Why can doctors diagnose health problems just by looking at the person’s walking?

A friend told Huazi a "miraculous thing". He ran into a doctor on the street. He was not familiar with the doctor, but he had seen him several times when he went to the hospital for physical examinations. They were just "nodding acquaintances". But the doctor said he had problems walking and suggested that he go for a brain CT scan.

He went to the hospital with a skeptical attitude and had a brain CT scan. As a result, a very small cerebral infarction lesion was indeed found. He then took statins to control his low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level and added aspirin to inhibit platelets. The doctor told him that the "bomb" in his head was temporarily stable, but he had to take the medicine regularly in the future.

A friend asked Huazi, are all doctors so magical that they can tell health problems by looking at a person’s walking?

1. People who walk faster live longer

Huazi told his friends that walking is the most basic exercise for humans, and experienced doctors can infer a person's health problems and even life expectancy from walking. In related studies, the results show that the faster a person walks, the longer his life will be, and vice versa, the slower a person walks, the shorter his life will be.

In the elderly population, a normal walking distance of 1 minute is more than 50 meters. If you can walk less than 30 meters in 1 minute, the risk of death will increase. If you can walk more than 60 meters in 1 minute, your life expectancy will be longer.

This is because healthy people have stronger bones and muscles, better coordination of the nervous system, and are more likely to maintain balance. Therefore, when walking normally, the speed will be faster.

But everyone should understand that this refers to the normal walking speed of each person, not deliberately walking faster. For people who walk slowly, forcing themselves to walk faster will not achieve the purpose of prolonging life, and may also bring the risk of falling. In other words, health will make us walk faster, but deliberately walking faster will not make us live longer.

2. Abnormalities in walking may be related to disease

1. Walking in a straight line: If your body leans to one side and you can’t walk in a straight line when you walk, you need to consider that there is something wrong with your cerebrovascular system. Cerebral infarction and cerebral hemorrhage can cause this situation, so you need to check it in time and take medication according to the specific cause to prevent more serious situations.

Severe cervical and lumbar diseases may cause an imbalance in the strength of the lower limb muscles and may also lead to problems with walking in a straight line.

2. Always "stumbling" when walking: When walking, you always "stumble" even on flat ground, which may be caused by motor nerve damage. For example, cerebellar atrophy caused by aging, or cerebellar dysfunction caused by cerebral infarction or cerebral hemorrhage. Or long-term alcoholism may cause nerve damage.

No matter what causes unsteady walking, be careful to avoid falling. Elderly people generally have osteoporosis, which can easily lead to fractures after falling. Long-term bed rest after fractures can easily lead to lung infections, which is one of the main causes of death in the elderly.

3. Leg pain and soreness when walking: If you feel knee pain when walking, it may be degenerative osteoarthritis. You need to lose weight, get enough rest, and reduce excessive activity of the knee joint.

If your calves feel sore and weak when you walk, but the pain is relieved after resting, it may be intermittent claudication. It may be caused by stenosis of the lower limb arteries and insufficient blood supply, which often occurs in people with "three highs".

It should be noted that if you suffer from diabetes and your blood sugar is not well controlled for a long time, you may develop peripheral neuropathy, causing problems such as diabetic foot, resulting in damage to the muscles and nerves of the lower limbs, and may also cause pain, soreness, and abnormal sensation in the lower limbs.

4. The steps become smaller and one cannot control the speed: When walking, the steps become smaller and the movements become slower; or one cannot control the speed of walking, and may walk slower or faster; if uncontrollable tremors occur when standing still, one should be careful to guard against Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease is caused by aging, which leads to insufficient dopamine secretion in the brain, resulting in neuromuscular movement disorders. Timely medical treatment and timely use of medication for intervention can effectively relieve symptoms and delay the progression of the disease.

To sum up, walking is the most basic exercise for humans. When the body is ill, it may cause damage to nerves and muscles, leading to abnormalities when walking. An experienced doctor can assess a person's health based on his or her walking status. I am pharmacist Huazi, welcome to follow me and share more health knowledge.