[Tango-L] Ball or Heel?

[Jack Dylan]

The subject of walking on ball or heel has been discussed many times 
and I've always believed it was just a matter of personal preference. I've 
always walked ball-first because it's the way I was taught and I think it's 
more elegant. But recently I've been experiencing some pain in my leg 
which, after an MRI, has been diagnosed as a strain in the upper part 
of the calf muscle. 

After some experiments, I've found that landing ball-first increases the 
pain whereas landing on the heel reduces the pain. The problem is that 
I feel less stable that way when dancing with a partner in close embrace. 
There's a slight wobble between putting the heel down and transferring 
the weight to the whole foot. This appears to make sense as the contact 
area on the heel is far less than when landing on the ball. 

Anyone else have any experience of this? Is it just a question of 
practicing with the new technique or is something else going on?

Any help would be appreciated.

Jack