Is Stair Use Good for The Elderly? What Are the Benefits of Stairs?

By Mr Jean Claude Randon

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has been advocating for people to participate in physical activity due to the relationship that physical activity has in reducing many age-related illnesses such as stroke, heart disease, high blood pressure and adult-onset diabetes (diabetes two) for the last six decades.

Bury and Michael (1982) argued that when mobility issues or chronic pain rise among the elderly, the elderly are demotivated to do physical activity and would rather revert to medication and so avoid physical activity that challenges them. Verghese, Wang, Xue, & Holtzer's (2008) study concluded that climbing up and down should be included in functional assessments and part of one basic activity of daily living. Stair climbing can be a good chance to mentally and physically challenge oneself. It is among the top 5 tasks rated as most challenging due to "old age." Climbing stairs might be one of the ideal exercises for the elderly because it provides several advantages and can be done gradually and at one's own rhythm. It is a weight-bearing exercise, which means it helps to maintain muscular and tendon strength as well as bone density (Verghese et al., 2008). This is critical for avoiding problems like osteoporosis. It is also an ideal cardiovascular workout, which helps to maintain heart health and blood circulation. Furthermore, stair climbing can enhance cognitive performance (Stenling, Moylan, Fulton, & Machado, 2019).

Another significant advantage of stair climbing for the elderly is that it helps enhance balance and coordination. This can lower the chance of falls, which is a significant issue among the elderly. Also, studies found that the more one practices stair climbing, the more natural the gait, thus improving dynamic effects and greater autonomy (Verghese et al., 2008). Also, potentially expanding the application of the lower limb exoskeleton in other areas of daily activities, such as cleaning, washing and walking.

The Benefits of Stair Use for The Elderly

As previously said, using stairs is a suitable method for the elderly to get some exercise and enhance their overall well-being. Usage depends on the individual, and parameters depend on one's fitness level and health condition. However, even a moderate quantity of climbing can have significant advantages.

Knapen, Vancampfort, Moriën, and Marchal's (2015) meta-analyses concluded that exercise is an effective remedy for depression. In mild to moderate depressed patients, exercise may be comparable with anti-depressants medication and psychotherapy. In severe depression, exercise should be a complementary therapy to conventional treatments. Exercise therapy in the elderly does elevate physical health (e.g. metabolic syndrome), coping strategies and body image, quality of life, and independence in activities of daily living. Exercise interventions should integrate motivational strategies to enhance elderly motivation and long-term participation to exercise. Hence, stair use would give a small goal and a sense of achievement throughout the day. Stair use could be an appropriate exercise intervention for the elderly who suffer from high blood pressure as it is one of many dynamic exercises.   

How to Start Using Stairs for Exercise

It is recommended that when the elderly engage in new physical activities, they should consult their general practitioner (GP) to ensure it would be the right for them, and stair use is no exception. One should use the stair when possible in and out of one's dwelling; starting with small steps is ideal (Figure 1). One should not push their limit when climbing up and down stairs, and they should take their time and use the rails if needed or any other aid (Figure 2). Another option is to use a step climber in the gym. A physiotherapist would usually suggest Thera band workouts to engage the frontal and posterior chain to activate and engage the muscles related to stair use. Such exercises include but are not limited to 'clamming', 'seated hip abduction/adduction’, 'seated leg extension', and 'plantar flexion and extension’. 

Reasons Why the Elderly Can Not Use Stairs

While most elderly do not have a problem using stairs, the eldest of the elderly may do. A study by Mustafaoglu, Unver, and Karatosun (2015) examined a sample of 254 Turkish people aged between 69 and 83. The study concluded that the use of stairs is impacted by age, the presence of lower extremity pathology (e.g. joint pain), the presence of lower extremity discomfort and medication used among the old population. The effects of stair use as a physical activity increase as one gets older. Understanding the limitations of the individual would help subscribe to a suitable and effective rehabilitation programme for older adults to reduce their risk of falling and enhance their independence when performing activities of daily living.

Stair use is not appropriate for all. People suffering from the following medical issues should avoid stair use. Certain heart conditions example, Ischemic stroke. Severe knee problems example, patellar tendonitis. Complex hip joint problems include arthritis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and traumatic arthritis. Obesity could render stair climbing complex. Major balance issues such as paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). Stair use is typically a safe exercise, but there are numerous risks to be cautious of. One should consult their GP before undertaking stair use, especially if one has not been doing much exercise and has not been using the stairs recently or might have underlying health issues.

The stairs can help the elderly gain more confidence in following training modules. Rikli and Jones (2013) argued that stair exercise could contribute to the maintenance of balancing during walking as the elderly tend to have balancing problems as they age. Teh and Aziz's (2002) study concluded that going upstairs requires more oxygen consumption than going down. Stair climbing can help the aged person motivate his psyche to follow other types of physical exercises that require the necessary muscular drive for aged persons to maintain a mobile life (Rikli & Jones, 2013).

Understanding the limitations of the individual would help subscribe to a suitable and effective rehabilitation programme for older adults to reduce their risk of falling and enhance their independence when performing activities of daily living.

References

Bury, Michael. "Chronic illness as biographical disruption." Sociology of health & illness 4, no. 2 (1982): 167-182.

Knapen, J., Vancampfort, D., Moriën, Y., & Marchal, Y. (2015). Exercise therapy improves both mental and physical health in patients with major depression. Disability and Rehabilitation, 37(16), 1490-1495.

Ma, W., Cheng, H., Huang, R., & Chen, Q. (2018). Gait planning with dynamic movement primitives for lower limb exoskeleton walking up stairs. In 2018 IEEE international conference on robotics and biomimetics (ROBIO) (pp. 703-708). IEEE.

Mustafaoglu, R., Unver, B., & Karatosun, V. (2015). Evaluation of the stair climbing in the elderly people. J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil, 28(3), 509-16.

Norge, A. (2022, October 7). Stair Climbing Aid for Elderly. Assistep. Retrieved October 10, 2022, from https://assistep.com/stair-climbing-aid-for-elderly

Rikli, R. E., & Jones, C. J. (2013). Senior fitness test manual. Human kinetics, 3-10.

Stenling, A., Moylan, A., Fulton, E., & Machado, L. (2019). Effects of a brief stair-climbing intervention on cognitive performance and mood states in healthy young adults. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2300.

Teh, K. C., & Aziz, A. R. (2002). Heart rate, oxygen uptake, and energy cost of ascending and descending the stairs. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 34(4), 695-699.

Verghese, J., Wang, C., Xue, X., & Holtzer, R. (2008). Self-reported difficulty in climbing up or down stairs in nondisabled elderly. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 89(1), 100-104.