LEARN TO WALK - ALL OVER AGAIN; PROPER TECHNIQUE CAN STOP PAIN IN YOUR NECK - AND YOUR BACK, KNEES, SHOULDERS, ANKLES ...

Byline: Carol Bidwell Daily News Staff Writer

Walking. Putting one foot in front of the other.

It's one of those basics, like learning not to shove peas up your nose or put gum in your hair, that we all learned as babies. There we were, crawling across the carpet and using the edge of the coffee table to pull ourselves upright. Suddenly one day, we let go.

Hey, ma, I'm walkin'!

In an instant, we were independent, upright human beings able to toddle, then run, leaving our frantic parents scrambling behind us. When we fell, we got up again and walked bravely into the rest of our lives.

As teens, guys perfected that I'm-so-cool slouch, and girls developed the ingenue sashay, leading with their hips like runway fashion models and sexy young movie stars.

As adults, we learned to ambulate with a baby perched on one hip, a heavy purse thrown over one shoulder, weighed down by schoolbooks or an overweight briefcase, lugging bags of groceries or boxes of tools.

And all those things, Sherry Brourman says, is why we walk funny. And why our backs, our knees, our shoulders, our ankles hurt.

``Everybody's in pain,'' said the West Los Angeles physical therapist, who has written a book, ``Walk Yourself Well,'' on how to walk properly - and be pain-free. ``Walking the way you're supposed to is the answer to that pain.''

When you get right down to it, it's probably an evolutionary miracle that we're able to hold ourselves upright in the first place.

``We're probably genetically programmed to crawl,'' Brourman said. ``You're holding this strange bag of bones up against gravity.''

To add to the problem, human feet are put together wrong, with our ankles and legs attached just above our heels. For perfect posture, our ankles would be attached in the middle of our feet, which would make our shoes look really funny, but would help us balance better.

Don't tread like me

The tendency to walk unsymmetrically and unbalanced starts early, said Brourman.

``We come into the world with pretty sound bodies. But when we're babies, we're sponges. We're watching the person we worship the most - mom, dad. By the time they're 6 months old, toddlers pick up mom's gait, big time.''

A walk ``is literally as distinctive as a face,'' said Brourman, a Boston University graduate. Think Marilyn Monroe, with her rolling hips and an undulating rear that one observer once said looked like ``two puppies wrestling under a blanket.'' Think John Wayne, with that sidewinder-style meander that told the bad guy he was in for trouble.

By the time we're 30 or 40 or 50, our distinctive gait is probably taking its toll on our joints.

For example, visualize a perfectly constructed, perfectly balanced robot walking. Everything works just fine. Then a screw falls out of an ankle, and the ankle becomes wobbly. Over weeks or months, the ankle gets so wobbly, it causes strain in the knee, then the hip, then the back.

Eventually, you've got a robot looking for a good chiropractor or orthopedist. Or at least a tube of Ben-Gay and an aspirin.

The human body works the same way, affirms Dr. Clifford Kahn, an Encino orthopedic surgeon affiliated with Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center.

``It's the old foot-bone-connected-to-the-leg-bone thing,'' he said. ``The mechanics of it extends throughout the body.''

He, too, is an advocate of proper body alignment and proper walking techniques, especially with patients who've just undergone foot, leg or back surgery and who are learning to walk again.

``If you use proper body mechanics - proper walking techniques and proper posture - body problems can certainly improve,'' Kahn said.

But convincing patients that they need to change their walk often brings hesitancy and skepticism, said Brourman.

``They look as me and say, `But I've been walking this way for 57 or whatever years.' Then they do it my way - and they can see the difference immediately.''

While patients are usually pleased that they're pain-free, they may not be totally happy.

``The guys usually tell me I'm taking the `cool' out of their walk,'' Brourman said with a laugh. ``Women tell me it looks too masculine. Men tell me it looks swishy.''

Unlocking the gait

Although Brourman's book includes a detailed test to evaluate your walk and diagnose problems, often all she needs to do is watch a person sit, stand and walk to start them on the road to recovery.

