The Physician and Sportsmedicine

ISSN: 0091-3847 (Print) 2326-3660 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ipsm20

Running Backward May Help Athletes Move

Forward

Carol Morton

To cite this article: Carol Morton (1986) Running Backward May Help Athletes Move Forward,
The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 14:12, 149-152, DOI: 10.1080/00913847.1986.11716469

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00913847.1986.11716469

Published online: 11 Jul 2016.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 1

View related articles

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=ipsm20

Download by: [University Of South Australia Library] Date: 07 October 2016, At: 23:30
 Running Backward May
Help Athletes Move Forward

Carol Morton
lkJstration: Terry Bole&© 1966

Some competitive and

recreational athletes are
running backward, believing
that the activity will improve
their ability to run forward.
Crazy? Maybe not. Some
researchers are finding that
backward running may be an
effective adjunct to forward
running for both conditioning
and rehabilitation.

ike a car, the human body

L eventually feels the effects of

mileage. Both were built to
move forward, some at great
speed and some with great endurance.
But with the accumulation of miles
comes wear and tear and inevitable
breakdowns. Even if kept in fine con-
dition, both cars and runners spend a
fair amount of time being diagnosed,
treated, and sent out to put on more
miles. There may be a way to increase
the number of miles between pit
stops-for runners, at least.
Backward running may be that way.
Backward, or retro, running isn't
likely to rival the forward-running(.
craze, but it is gaining acceptance
among athletes and researchers alike.
Backward running has, of course, long
been a part of sports such as football
and basketball, but usually consists
of only a few steps. More recently,
retro running has been taken up
by some well-known runners, who
believe that running backward could
improve their performance while run-
continued

Carol Morton Is a free-lance writer In Port-

land, Oregon.

