Firstly, I am not sure whether I can call it stomping, but I cannot find any other word to explain it. The person walks noisily, probably because he/she puts his/her heels first on the ground and then lays the rest of the foot as he/she walks. But putting heels makes loud sound.
I know a person who makes lot of noise as he walks, and he has flat feet. I am not sure at all whether having flat feet is the reason that he makes a lot of noise as he walks. Do you know or did you somehow become aware of such connection between flat feet and foot stomping?
We were doing a basement remodel last year and both the plumbers and the carpenters laughed aloud one day when I went downstairs due to the sound that feet make. They were not expecting to see me and couldn’t figure out who had been home, but apparently they had been concerned/amused enough to comment to each other over the several weeks they had been there about how loudly my wife and daughter walked and had investigated the floor joists and wood floors for structural flaws as they had been concerned.
The actors:
Me, 290 lbs., but rarely home during their work and in fact had never met most of them.
Wife, ??? lbs but a normal sized wife
two children, 60-70 lbs.
1 dog, 18 lbs.
My wife and kids were out that morning and the workers knew someone was home as they heard light dog-like footsteps but no toe nail click. Quite simply a soft walking around upstairs. So when I appeared, they were amazed at how quiet my walking had been and the conclusion was simply that the rest of my household walks like footslapping elephants. There is none of us that have flat feet, there is something fundametnally different with their gaits that they just “footstomp” while they walk.
Putting down your heel first is pretty much how everyone walks, at least, in shoes. That’s why they put most of the padding on the heel. I’ve heard some barefoot runners say you should put the ball down first, but they all say it as if it’s something most people don’t do.
I could see a flat foot make more noise simply because there is more ground contacting at once. But I know I’m often accused of stomping if I use my normal gate, and I do not have flat feet. It’s just a lazy walking style, where I let my weight propel me forward.
Well, I’m about as flat footed as they come, and I seem to have a talent for walking up and down staircases like a ninja. When I do it (effortlessly), nary a sound is made. Yet when pretty much anyone else does it: CLOMP CLOMP CLOMP!!
This includes my GF who is about 90lbs lighter than me. So I’m not so sure about your theory.
I’m flat-footed but, having lived in apartments all my adult life, have conditioned myself to walk as lightly as I possibly can. I don’t think I’ve ever bothered a downstairs neighbor. At least no one has mentioned it to me.
Above us right now is a family of four (Two parents and two college aged children.) Every once in a while someone will stomp across the room like he or she is the Jolly Green Giant. Don’t know if it’s a guest or a family member who isn’t home often but it happens rarely enough that it’s more amusing than annoying. Thankfully!
I wonder if it might be connected to personality. Growing up, I had a heavier gate than either of my siblings. I have very arched feet, so it wasn’t that, but in general, I have a louder personality than either of siblings. I just don’t tend to walk quietly or timidly.
I think it’s more related to a lack of strength in the calves and some other associated muscles.
When I’m barefoot or wearing non-stiff shoes, I tend to walk on the balls of my feet. But it requires decent calf strength since it’s a bit like walking on tiptoes. Instead of the weight of my body going directly through my heel to the floor, it’s suspended with my foot as a lever.
Even with boots or other stiff shoes where I have to put my heel first, I use a quiet rolling motion that requires a bit of strength.
It’s less work to just go thud-thud-thud on the heels, though it seems like it would be hard on the joints.
Eh. Different people walk differently. I work in a place where my office just has a screen door, opening to a very busy hallway. The floors are covered in vinyl with a wood base and basement underneath, so I hear everyone who walks by, even some of the cats! Yes, even some cats walk more loudly than others.
As far as I’ve been able to tell, it’s unrelated to weight, gait, gender, or even species.