July 2019
A Guide to Walking Well
Pen Keyte
On 1st May 2019, Dr Nancy May (McGill University, Montréal, Canada) and Professor Helen Dawes (Oxford Brookes University) held a Walk-Well workshop at Brookes. Our Secretary, Pen Keyte, attended the event on our behalf.
This event was well attended by Oxford Branch members, and members from other local branches. I went along as an observer, and have written this guide to walking well, based on the exercises we were put through! It was very noticeable that at the end of two hours, everyone was walking more purposefully and with a more upright posture, and speedier gait. One participant commented that “the assessment and practical sessions were very informative and have encouraged us to make changes in the way we walk and the care of our feet!”
The workshop began with a 5-point assessment. We were assessed on:
The rest of the workshop was devoted to learning how to walk well, and how to improve balance.
We learned how to do this by making sure that:
Practising these moves helps improve posture and reduces the risk of falls, since it encourages you to balance better, and to avoid the tendency to lean forward. Try for 3 minute bursts and keep it up! Dr Nancy recommends we walk for 150 minutes minimum every week, which will re-adapt our cardio-vascular clocks. We checked our ‘cadence’ - that is, the speed at which we walk. A rate of between 60 and 100 steps a minute seemed right for most people, though it varied.
We did this by using a walking pole to stabilise us; I don’t have poles, so I used a broom which, a friend remarked, made me look like Dick van Dyke’s character in Mary Poppins, but never mind.
Walk well, everyone!
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