One patient, for instance, came for help for a bad back. But the real problem, she determined, was that he was nearly deaf and leaned forward to hear. At the same time, he had glasses that slid down his nose, so he always sat or walked with his neck crooked and his head elevated to keep his glasses in place. When he got his glasses fixed, a hearing aid and a few lessons on how to keep his body aligned, his back problems ceased.

``You get people to try changing their walk, and they feel the difference and they get this amazed look on their faces,'' she said.

But what about all that charm-school stuff about walking around with a book on your head? It doesn't work, she says: ``You can walk with the book on your head and have your body inappropriately balanced.''

And forget that head-up, shoulders-back, chest-out, stomach-in, butt-in military posture rookies and plebes have been taught for centuries.

``It forces you to lean back, and you have to bring your head and your shoulders forward to balance yourself or you'd be falling on your butt all the time. It's bad for you.''

So how do you know if you're walking right? Think of yourself like a puppet, Brourman suggests. Visualize a string coming out of the top of your head, pulling it toward the ceiling. Visualize two more strings attached to your shoulders, pulling them toward the floor. With head and shoulders in line, the rest will usually follow.

But what about people with arthritic joints, slipped discs or other skeletal problems? If the muscles are strong and the body is in alignment, uncushioned joints won't rub together and hurt, Brourman said.

Lower back pain? Stand up straight and lift your rib cage one inch. You should feel less pressure on your back - and less pain.

And don't forget, she admonishes, that strong stomach muscles can take a lot of pressure off aching back muscles.

``There are people who say to me, `You mean I have to use my stomach muscles all the time?' Yes, you have to use your stomach muscles all the time. But look at it as exercise for your belly and a lot of other muscles. Look at it this way: You can walk to the bathroom and be getting in 18 steps of exercise while you do it.''

Take steps to brush up on your stride

How can you tell if you're walking properly?

Take a look in the mirror. Do you lean to one side? Are your shoulders straight? Do you lead with your head? Your hips?

Or take a walk barefoot on wet sand. Do your heels sink in evenly? Or is there a deeper depression on the outside of your foot, or the inside? Does your foot make a print like Donald Duck's, or is the arch clearly delineated?

Here are some other suggestions, from Sherry Brourman's book ``Walk Yourself Well'' (Hyperion; $22.95):

Lengthen your stride so you can feel muscles in legs and buttocks working. Short steps keep you off-balance.

Don't walk leaning back. Don't lead with your hips or your head.

Keep your feet straight, not letting your ankles roll inward. Each heel should strike at the midpoint, not closer to either edge.

You should be able to feel the muscles in your feet as you walk. Use your toes to push off and start the next step.

Keep your stance as wide as your shoulders to keep from wobbling, which puts stress on your knees.

As you walk, keep your feet turned out only a little; 15 to 20 degrees is way too far and forces you to lean back to maintain your balance.

Keep your knees flexible, not locked, as you walk and stand to minimize stress on those joints.

Shift your weight from hip to hip as you walk.

Your knees aren't car headlights and shouldn't point straight ahead; they should be turned outward a little.

Swing your arms as you walk to help propel yourself; palms should be toward your body, thumbs pointing ahead.

Untuck your buns and hold your belly in. Keep your head up and back.

- Carol Bidwell

CAPTION(S):

4 Photos, Box

PHOTO (1--Color--Cover) Step by step: Thought you already knew how to walk? Think again, says L.A. author

(2) Poor walking technique and posture, often learned by watching and emulating our parents, can lead to pain all over the body, say experts.

Phil McCarten/Daily News

(3) Mya Zapata, left, gets some walking tips from physical therapist Sherry Brourman, whose book is called ``Walk Yourself Well.''

(4) Brourman helps Fred Schlesinger do a knee-balance stretch to strengthen the muscles that help him walk.

David Sprague/Daily News

BOX: Take steps to brush up on your stride (See text)