Walking begins with the foot, and Dr. Courtney Conley shows why building strength, mobility, and healthy gait mechanics is essential for lasting wellness.

Dr. Andrew Fix speaks with Dr. Conley, the founder of Gait Happens and a leading authority on foot health, about why our feet are the true foundation of human movement. From her early struggles with pain as a dancer and triathlete to her groundbreaking work helping patients worldwide, Dr. Conley shares how shifting the focus from orthotics and surgeries to natural function and strength creates lasting results. 

Together, Dr. Fix and Dr. Conley explore why toe dexterity and foot strength are vital for balance, fall prevention, and independence, and how something as simple as walking can profoundly impact physical, mental, and emotional health. With strategies, compelling research, and insights into footwear and training, this episode challenges the way we think about gait and reframes walking as one of the most powerful tools we have to protect and enhance our health for life.

Quotes

• “Why are we treating the foot very differently than we treat everywhere else in the human body? We don’t talk about strength, we weren’t talking about mobility. And our feet are the first interface that we have with the ground when we move. We have thousands of sensory receptors on the bottom of our feet that are screaming for information to tell us how to move.” (05:01 | Dr. Courtney Conley)
• “If you do need to have the surgery, we want to make sure that on the other end of that, that you’re doing everything that you can to not have another one of those surgeries, which means the widest part of the foot is our toes, or should be. So whoever’s listening, look down at your foot. Your toes should be splayed, they should be wide, and they should be the widest part of your foot. And there’s a reason for that, because when we’re walking, we push off of our forefoot.” (10:09 | Dr. Courtney Conley)
• “There’s really great research looking at Karen Mickle’s work on the importance of toe strength and fall prediction, the risk of falls. And what they found was that a weakness in toe strength can be a very big predictor of falls as we age.” (22:37 | Dr. Courtney Conley)
• “I firmly believe walking is the most underrated and easily accessible tool we all have to improve not only our physical health, but also our mental and emotional well-being—yet the majority of us, globally, are not taking advantage of it.” (44:48 | Dr. Courtney Conley)

Connect with Dr. Courtney Conley:

Gait Happens

Dr. Courtney Conley is a leading expert in foot and gait health and the founder of Gait Happens, an education platform transforming how people understand and reclaim foot function. With over 25 years of clinical experience, she has worked with patients ranging from everyday movers to professional athletes in the NBA, MLB, and NFL. Dr. Conley holds a Doctorate in Chiropractic Medicine and dual bachelor’s degrees in Kinesiology and Human Biology. Through Gait Happens, the Healthy Feet Alliance, and her global lectures, she is driving a paradigm shift in foot health, empowering individuals and practitioners worldwide to prevent unnecessary surgeries, optimize gait mechanics, and prioritize natural, science-backed approaches to foot care.

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