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Everyone knows that walking is good for you. You probably walk the usual way by putting one foot in front of the other. But did you know that backward walking or retro-walking is good for you too?
This new trend involves walking in reverse while maintaining posture and balance, reported TODAY. It’s really not that easy because the movement uses different muscles than walking forward. But besides toning up those muscles, backward walking could improve your coordination and even help your brain.
The key is to retro-walk safely where you will not fall or bump into other people, suggested TIME. That’s why many people walk backwards on treadmills – you don’t have to turn it on – but if you don’t have one, no problem. You can choose a safe spot indoors like a long hallway or outdoors on a walking track. Another way is to use a buddy system and have your partner be your eyes.
Challenge your brain
When you challenge your body to move in a way that is different, you are also training your brain to adapt, according to TODAY. That’s because your body has to use different muscles and this behavior has to be learned.
“Different muscles are used to walk backwards and some of the same are used, but in a different sequence and balance,” sports medicine physician Rand McClain told TODAY. She said that this not only affects the muscles — typically getting them to work harder than they are used to — but it also affects the brain and the nervous system in new ways that help activate the pathways that are involved in the movement itself. This helps your brain to grow and develop new neurons and synapses.
Researchers found that your prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for decision making and problem solving, is activated when stepping backwards. This helps you learn and adapt to the new movement.
Improves muscle strength
When you walk forward, you use your quads, hamstrings, and calf muscles, but when you walk backwards, you also use your glutes and shin muscles to help you maintain your balance, according to TIME.
Since you are challenging these muscles, it could lead to an increased range of motion and make everyday movements, like reaching for something above your head or bending down to tie your shoes, easier to do.
Helps with sports training
Backwards walking and running are being used in sports training, especially in team and racquet sports like tennis that require the agility to move forward, backwards, and sideways, reported the BBC. The movement helps to reduce the stress on knee joints and therefore could protect athletes from injuries.
Besides athletes, backwards walking also benefits seniors who suffer from osteoarthritis and post-stroke patients who have to regain muscle function. That’s why retro-walking is frequently used in occupational therapy.
Could help you recover from an injury
Retro-walking is also beneficial for people who are recovering from injuries or surgeries. That’s because there is less impact on knees and hips than with walking forward.
“The biomechanics of walking backwards is very different from forward walking,” Janet Dufek, an expert in biomechanics at the University of Nevada, told BBC. “In backward walking, there is a reduced range of motion at the knee that can have some benefits for individuals who may be rehabilitating from knee surgery, for example.”
Improves flexibility and balance
Many people sit all day at a desk and that can lead to restricted muscles, stressed TIME. “Our hip flexors, or the muscles at the front of the thigh and the front of the hip, get tighter,” Kristyn Holc, a physical therapist with Atlantic Sports Health Physical Therapy in Morristown, New Jersey, told TIME. But walking backwards stretches that tissue and this leads to greater flexibility.
Backwards walking could also improve balance control, especially for seniors. Balance is controlled by three systems, your eyes, muscles and joints, and your inner ear. When you retro-walk, your body is strengthening two of those systems and helping to keep you upright.
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