THI!PHYIICIANANDSPORTSMI!DICINI! • Vo114' No. 12 • Oecember86 149

retro running continued
GTBy monitors a patient using retro thersp,t. Runners who want to try backward locomotion
should limit their outings to controlled environments such as a track or a treadmill.
ning forward, possibly by improving
the strength and balance of difrerent
muscle groups. Mary Decker Slaney
and Joaquim Cruz, under the direc-
tion of coach Luiz de Oliveira, run
backwards for 300 yd up to four times a
week. World-class marathoner Rod
Dixon has supplemented his training
regimen with retro running for the past
nine years and now gives instruction
on retro running.
In the past year a number of articles
in the lay press have suggested that
backward running is becoming popu-
lar among some recreational joggers.
These articles promote retro running
primarily for aerobic conditioning, but
also fOr faster healing ofsore knees and
backaches. Joggers are encouraged to
run backward to increase caloric ex-
penditure, to relieve boredom, to be at
the forefront of another fitness fad.
150
There are even retro races. Ron Aus-
tin, a fitness consultant in Lexington,
Kentucky, organized the Detroit Met-
ro Retro Run in October, a quarter-
mile race that attracted I 00 partici-
pants and included a world-record
time of 1: 16. Austin is a steadfast pro-
ponent of retro running and has prob-
ably done as much as anyone to popu-
larize it as an alternative mode of
conditioning. Known as the "retro
evangelist" to some, Austin discovered
retro running while nursing a ham-
string injury about seven years ago.
Eager for some kind of activity, he be-
gan jogging backward while his wife
jogged forward. Retro running seemed
to be a pain-free substitute for forward
jogging, and it seemed to heal his ham-
string more quickly.
Most retro success stories, like Aus-
tin's, are anecdotal. However, a hand-
Vol14 • No. 12 o December 86
ful of scientists and clinicians have
provided some credibility for back-
ward activity. Some preliminary re-
search suggests that runners who are
experimenting with backward move-
ment may be realizing some training
benefits. Biomechanists who are
studying retro locomotion suggest that
it may minimize the effects of mileage.
And some sports medicine clinics
have implemented retro exercise to
help rehabilitate injuries to the ankle,
lower leg, knee, hamstring, hip, and
lower back.
Possible Fitness Benefits
Barry Bates, PhD, claims that back-
ward running is a more complete
warm-up than stretching. As part of a
training program, retro running may
help prevent injuries and facilitate neu-
romuscular function, balance, and
proprioception, says Bates, who is di-
rector of the Biomechanics/Sports
Medicine Laboratory at the University
of Oregon in Eugene. He practices
backward locomotion uphill three
times a week on a treadmill and says
that backward running cases the shock
of downhill running.
Bates was one of the first research-
ers to present controlled studies on
gait analysis of retro walking and run-
ning. •-2 His initial attitude on retro
training research was that of an
amused professor rousing his graduate
students' curiosity, but now backward
locomotion has intrigued Bates so that
he devotes about 25% of his research
efforts to the subject.
Other researchers arc becoming in-
trigued, too. An unpublished study by
Fredrick F. Andres, PhD, suggests that
running backward may take more en-
ergy than running forward. Andres,
professor and director of the Exercise
Physiology Laboratory at the Univer-
sity ofToledo (UT) in Ohio, measured
energy cost in seven subjects who ran
forward for four minutes at 4.5 mph
and who later ran backward at the
e THa PHYIICIAN AND IPORTIMllDICINa
same speed. The energy cost in the
backward runners was 1.37 mets
greater than that in the forward run-
ners. In addition, the oxygen con-
sumption of the backward runners was
higher than that of the forward runners
(mean Vo2 value = 37.7 ml·kg- 1·min- 1
and 28.8 ml·kg- 1·min- 1, respectively).
The backward runners also showed a
mean increase in heart rate of 20.3
beats·min- 1 and a mean increase in
perceived exertion of 2.9 on the Borg
Category Rating Scale over the for-
ward runners. But Andres says that the
subjects' unfumiliarity with backward
running may have been partly respon-
sible for the high values.
Backward Biomechanics
If more controlled physiological
studies ofretro training are needed, so
are biomechanical studies. At first
glance, backward running may seem
to be the reverse of forward running.
But, as Bates explains using a film pro-
jector, the motion of a backward run-
ner is clearly different from the motion
of a forward runner in a film that is
being rewound. The movement trajec-
tories of various body segments are
similar, he says, but the muscle func-
tions and activities change (as do the
body functions that fuel the muscles).
He summarizes the two move-
ments: In a forward step, the heel usu-
ally hits first on the lateral side, send-
ing a shock wave up the leg, knee, hip,
and lower back. In an effort to dissi-
pate some of the shock, the foot rolls
medially as it flattens and then later-
ally as it pushes off from the ball of the
foot. The pattern for most runners is
heel-toe (although some runners land
on the midfoot). In a backward step,
the ball of the foot strikes the ground
first, then the heel hits, followed by a
brief propulsion from the ball of the
foot. The general pattern is toe-heel-
toe.
In a comparison between forward
and backward walking, 1 Bates found
TH• PHYSICIAN AMP IPORTIM.PICIN. e Vol14 • No. 12 • December 86
Bates says retro training may prevent Injuries
and facilitate neuromuscular function,
balance, and proprioception.
significant differences in the way hip
and knee joints are used and fewer dif-
ferences with the ankle. In backward
locomotion, for example, range of mo-
tion is reduced at the hip joint and in-
creased at the knee. Maximum knee
extension occurs late in the support
phase (foot on ground) when the hip is
maximally flexed, resulting in a greater
stretch of the hamstring. Previous
mean segment and joint angle values
for running reported by Bates showed
similar patterns, with a reduced range
of motion for the hip joint (30. 7• for
backward running vs 34.3• for for-
ward), while the knee joint had a
greater range of motion (40. 7" vs
16.5").2
Bates's findings are supported by
the electromyographic (EMG) activity
of backward walkers measured by Alf
Thorstensson, PhD, of the Karolinska
Institute in Stockholm. 3 In the support
phase ofbackward walking, there is si-
multaneous knee extension and hip
flexion that is accomplished by the rec-
tus femoris, which is highly active dur-
ing backward walking but barely used
in forward motion. In backward walk-
ing, the hip-extending gluteus maxi-
