This article describes descending stair walking as an inexpensive and easily accessible method of moderate-load eccentric exercise, and its effects on health, functional capacity and body composition.
Over the more recent decades, the paradigm of eccentric exercise has taken on new dimensions with the accumulation of evidence suggesting its positive effects on health and fitness parameters, particularly with low-intensity and moderate-load eccentric exercises.
Moderate-load eccentric exercises do not cause as much muscle damage as high-intensity eccentric exercises, but appear to produce morphological, functional and metabolic adaptations that are important for health and quality of life.
The most common form of moderate-load eccentric exercise is eccentric cycling, in which the extensor muscles of the knee and hip resist the force generated by the backward-moving pedals on a specially designed ergometer or bicycle.
Several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of eccentric cycling in improving body composition and functional capacity.
A recent meta-analysis showed that eccentric cycling can increase muscle strength and mass, functional capacity and aerobic power while reducing body fat.
Similarly, eccentric pacing, in which linear rather than circular movements produced by an ergometric machine are performed, has been shown to improve functional capacity and body composition.
One type of exercise that is cheap, accessible and widely applicable to daily exercise routines is "eccentric walking", which includes exercises such as walking downhill and walking down stairs.
Although it has not yet been adequately researched, eccentric walking shares similarities with eccentric cycling in terms of its results, but at negligible cost and greater applicability.
When physiological responses between self-regulated uphill and downhill walking on stairs were compared, a recent study reported that the mean heart rate and oxygen uptake were 49% and 97% lower for downhill walking on stairs, respectively.
They also found that downhill walking up stairs was performed in a medium-intensity domain, but uphill walking was performed in a high-intensity domain.
Also, the energy requirement of walking down stairs was 50% lower than that of walking up stairs.
Another recent study although failed to find significant differences between uphill and downhill stair walking in the magnitude of the reduction in body mass and fat, it found greater reductions in resting heart rate and systolic blood pressure.
In addition, 12 weeks of descending stair walking led to an improvement in insulin resistance, although they were equally effective compared to walking uphill on stairs in improving body mass, body mass index and total fat mass.
Other studies have shown improvements in muscle mass, strength and lower limb strength in older people, as well as in patients with heart failure.
The impression given by the above studies leads us to the conclusion that downhill stair walking is feasible, easy to implement, cost-effective and adequate for various populations, including those with chronic diseases.
It should be noted that the duration of the exercise programme seems to determine the manifestation of its benefits, as longer studies seem to lead to better results.
Overall, although there are many points that still need to be explored, downhill stair walking appears to be a promising mode of exercise that requires little infrastructure, promotes excellent functional, cardiovascular and metabolic benefits and can be performed by a wide range of populations, including patients with chronic conditions.
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