Physical Expert Says Walking Backwards is Good for Health

 Members exercise inside Chelsea Piers Fitness, Manhattan's largest fitness facility on the first day of the re-opening of gyms in New York City following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York, U.S., September 2, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
Members exercise inside Chelsea Piers Fitness, Manhattan's largest fitness facility on the first day of the re-opening of gyms in New York City following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York, U.S., September 2, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
TT
20

Physical Expert Says Walking Backwards is Good for Health

 Members exercise inside Chelsea Piers Fitness, Manhattan's largest fitness facility on the first day of the re-opening of gyms in New York City following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York, U.S., September 2, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
Members exercise inside Chelsea Piers Fitness, Manhattan's largest fitness facility on the first day of the re-opening of gyms in New York City following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York, U.S., September 2, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

Head into any gym, and you may find someone walking backward on a treadmill. While some may be employing reverse motion as part of a physical therapy regimen, others may be doing so to boost their physical fitness and overall health, according to CNN.

“I think it’s amazing to add in some backwards motion to your day. People are sitting way too much today, plus they lack varied movement,” said Grayson Wickham, a physical therapist at Lux Physical Therapy and Functional Medicine in New York City.

Quite a few studies have been done on the potential benefits of walking backward. Participants who walked backward on a treadmill for 30 minutes at a time over four weeks increased their balance, walking pace and cardiopulmonary fitness, according to a March 2021 study.

In addition, a group of women decreased their body fat and boosted their cardiorespiratory fitness after a six-week program of backward running and walking, according to a clinical trial, the results of which were published in an April 2005.

Other studies indicate backward motion may help those with knee osteoarthritis and chronic back pain, plus improve gait and balance.

Backward walking may even sharpen your mind and help you become more mindful, as your brain needs to be more alert when moving in this novel fashion. For this reason, plus the fact that backward motion helps with balance, older adults may especially benefit from incorporating some backward strolls into their routine, as one 2021 study of patients with chronic stroke indicates.

- Switch up the muscles you’re using

Why is backward motion so helpful? “When you’re propelling yourself forward, that’s a hamstring-dominant movement. If you’re walking backwards, it’s a role reversal, where your quads are firing and you’re doing knee extensions,” said Landry Estes, a certified strength and conditioning specialist in College Station, Texas.

As a result, you’re working different muscles, which is always beneficial, plus gaining strength. “Strength overcomes a lot of deficiencies,” Estes said.

You’re also moving your body in an atypical way. Most people spend their days living and moving in the sagittal plane (forward and backward motion), and almost exclusively in the forward sagittal plane, Wickham said.

“The body adapts to the positions and movements and postures you do most often. That can lead to tight muscles and joints, which leads to joint compensation, then to joint wear and tear, and then pain and injury. The more we can add in varied movement into our day-to-day activities or in the gym, it’s so much more beneficial for the body,” Wickham said.



Sunken WWII Japanese Warship Found Off Solomon Islands

A team from the US non-profit Ocean Exploration Trust discovered the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer Teruzuki. Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust
A team from the US non-profit Ocean Exploration Trust discovered the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer Teruzuki. Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust
TT
20

Sunken WWII Japanese Warship Found Off Solomon Islands

A team from the US non-profit Ocean Exploration Trust discovered the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer Teruzuki. Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust
A team from the US non-profit Ocean Exploration Trust discovered the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer Teruzuki. Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

An international research team has located a Japanese World War II destroyer on the deep seabed off Solomon Islands as the 80th anniversary of the war's end approaches.

A team from the US non-profit Ocean Exploration Trust discovered the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer Teruzuki at a depth of more than 800 meters (2,625 feet) off the small island nation northeast of Australia, AFP reported.

A video image of the wreck shows parts of the 134-meter (440-foot) Teruzuki, which was torpedoed by the US military in 1942, illuminated by lights from the research team's underwater drones.

The footage shows red paint on the hull, corroded gun barrels and the warship's massive stern.

Commissioned in 1942, the Teruzuki was designed for screening aircraft carriers from aerial attacks, the exploration group said.

However, the Teruzuki, which means "Shining Moon" in Japanese, was hit by US torpedoes just months into its service.

Nine sailors were killed but most of the crew members survived, the Ocean Exploration Trust said.

Teruzuki's stern was found more than 200 meters (660 feet) from the hull and was located by high-resolution sonar scans, it said.

The discovery was made while the team used drones to survey the area in the hope of finding unidentified shipwrecks or other items.