May marks National Walking Month—a time to embrace the simple, powerful act of walking and its many benefits. At The Vale Practice in East Dulwich, we’re passionate about helping you move better and feel better, and it all starts from the ground up.

Walk Smarter, Not Just Farther

Walking is one of the easiest ways to improve our health and stay connected to our community. It can lift our mood, help us feel less isolated, and support both physical and mental wellbeing. In fact, just 11 minutes a day of moderate physical activity, such as brisk walking, has been shown by University of Cambridge researchers to reduce the risk of early death.

Why Walk?

Walking is a low-impact form of exercise that’s accessible to almost everyone, regardless of age or fitness level. It improves heart health, strengthens bones and joints, boosts mental clarity, and supports emotional resilience. Regular walking also helps lower the risk of chronic illnesses like type 2 diabetes and certain cancers—making it one of the simplest, most effective lifestyle choices we can make.

Make the Most of Your Stride

To get the most from walking, it’s important that your gait is efficient and pain-free. At The Vale Practice, our Gait Analysis service provides a detailed assessment of how you move, helping to uncover subtle imbalances or irregularities that could lead to discomfort or injury over time.

Our dedicated Orthotics and Gait Analysis Clinic in East Dulwich uses a combination of treadmill testing, slow-motion video capture, and a highly sensitive 3D digital pressure plate to assess how you bear weight and move through your stride. This thorough analysis gives us precise insight into how your feet, legs, pelvis, and posture are interacting as you walk or run.

While our osteopaths are skilled at observing posture and movement patterns, we understand that the time your foot is in contact with the ground—just 0.8 seconds when walking and 0.25 seconds when running—is incredibly brief. Even experienced clinicians can’t always detect the full picture through observation alone. That’s why we’ve invested in state-of-the-art technology to support our clinical judgement.

This approach allows us to design truly bespoke treatment plans, which may include osteopathy, acupuncture, massage, taping, corrective exercises, and custom orthotics. The aim? To relieve discomfort, improve biomechanics, and help you walk—or run—more freely and confidently.

Join Us This May

Celebrate National Walking Month by taking steps—literally—towards better health. Whether you’re enjoying a peaceful stroll through Dulwich Park or upping your step count on your daily commute, every step matters.

And if something doesn’t feel quite right as you walk, we’re here to help identify the cause and guide you toward solutions.