When walking, we usually move forward, and almost no one walks backward. However, this action turns out to be extremely beneficial for health.
Walking Backward and Its Benefits You May Not Know
Walking backward is an action we rarely see in daily life, and many even consider it counterintuitive to walk backward without a specific reason. However, recently, the CNN Health channel in the U.S. compiled several international studies and found that walking backward offers numerous benefits that are difficult to replicate with other conventional exercises.
Walking backward can relax tense muscles and bones in the neck.
Benefits of Walking Backward
1. Relax Your Muscles and Bones
When a person walks forward, the center of gravity and pelvis tilt forward, causing tension in the cervical spine, lumbar spine, lower back muscles, ankles, and knee joints. Over time, this can lead to chronic stress. In contrast, walking backward can relax the tense muscles and bones in the neck, lower back, and other areas.
2. Improve Balance
Clinically, walking backward is used in rehabilitation for various injuries and illnesses, with many studies confirming its restorative effects. For instance, it can enhance balance and lower limb muscle strength while training the neuromuscular and cardiovascular systems.
A meta-analysis comprising 21 studies published in the Clinical Rehabilitation journal found that walking backward can improve body stability and balance, aiding stroke patients and those with hemiplegia in recovering physical functions.
3. Reduce Knee Strain
For healthy individuals, especially those with knee arthritis, walking backward can not only improve forward walking posture, balance, and endurance of the lower limbs but also lessen the strain on the joints.
Additionally, the range of motion of the joints and muscles while walking backward differs from walking straight, which can alleviate pain caused by conditions like plantar fasciitis.
4. Alleviate Lower Back Pain
Research has found that when walking backward, most muscles in the lower back contract and relax, which can effectively train rarely used muscle groups, contributing to better muscular balance and strength development.
Walking backward also stimulates muscle receptors, “recruiting” more movement molecules for activity, improving internal muscle coordination, and accelerating local blood circulation.
Moreover, while walking backward, the torso must lean back to maintain balance, which requires more muscles around the spine to engage, helping to reduce issues such as muscle tension and lower back pain.
5. Enhance Reflexes
As a backward movement, walking backward is more challenging and requires active engagement of the visual system to actively assess the surrounding environment to control movement direction, creating new stimuli for the brain and enhancing reaction capabilities.
6. Burn Calories for Weight Loss
A study from the University of Oxford in the UK found that to overcome resistance while walking backward, individuals need to coordinate various body parts, which consumes more calories compared to walking forward at the same pace—walking backward burns 40% more calories than walking forward.
7. Improve Cardiopulmonary Function
Walking backward is an aerobic exercise that can enhance the heart’s contractile ability, train lung function, and prevent chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol levels. A study published in 2021 showed that participants who walked backward for 30 minutes over four weeks improved their walking speed and cardiopulmonary function.
Another study published in the International Journal of Health also revealed that after women engaged in backward walking exercises for six weeks, their body fat percentage decreased by 2.5%, their maximum oxygen uptake significantly increased, and their cardiopulmonary function was enhanced.
Walking backward is an aerobic exercise that can enhance the heart’s contractile ability.
3 Important Safety Tips for Walking Backward
Walking backward can indeed provide numerous health benefits, but if not done correctly, it can harm the body. When exercising by walking backward, consider the following points:
Some People Should Avoid Walking Backward
Walking backward has a slow pace and frequency, low intensity, and physical requirements, making it more suitable for those who are not fit for vigorous exercise. However, this type of exercise demands relatively high balance, coordination, and reaction skills, so individuals with poor balance or osteoporosis should avoid walking backward as much as possible to prevent risks.
Focus on Maintaining Posture
When walking backward, avoid wearing high-heeled shoes, try to choose a location with few people, a flat road, and use peripheral vision to check for people or obstacles to avoid falling. You should be aware of your center of gravity, the size, and pace of your steps should match your physical condition. Your knees should not bend excessively, and your arms can swing naturally. A suitable training duration is 15 to 20 minutes, with the appropriate intensity being when you feel slightly tired, a little sweaty, and mildly out of breath.
Combine with Jogging or Fast Walking
Due to the low intensity of backward walking, the exercise effectiveness may not be ideal. It is advisable to combine walking backward with jogging or fast walking, which can improve balance while also serving as a form of relaxation.
