Trouble Walking Uphill or Downhill? Use These Tips to Make It Easier & Less Painful

Table of Contents

• Understanding the Differences Between Walking Uphill and Downhill
• Tips for Walking Uphill
• Tips for Walking Downhill
• Exercises to Improve Walking Uphill and Downhill

Differences Between Walking Uphill and Downhill

Before diving into the tips, it helps to understand the different demands required between walking uphill and walking downhill.

When walking uphill, you're fighting against gravity to push yourself up the hill.

In contrast, gravity already pulls you down the hill.  Therefore, the effort when walking downhill is in slowing down the force of gravity.

Essentially, downhill walking is like walking uphill backward, but less forcefully than the gravitational force.

Tips To Help If You Have Trouble Walking Uphill

When walking on a level surface, you should drive off your back foot.

However, many people heel strike and pull themselves forward using the hamstrings of their front legs.

This method is inefficient when walking uphill because you don’t achieve full knee extension.

Here are some tips to walk uphill more effectively:

• Push off with your back leg: Use the glutes and calves of your rear leg to push off and the glutes of your front leg to drive forward.
• Land on your toes: When walking uphill, land on your toes rather than your heel.  Due to the slope of the incline, it's unlikely that your heel will hit on a steeper hill
• Sink your hips: Drop your hips into the slope of the hill. Then push off using the glutes of the front leg and glutes and calves of the rear leg.

Tips To Help If You Have Trouble Walking Downhill

Walking downhill requires a different approach.

Avoid heel striking, especially on slick surfaces, to prevent slipping.   Instead you want to have land with as much contact area over your foot as possible.

Here are some tips to walk downhill safely:

• Point your toes downwards: Point your foot and your toes to increase contact area and prevent slipping.
• Front knee relatively straight: Land with your front knee relatively straight (slight bend). Hinge around the ankle to get your bodyweight back over your foot.
• Bend back knee: Once you get overtop of your foot, bend your knee and step downhill with the other leg. .

Exercises to Improve Walking Uphill and Downhill

In addition to changing your walking pattern, doing exercises can make walking uphill and downhill easier and less painful.

Exercises to help with walking uphill:

• Step-ups: Strengthen your glutes by starting with your knee bent and stepping up onto a step. This helps with w
• Incline treadmill walking: Practice walking uphill on an inclined treadmill with proper mechanics on a an inclined treadmill, gradually increasing as you become more comfortable.

Exercises to help with walking downhill:

• Decline squats: Perform squats on an decline with your heels elevated to simulate downhill walking. You can use a slant board or put your heels on a 2x4 or weight plate.
• Step-downs: Practice stepping forward off a bottom step of a staircase to work on knee-over-toes action required when walking downhill.
• Backward walking on an inclined treadmill can also be beneficial for downhill walking as it mimics the motion in reverse.

However, it's essential to practice these exercises regularly to see improvement.

Need Help To Walk Uphill and Downhill More Confidently?

If you live in the St. Louis area and need help to improve your ability to walk up and down hills, we'd be happy to help you.

Just tap the button below to request an appointment with one of our specialist physical therapists.

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