How we walk and the link to pain
As we walk, with every step we take, the foot will go through two phases – it will spend some time on the ground, called the contact phase, and some time in the air, called the swing phase.
The contact phase, when the foot is in contact with the ground, is when the foot can experience forces that could lead to pain.
Every time we take a step the foot hits the ground on the outside edge of the heel, and rolls over as it flattens out on the ground, and as it rolls, the leg turns inwards. This movement is called pronation and will generate some forces that our feet will distribute to prevent stresses and strains, but if we have excessive pronation, it can mean that there are more forces, putting extra strain on our heels and knees. And as we take between 5000 and 8000 steps a day, whatever stresses and strains you might experience from this are repeated again and again, which can lead to pain.