The walking down stairs problem

[campagman]

In the morning my first descent of the stairs is always backwards. Makes it much easier.

[Peter]

I didn't know there were so many muscles.  Where do you get them all from and is it a good thing?  (One side of the paper only.)

[Kim]

Assuming we're talking muscular pain, I suspect it's not so much the quads, but some of the smaller muscles involved in stabilising the leg/foot during that particular motion.  I was having great problems with these at the start of the year, and was completely without symptom unless I rode a bike for more than a few miles or walked down stairs, both of which were extremely painful.

Patella tracking's a different badger, though also relevant.  I hate walking down steep slopes/steps, as that usually sets mine off.

[Fab Foodie]

(p.s. I think TG's stretching theory is bogus - I do a lot of stretching, and so do most elite riders. Even Hutchinson admitted to walking down stairs backwards after this year's 12H. Sorry Steve, it was worth a try!)

Stretching does work for me. But only if I stretch my hip flexors.

Steve, what stretches work best for the hip flexors?

[teethgrinder]

The best one I know is this one.

Find a wall.
Now put one of your knees into the corner of the wall and the floor so that your shin is up the wall. (I can't do that, so I have to have my knee away from the wall) You might want a cushion or some padding for your knee.
Then move the other leg away so that it's knee is at a right angle, it's foot is flat on the floor and your body is upright, not leaning forwards. Don't let your pelvis tilt forwards either, your back should be straight. You should feel a stretch at the front where your leg joins your body in the leg with the shin up the wall. You might feel a stretch in your quads too, if you have tight quads. To stretch it a bit more, lift up your arms above your head.

When I do this. I have to have the knee of the leg being stretched away from the wall and even then, I don't manage to get my body upright and my unstretched leg at a right angle with my foot flat on the floor.

I don't do enough of this stretch either, which doesn't help.

[mattc]

(p.s. I think TG's stretching theory is bogus ...

Stretching does work for me. But only if I stretch my hip flexors.

Steve, what stretches work best for the hip flexors?

(From a non-Steve:) Google quickly comes up with the 'standard' stretch. Looks like http://www.footstore.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/hip_flexor_stretch.jpg

Obviously stretching is a good thing. I'd heartily recommend getting a good 'general' book on the subject. It will have a "cycling section", but basically focus on your quads and hamstring, and do as much else as you can be bothered with, or feels like it's doing good. (ITB stretches are no bad thing, as most of us get problems there at some point!).

Hope I wasn't too dismissive of Steve's advice But it doesn't relate directly to muscle pain, at least not pain that is clearly DOMS-related. It's in the quads, not the hip-flexors.

As for this spine-curving business: as-a-layman, I reckon this is more about improving your posture. But a stretching regime can't hurt 

(This is all from personal experience - for all I know, someone with tight hip flexors may well be getting some new and interesting pain when walking down stairs!)

[teethgrinder]

(From a non-Steve:) Google quickly comes up with the 'standard' stretch. Looks like http://www.footstore.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/hip_flexor_stretch.jpg

That's probably a good one too.
Not quite what I was saying. The hindmost leg in the picture would have it's shin up against a wall. The stretch in that picture is probably better for me than the one I try to do because I might be able to do that one properly as it looks like less of a stretch.

I hope I wasn't too dismissive of Steve's advice But it doesn't relate directly to muscle pain, at least not pain that is clearly DOMS-related. It's in the quads, not the hip-flexors.

I'm more on about my permanently being better at going up stairs than down. I'm sure that I'm faster going up stairs than I am at going downstairs. If my legs are shot after a hard ride then everything is harder, not just stairs. I never feel discomfort in my hip flexors, even after a hard ride. It's always my quads that hurt and sometimes I get grating, grinding achilles heels.

As for this spine-curving business: as-a-layman, I reckon this is more about improving your posture. But a stretching regime can't hurt 

(This is all from personal experience - for all I know, someone with tight hip flexors may well be getting some new and interesting pain when walking down stairs!)

It's very much about posture. I've seen a number of aged mileaters that can't stand up straight because they have tight hip flexors. I've looked at my back in a mirror and made it straight and found that I tend to move my thighs towards my chest a little bit. This is because my tight hip flexors are pulling them that way. When I straighten my legs and stand upright, my hip flexors pull my back to an inwards curve which gives me my aerobelly unless I tense up, straighten my back and try to keep my legs in line with my body, then I can feel a slight stretch in my hip flexors.
I could get rid of my aerobelly by tilting my upper body forwards to re-straighten my back. Then I'd be leaning forwards all the time when standing up. I can keep my back straight easily if I'm sitting in a chair. But what I really should do to improve my posture, is to stretch my hip flexors so that I naturally have a straight back when I stand upright. It would also mean that when I go down stairs, I won't be stretching my right hip flexor to lower my left foot (or vice versa) onto the next step down, I'd just be able to do it without stretching and probably distorting my back. After a hard ride, I sometimes lean forwards by hinging at my hips and grabbing onto the hand rails, so that I don't go headfirst down the stairs, to make going down stairs easier
I think this is why a lot of fit cyclists who aren't fat have an aerobelly. We spend a lot of time in the crouch position developing our thighs, but neglecting to stretch our hip flexors, even if we may be doing hamstring and quad stretches.