Gray: 'The bottom line Is that, clinically, retro
therapy works. And through research, wa 're
finding out hoN It works.·
mus is used minimally, if at all. The
function of the hamstrings, which can
act as knee flexors and hip extensors,
changes from braking knee extension
during late swing Gust before foot
strike) and assisting in hip extension
during early support in forward walk-
ing to mainly initiating hip extension
and/or knee flexion during early swing
(foot just off ground) in backward
walking.
Leas Knee Stress
The knee, in particular, has an eas-
ier time during backward walking, ac-
cording to Thorstensson. When the
foot hits the ground, the knee is already
bent. During the entire support phase,
Thorstensson says, the knee is ex-
tended. The knee bends while the leg is
in the air and then settles into the sup-
port phase while the muscles are in
concentric contraction. In forward
walking, those same muscles are in ec-
centric contraction, the type most of-
ten associated with muscle soreness.
Charles W. Armstrong, PhD, pro-
fessor and director of the UT Applied
Biomechanics Laboratory, found that
ground reaction forces (impact forces)
continued
151
retro running continued
tend to peak much earlier-as the toe
hits-in backward running compared
with forward running. 4 The shock
seems to be mostly absorbed by the
calf muscles, which makes Armstrong
wonder about the consequences that
backward running may have on both
the posterior portion of the lower leg
and the forefoot.
Armstrong found little difference in
the peak ground reaction force of the
eight subjects who ran in his study; the
peak measured was 2.3 times the body
weight in forward running and 2.35
times the body weight in backward
running. However, in electrodyno-
graphic (EOO) studies that measure
vertical forces, Gary Gray, PT, ATC,
director of the Gary Gray Physical
Therapy Oinic and the Biomechani-
cal Gait Analysis Center in Adrian,
Michigan, found that the shock sent up
through the heel (and consequently up
the body) during backward running is
one fourth to one third that of forward
running. Of course, during backward
running some of the shock is then ex-
perienced by the forefoot rather than
the heel.
Best Use: Rehabilitation?
Enough biomechanical evidence is
accumulating to convince some re-
searchers that, despite the training
hype about retro running, retro loco-
motion can be useful in physical ther-
apy. Bates says that backward walking
appears to be most effective for hip
and hamstring injuries and for post-
surgical knee rehabilitation, although
Armstrong questions the advisability
of using backward locomotion for pos-
terior muscle and tendon injuries.
Gray has used various forms of retro
training, including retro running,
walking, and cross-country skiing, in
his sports medicine practice for the last
decade. He uses EMG, EDG, and vid-
eoanalysis to compare backward and
forward movements. Gray's treatment
program begins with backward walk-
ing and builds up to backward run-
152
ning. He recommends retro activity
for lower back pain, groin injuries, an-
kle sprains, and even Achilles tendon
injuries, and he says that it can de-
crease rehabilitation time. For exam-
ple, Grays says, an ankle sprain typi-
cally requires three weeks of reha-
bilitation before it heals and an athlete
can return to competition. He claims
that retro running helps his athletes re-
turn to peak form in as early as a week.
Rctro locomotion may help nonath-
letesas well. Gray cites the case of a 65-
ycar-old woman who sprained her an-
kle. She was able to lx.--gin walking
backward uphill on the treadmill be-
fore she could walk forward on a level
surface. When such a patient has a sta-
ble ankle and can bear the body's
weight on it, he or she goes to the tread-
mill and puts one foot behind the
other. Uphill backward walking works
in such instances because of the re-
duced range of motion in the ankle,
says Gray. After two or three days, the
patient can begin to walk forward.
Backward walking has also been a
successful rehabilitative tool for pa-
tients immobilized by neurological
damage, such as a stroke, according to
Gray and Armstrong. People who
can't walk learn to walk backward and
then are able to walk forward, often
without the mechanical assistance of a
walker. One theory is that backward
walking stimulates the brain's neuro-
muscular patterns in new ways, says
Gray. Such patients often come out of
rehabilitation more coordinated than
References
I. Bates BT, McCaw ~iT: A comparison be-
tween forward and backw.trd walking, in
Proceedings of the North American Con-
gress on Biomechanics: I Iuman Locomo·
tion IV. Montreal, Organizing Committee
of the f'Ourth Biannual Conference of the
Canadian Society of Biomechanics, 1986,
vol2, pp 307-308
2. Bates BT, Morrison E, Hamill J: A com-
parison between fOrward and backward
mnning, in 1984 Olympic &ientific Con-
gress Proceedings: Biomechanics. Eugene,
Vol14 • No. 12 • Docoml11>r86 e THIPHYIICIANANOIPOATIMIOICINI
before they suffered brain damage,
lending support to such speculation.
Gray summarizes the clinical ad-
vantages of retro therapy. "Backward
running is great for reducing and treat-
ing impact injuries, and it's super for
improving jumping ability. In lower
back patients, it changes the position of
the pelvis, thus reducing stress. It
strengthens the knee with activity that
isn't stressful. One of the big criticisms
is that it makes the calf muscles sore.
But rarely do we get Achilles tendinitis,
because the foot doesn't strike the
ground with the Achilles tendon and
calf stretched."
Go Forward on the Street
Gray adds that backward running is
not recommended for patients recov-
ering from impact injuries to the fore-
foot. "Obviously, there's a lot we still
need to know," Gray says. "But the
bottom line is that, clinically, retro
therapy works. And through research,
we're finding out how it works. We
haven't come across studies that say
we shouldn't be using it."
For those athletes who are running
backward on their own, whether for
training or therapy, Gray and Bates
have some advice. Rctro running
should be gradually implemented into
running programs, and it should be
practiced only in controlled areas,
such as on a track or treadmill. "It's
not a good idea to do it on the street,"
says Bates. "It's tough enough running
forward."
Oregon, Microform Publications, 1986,
pp 127-135
3. Thorstcnsson A: I low is the normal lo-
comotor program modified to produce
backward walking? Experimental Bmin
Research 1986;61 (3):664-668
4. ArmstrongCW, Spyropoulos P, Andres F:
A comparison of ground reaction forces in
backward and forward running. Presented
at the American Alliance for Health, Phys-
ical f:ducation, Recreation and Dance an-
nual meeting, Cincinnati, April 1986