What causes people to walk with that gait where they come up on the balls of their feet?

With my ex husband it was the stick up his ass.

haha! the world needs more ST.

I am pretty that they’re are leprechauns real happy ones

I don’t know. Why do some people cross their arms back and forth in front of themselves instead of swinging them front to back at their sides? That makes me insane. I have to look away.

Small balls. If you’re hung well enough it will keep your feet flat to the ground.

In all seriousness, I think it’s a combination of the way your muscles and bones in your ankle are fused and the way you learned to walk when you were little.

Arthritis?Or maybe they’re jaunty little sailors.

I’m not sure what you mean! I do push into the next step by using the front part of my foot and lifting the heel, but then I wear ladies shoes with heels. I can’t imagine not walking on the balls of my feet in high heels. I also have really high arches. Maybe it has something to do with that too. I’m not sure.

There is really a large number of reasons for abnormal gait.

In this instance, it depends hugely on whether or not the indiviual is adult or child, and whether they have ruled out neurological, skeletal and muscular disorders. In children, idiopathic toe walking is an early symptom of autism.

I love this question. My husband walks like that, although it is not very extreme, I don’t think people notice it unless it is pointed out. His father walks like that also. The fam gets a little laugh when we watch them walk side by side when we are behind them. I figured if I ever had a son, we would see three generations of it. I tease saying he walks like a toddler. I’m not sure if he is actually up on the balls of his feet, or if he is simply not rolling heel to toe when he walks, I have to watch more closely. It appears stiff; stiffer than a normal walking style.

I think thats the way I walk, or so I’ve been told. Pretty sure it comes from being a little kid who had parents that were tall—Mom 5’10, Dad 6’4 and when they held my hands as a tiny kiddo, sure I was on my toes lol.

@Shiningkat That’s hysterical. Everyone has tall parents when they are little kids. Much of my childhood I can remember my mom pulling me down the sidewalk, because she had no patience for how slow I walked lol. I am pretty sure your theory isn’t the reason why, since my husband is the tallest person in his family. His dad is 5’6” or 7” and his mom is 5’2” and the maids who took care of him at times were most likely shorter. My husband is now the tallest in his family at 5’10”.

This is very funny! We have this in our family as well. My father did it, possibly my grandpa, my son does it, my nephew does it, etc. It must be genetic. We are all super tall, my dad, 6’5, myself 5’10” flats/barefoot, I am always wearing some sort of heel. I was always told it was genetic and is a sign of intelligence or higher brain function…I will continue my search as to why my son does this. I find it cute since he is not actually impaired muscularly or mentally. BTW…the girls in our family have a normal gait. odd.