Walking backwards has a surprising number of health benefits

Walking doesn’t require special equipment or a gym membership, and best of all, it’s completely free. For most of us, walking is something we do automatically. It doesn’t require conscious effort, so many of us are unaware of the health benefits of walking. But what happens if we stop walking on autopilot and start challenging our brains and bodies by going backwards? Not only does this change of direction require more attention, but it can also bring additional health benefits.

Physical activity doesn’t have to be difficult. Whether you’re regularly active or not, even a brisk ten-minute daily walk can have many health benefits and can count towards the World Health Organization’s recommended minimum 150 minutes of aerobic activity per week.

But walking is more difficult than many of us imagine. Staying upright requires coordination between our vision, vestibular (sensations associated with movements such as twisting, turning or moving quickly) and proprioceptive (awareness of where our body is in space) systems. As we go backwards, our brains take longer to process the additional demands of coordinating these systems. However, this increased level of challenge brings with it more health benefits.

One of the most well-studied benefits of walking backwards improving stability and balance. Walking backwards can improve gait (how a person walks) and balance healthy adults and those with arthrosis of the knee joint. When walking backwards and forwards, we take shorter and more frequent steps, which helps to improve the muscular endurance of the lower leg muscles and at the same time reduces the stress on our joints.

Adding changes in tilt or angle can also change the range of motion of joints and muscles, providing pain relief for conditions such as plantar fascia – one of the most common causes of heel pain.

Postural changes caused by walking backwards also engage more of the muscles that support the lumbar spine – suggesting that walking backwards may be a particularly beneficial exercise for people with chronic low back pain.

Backward walking has even been used to determine and treat balance and gait speed in patients with neurological conditions or the following chronic stroke.

But the benefits of changing direction aren’t just therapeutic—interest in moving backwards has led researchers to discover a variety of other benefits.

While walking normally can help us maintain a healthy weight, walking backwards can be even more effective. Energy costs when walking backwards add up almost 40% higher than walking forward at the same speed (6.0 Mets vs. 4.3 Mets – one metabolic equivalent (Met) which is the amount of oxygen consumed while sitting at rest), as one study found reducing body fat for women who completed a six-week training program of walking or jogging in reverse.

As we gain confidence in the journey back, transitioning to running can increase the demands even further. While running backwards is often seen as a rehabilitation tool, it increases the strength of important muscles straightening the kneewhich applies not only to injury prevention, but also to our ability to generate power and athletic performance.

Running backwards for a long time reduces the energy we expend when running forwards. These improving the current economy even useful for experienced runners with an already economical running technique.

If walking backwards seems too easy, but space limitations are affecting your ability to run backwards, another way to increase the challenge is to start pulling weights. Increasing the total load increases the engagement of the knee extensor muscles, while putting a greater strain on the heart and lungs in a short period of time.

There is little risk of injury when loading the sled and pulling it back, as the most likely outcome if we are too tired is that the sled won’t move. But with lighter weights, this type of exercise can produce an appropriate level of resistance to stimulate significant improving the strength of the lower limbswith a weight drag of only 10% of total body weight, resulting in improved sprint times among young athletes.

How to start

Walking backwards is easy, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. So how can you add back-and-forth walking to your exercise routine?

Going backwards, we are more likely to miss obstacles and hazards that we can bump into or fall, so in the interest of safety, it is best to start indoors where you won’t bump into anyone, or outside, in an open flat area.

Resist the urge to squirm and look over your shoulder. Keep your head and chest upright, reaching back with your big toe for each step, rolling your foot from toe to heel.

Once you’re more confident walking backwards and forwards, you can start to speed up and even move onto a treadmill, making sure to use the handrails if necessary. If you use weights, start light. Focus on a few sets rather than long distances, and remember to keep your technique intact for distances of no more than 20 meters.

By Jack McNamara – Lecturer in Clinical Exercise Physiology, University of East London