Toe walking

Common card · No. 250383

Toe walking is a type of walking gait in which an individual walks tiptoed — bearing the load completely on their toes or the ball of their feet, without the heels contacting the ground. It is a common gait among cursorial terrestrial animals, where it is called unguligrade (walking on hoofed tips of the distal phalanges, e.g. in ungulates) or digitigrade (walking on digits and metatarsal heads, e.g. in birds, canines, felids, leporids and most rodents). In humans, the standard gait when standing and walking is an upright (orthograde) one with the heel firmly contacting the ground and primarily responsible for weight-bearing — i.e. a plantigrade gait, although tiptoeing can be occasionally seen when running and jumping to utilize the arches of the foot for better kinematics and elastic shock damping, or when dancing where quick turns and ethereal presentations are required. Toe walking is, however, common in toddlers leaning to walk, and children who toe-walk as toddlers typically transition...

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