Walking Backwards as a Fitness Measure?

Read somewhere that some fitness freaks try walking backwards as a different way of keeping fit. Backward walking is more complex and associated with decreased coordination [1]. I have also tried it while walking inside my living room so that I don’t have to turn back every time I reach the end of room as part of indoor exercise. Of course there is a risk of falling if you are not very careful. I keep track of the joints on the floor tiles while trying backward walking for fun, so that I do not go and hit the wall behind! Leaving the fun and risk part of it I gave a search on PubMed regarding walking backwards and found a few interesting articles. First I went through a randomized controlled study which assessed the effect of backward walking observational training on gait parameters and balance in chronic stroke. Study group had 12 patients on backward walking and action observation training while 12 in control group had landscape observational training [2].

Study group performed backward walking after watching a video of backward walking while the control group performed backward walking after watching a video of a landscape. The study group showed significant improvements in gait velocity, step length, stride length, center of pressure displacement velocity and length, weight distribution of affected side and activity-specific balance confidence score. They concluded that backward walking observational training program significantly improved the gait parameters and static and dynamic balance in stroke patients [2].

Another study evaluated the backward walking speed reserve in patients with multiple sclerosis. The 23 participants with multiple sclerosis completed trials at their preferred walking speed and maximal walking speed. They performed walking trials in forward and backward directions. Walking speed reserve was calculated as the difference between preferred and maximal walking speeds. Lower walking speed reserve in both directions were associated with disease severity and poorer performance on clinical walking and balance assessment as well as with decreased information processing speed and attentional performance [3].

Yet another interesting study evaluated walking backward on treadmill on balance, speed of walking and cardiopulmonary fitness for patients with stroke. There were eight patients each in the study group and control group. In addition to traditional physical training, experimental group were subjected to additional 30 min of walking backwards on a treadmill. This pilot study demonstrated that 30 min of walking backwards on a treadmill three times a week for four weeks increased balance, speed of walking and cardiopulmonary fitness. Methods used for assessing cardiopulmonary fitness were six minute walk test, forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in one second [4]. Finally I presume that backward walking program has some advantages, mostly in neurorehabilitation, though it could be catastrophic if not properly executed and result in falls and consequent injuries.

References

1. Correno MB, Hansen C, Chardon M, Milane T, Bianchini E, Vuillerme N. Association between Backward Walking and Cognition in Parkinson Disease: A Systematic Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Oct 6;19(19):12810. doi: 10.3390/ijerph191912810. PMID: 36232110; PMCID: PMC9566137.
2. Moon Y, Bae Y. The effect of backward walking observational training on gait parameters and balance in chronic stroke: randomized controlled study. Eur J Phys Rehabil Med. 2022 Feb;58(1):9-15. doi: 10.23736/S1973-9087.21.06869-6. Epub 2021 Sep 1. PMID: 34468110; PMCID: PMC9980533.
3. Monaghan PG, VanNostrand M, Fritz NE. Backwards walking speed reserve in persons with multiple sclerosis. Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2024 May;85:105556. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2024.105556. Epub 2024 Mar 19. PMID: 38520947; PMCID: PMC11070283.
4. Chang KW, Lin CM, Yen CW, Yang CC, Tanaka T, Guo LY. The Effect of Walking Backward on a Treadmill on Balance, Speed of Walking and Cardiopulmonary Fitness for Patients with Chronic Stroke: A Pilot Study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Mar 1;18(5):2376. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18052376. PMID: 33804374; PMCID: PMC7967772.