Ask someone which muscles keep them walking and most will point to their thighs. The real workhorse sits lower down — and some of the muscles that keep people walking well into old age are ones you would never suspect, starting with the back.
The biggest single contributor to each step is the calf. Those muscles drive the push-off that propels the body forward, and their gradual weakening is the hallmark change in how older people walk. As calf strength fades, steps grow shorter and pace slows, according to the Merck Manual.
When the calves can no longer do the job alone, the body recruits the hip muscles — the glutes and hip flexors — to keep the legs swinging through. Older walkers lean on these muscles far more than younger ones do, according to the Merck Manual, which is why keeping the hips strong matters more with age, not less.
Staying upright is itself a muscle job. The back extensors and the core hold the trunk tall. When they weaken, the upper body drifts forward, the center of gravity shifts, the stride shortens, and a steady walk turns into a shuffle. Back-extensor strength turns out to be one of the most reliable predictors of overall physical function in older adults, according to research in the journal Heliyon — a better marker, in many tests, than the strength of the muscles across the front of the trunk.
Building that strength is only part of the answer. Studies have found that stronger calves alone do not automatically produce a springier step, so physical therapists often pair the strengthening with practice at walking itself, cueing people to push off firmly and stand tall.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
