BACKWARD WALKING AS A NEW TECHNIQUE FOR PHYSICAL REHABILITATION

Backward locomotion (backward walking and running) is increasingly used in sports and medicine. Kinetic and kinematic analysis of backward walking showed its advantages over the usual method of movement that can be successfully used in the athletic training and for treatment and rehabilitation after various diseases. During sports training backward walking/running can be used as one of the methods of fitness to improve physical endurance. Backward walking leads to a more cardiovascular and respiratory load and a more significant aerobic and anaerobic capacity of the organism compared with forward walking at similar parameters of physical activity. Backward walking is associated with less overload on knee joints, it is also one of the few natural ways of strengthening the quadriceps. Backward walking is used to elaborate the correct pattern of gait in children with cerebral palsy, in persons with hemiplegia after stroke, in patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis, in spinal cord injured patients. Regular backward walking trainings improve spatial-temporal parameters of walking and balance, increase muscle strength of the lower limbs in these diseases. There is an information about the application of backward walking exercises in diabetic foot syndrome in order to reduce a plantar pressure and in physical rehabilitation of postoperative patients. Tests with backward walking are used for diagnostic purposes - to assess the severity of impaired coordination and motor skills in post-stroke patients and in Parkinson’s disease, to identify the minimal walking impairment in persons with multiple sclerosis and for probability of falling prediction in elderly individuals and patients with dizziness.