From Peter Tuft, Kettering, Tasmania, Australia
Further to your article on the problems with pavements, years ago I learned that a long day of off-track walking was less tough on my feet than a few kilometres on a smooth path or vehicle track (10 July, p 46).
On uneven ground, every footfall is slightly different, requiring different muscles to balance and stride, so the loads and wear and tear are dispersed around the anatomy. However, on a pavement, every footfall and stride is identical, so wear and tear is focused on the same body parts.
Nearly 50 years later, my now arthritic toes are still happier off-track than on a pavement. I doubt if the proposed changes to the hardness of pavements will make much difference to this.
