Duck feet page 2

[Velocity J]

This was happening to me, more so on one side, and I realized the problem was a lack of ankle mobility. A good amount of ankle dorsiflexion is required to walk with the feet pointed straight ahead, and if that motion is lacking the entire leg might rotate outward as a way to compensate for lack of mobility in the ankle. I was able to fix the problem mainly by focusing on pointing my feet straight when I was walking and running, but I also did some ankle mobility exercises which seemed to help. I wrote a little about it here:

Don’t Walk Like a Duck – Why Feet Should Point Straight

I think that traditional running shoes that have an elevated heel could contribute to the problem since they effectively hold the ankle in a plantar flexed (downward pointed) position.

[sakura_girl]

I actually had perfectly straight feet when walking, but after almost a year of squats with proper form now, I am starting to do the duck thing. ARGH.

[schutejame]

Your knees are not my knees. But I do find it odd that nobody taught me how to walk.

[zilog]

A lot of interesting points in this thread!

Going too deep now. Just point your feet forward for a few days.

I hope it is this simple! I'm definitely going to some more stretching/foam rolling though. Can't hurt. My legs always feel a bit tight/beaten up these days anyway!

[sbhikes]

I read somewhere that feet pointing out doesn't happen to cultures that do not wear shoes and that it happens by default, even just a little, to cultures that DO wear shoes. I probably read it somewhere on here, but I can't remember where.
Take Off Your Shoes and Walk (Overview)

There was some article that showed the default gait of Europeans was toes pointed out and the default gait of Africans was toes pointed straight, until the Africans were made to wear shoes by the Europeans, then they pointed out, too.

Anyway, I don't know if you can cause knee problems at this stage if you try to fix it, but take care if you start to feel pain in your knee.