2011May 25th, Science and Technology Daily Our reporter Lu Suxian

■ Backward walking is a routine rehabilitation exercise method for chronic, postural low back pain and disc herniation. It is highly respected because of its good effect and simplicity, but people don't know much about the scientific principle of backward walking.

Compared with other sports, the essential feature of backward walking is that the center of gravity of human body moves backward, and the center of gravity is the decisive factor of human posture. The spine is at the back of the human body. Only when the center of gravity is also at the rear side will the spine be straight. Everyone can experience the posture of keeping the spine most upright, and the center of gravity must be in the heel. When walking backward, the center of gravity moves to the heel, the spine tends to be straight, the body leans forward, and the curvature of the lumbar spine decreases, which not only corrects the posture, but also is a solid rehabilitation exercise, directly targeting the causes of postural low back pain.

The same is true when standing. As long as the heel is lower than the foot, the center of gravity moves backward, and a thick book can be stepped on the foot to correct the posture. Only using external coercive force, this method is commonly used by beginners in dance body training teaching.

This also brings enlightenment to rehabilitation medicine. Shoes also have the basic function, so negative heel orthopedic shoes came into being, referred to as "negative heel shoes", which is characterized by high soles in front and low soles in the back. Forcing the body's center of gravity to move backward and correct posture is exactly the same as walking backwards, but it is safer and easier to stick to. If used normally in daily life, it can replace walking backwards. In the first few days, there will be a slight tenderness in the heel, indicating that the center of gravity has obviously moved backwards, which is not easy to achieve when walking backwards. The original study of negative heel shoes was only to replace walking backwards.

With the enhancement of people's health awareness, the varieties of negative heel shoes are gradually increasing. There are also some products that are far-fetched, such as negative heel slippers. Although it is also high in the front and low in the back, it is not conducive to walking, and the heel is easy to slide, which easily leads to the tension of the forefoot and the whole body and cannot correct the posture. Professional orthopedic shoes doesn't consider the form of slippers. As a negative heel shoe that corrects the center of gravity of the human body and replaces walking backwards, the requirements are higher. The method of identification is also very simple. Test whether the product can be easily reversed. If it is not conducive to inversion, it naturally does not have the function of replacing inversion.

The sole of negative heel shoes also needs to have a protective inclination from the outside to the inside to avoid ankle injury (ankle sprain). The pressure of normal people's feet is biased to the outside, so the wear on the outside of the sole is always more serious than that on the inside. Negative heel shoes force the center of gravity to move backward to the heel, which will aggravate the outward deviation of this pressure. The heel of the heel is round and unstable, and it is easy to sprain the ankle. Therefore, the lateral side of the sole must be raised moderately to reduce the lateral pressure of the sole, enhance stability and avoid injury. This safety measure is also conducive to leg adduction and maintaining a good posture.

Standing on the back every day is enough to replace walking backwards. It eliminates the safety problem of walking backwards, and it is easy to persist, but it is easy to exercise excessively, so it is necessary to walk slowly, especially to control the walking speed. In the consolidation period when the symptoms of low back pain are not obvious, the sense of recovery may not be obvious, and it may be mistaken for no effect. In fact, the self-feeling in the consolidation period is the same, and there is no need to greatly increase the intensity of exercise. Need to maintain moderate exercise to correct posture, feel a slight tenderness in the heel. Consolidation period is necessary, especially for patients with disc herniation, to avoid recurrence as much as possible. These principles are exactly the same as walking backwards.