Question: As my leg muscles become weaker, I notice that now I use my toes more than my whole foot when I walk. A polio friend of mine has made the same observation about his method of walking. Is this coincidence or is there a connection between weak leg muscles and using toes more to walk?
GARY FREDERICKS
Answer: The anterior tibialis muscle is the primary contracting muscle that normally picks up the foot at the ankle joint to help your toes clear the floor as you pick up your leg. To compensate for weakness in the anterior tibialis muscle, adjacent muscles (toe extensors) that act to move the toes upward also contribute to picking up the foot when they contract and shorten because their
tendons go across the ankle. In fact, you are not walking more on your toes, but with the over-activity, the toe extensor muscles and the big toe in particular, are in an abnormal “cocked-up” position during the swing phase of walking.
Post-Polio Health (Vol. 25, No. 1, Winter 2009)