Walking: Have We Had It Backwards?

Or rather… Should we?

Let’s take this one step at a time

Walking is, of course, great for the health: After 50, These 3 Habits Slow Aging The Most ← one of the three things is walking!

Except when it’s not: Why 10,000 Steps Might Be Making Your Pain Worse (+ What To Do Instead)

Yet still, it provides undeniable benefits in many ways, including: How To Walk Away From Alzheimer’s

So, how to make walking better?

Let’s get retro!

It turns out that walking backwards (in these studies, mostly called: retro walking) has some extra benefits that walking forwards either does not provide so well, or does not provide at all.

For example, in the case of comparing walking forwards with walking backwards when it comes to osteoarthritis (OA), participants (average age 56, mostly female) completed 10 min of supervised retro or forward walking training, 3 days/week for 6 weeks, and the study found:

❝In the intention-to-treat analysis, the retro walking group had a greater reduction in pain intensity (mean changes, 1.8 versus 1; p = 0.01) and functional disability (mean changes, 4.8 versus 2.2; p = 0.008) than the control group. Similarly, the retro walking group had a greater improvement in the quadriceps muscle strength (mean changes, 1.7 kg versus 0.7 kg; p = 0.008) and the timed up and go test (mean changes, 0.6 s versus 0.1 s; p = 0.003) than the control group.❞

Read in full: Effect of 6-week retro or forward walking program on pain, functional disability, quadriceps muscle strength, and performance in individuals with knee osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled trial (retro-walking trial)

Not only that, but a similar study found not only the same, but also that it improves balance more than balance training does:

❝The 6-week rehabilitation protocol comprising retro walking as an adjunct to conventional therapy resulted in greater pain reduction and enhanced functional performance of patients with OA knee. This benefits the community at large. All stakeholders should be encouraged to include retro walking in their routine life.❞

Read in full: Effect of retro walking versus balance training on pain and disability in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomized controlled trial

Both those studies were focused on people with knee osteoarthritis, but what about the rest of us?

In this next 6-week study, participants with mechanical low back pain were randomly divided into 2 groups:

• Group A: core-stability exercises + conventional treatment.
• Group B: retro-walking on treadmill + conventional treatment.

The results: both groups improved significantly, and/but Group B (retro-walking) enjoyed a significantly greater reduction in pain than Group A.

Why/how it works: retro-walking activates and engages muscles such as the lumbar multifidus and erector spinae more effectively, improves spinal extension, reduces disc compression, and aside from the direct benefits to the back itself, activates and engages core stabilizing more strongly, strengthening them and proofing the whole trunk better against biomechanical pain.

Read in full: Effect of Retro-walking Versus Core-stability Exercise on Pain and Function in Mechanical Low Back Pain: A Comparative Study

How to do it (safely and usefully)

While backwards walking (with or without an incline) can be done without a treadmill, it’s obviously safest and most convenient to use a treadmill for this one.

If you do want to do it outside, you might want to do it in a big open unobstructed undifferentiated space, e.g.

• Long straight road through your local farmland that doesn’t have much traffic
• Sandy beach with nobody on it and also no uneven parts
• Your conveniently-sized lawn that is free from obstructions

…and/or, have a spotter. That is to say, someone who will walk with you, but forwards, facing you, and in a position to be able to tell you if you are about to trip over a dog or something.

Much easier, however, is just to use a treadmill if that’s an option for you. There are some other important differences between using a treadmill and walking on the actual ground, and there are pros and cons, see: Treadmill vs Road

Want to learn more?

We recommend:

52 Ways to Walk: The Surprising Science Of Walking For Wellness & Joy, One Week At A Time – by Annabel Streets

Enjoy!