you stop walking, you may have peripheral arterial disease . Peripheral arterial disease is a disease caused by narrowing or clogging of blood vessels, which reduces the amount of blood flowing to the legs and the amount of oxygen supplied to the muscles. Since muscles need oxygen when moving, if you have peripheral arterial disease, your muscles will become oxygen-deficient while walking, releasing lactic acid and causing pain. If you stop walking, the amount of oxygen required by your muscles will decrease, and the pain will go away.

Vitamin deficiency
If you often lose your balance and stumble while walking, you may be deficient in vitamin B12. However, vitamin B12 can be relatively easily treated with medication such as injections, and it can also be treated by improving your diet.

Inner ear infection
Even if you have inner ear infection, you may experience a loss of balance while walking. When inner ear infection causes changes in the movement of fluids in the inner ear, it interferes with the transmission of signals from the ear to the brain, making it difficult to integrate visual and postural information, which makes it difficult to maintain balance.

◆ Beware of sudden changes
While the smoothness of walking is gradually impaired with age, the above abnormalities can occur over a short period of time, so Professor Taylor recommends consulting a doctor if any sudden abnormalities in your gait occur.