Vascular diseases like PAD, or other conditions that affect blood circulation in your body, can cause weakness in the legs while walking or climbing stairs. PAD and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) are two conditions that may make exercising, daily activities, and climbing stairs close to impossible.
So why is flying up a flight of stairs so fatiguing? When you go from a steady-state walk to an activity such as climbing stairs, your muscles are not prepared for the sudden burst of speed. The result is a lot of huffing and puffing as your lungs work overtime to supply more air to your body.
Leg weakness can be caused by a variety of medical conditions, some of which are serious. Possible causes include stroke, systemic diseases, inflammatory conditions, nerve damage, muscle disorders, and medication side effects.
Simply put, it's because going up stairs demands a lot of your muscles. "Climbing a flight of stairs uses more muscles than walking," explains Kennihan. "You are basically doing lunges uphill and fighting against gravity.
You may be surprised to read that 60 is the age when many activities become more difficult to do. If you're in the age range 60 and above and you're finding activities like walking or climbing up the stairs difficult you certainly aren't alone.
Diabetes and atherosclerosis are the main causes of poor circulation in the body, but are also associated with smoking, living an inactive lifestyle, or having high blood pressure or cholesterol. To reduce lower extremity weakness, elevate your legs while your sitting or laying down to increase your bodies circulation.
As a result, people with heart failure often feel weak (especially in their arms and legs), tired and have difficulty performing ordinary activities such as walking, climbing stairs or carrying groceries.
The sensation of heavy legs, also known as venous insufficiency, is related to poor circulation. It occurs when blood flow from the legs to the heart is impaired, causing the heaviness.
The outcome, of course, is that we combine a small burst of oxygen consumption by our muscles with a small burst of oxygen deprivation through our reduced respiration. Together, these two forces make our blood oxygen level plummet. After you've scaled the steps, the concentration program terminates.
That‘s also the reason why walking up stairs is so much harder than walking down stairs-when we go up, we have to work to overcome the force of gravity, while when we go down, the pull of gravity makes it easier for us.
Rising from a squatting position or stepping onto a chair tests proximal leg strength; walking on the heels and on tiptoe tests distal strength. Pushing with the arms to get out of a chair indicates quadriceps weakness. Swinging the body to move the arms indicates shoulder girdle weakness.
Warning signs and symptoms of heart failure include shortness of breath, chronic coughing or wheezing, swelling, fatigue, loss of appetite, and others. Heart failure means the heart has failed to pump the way it should in order to circulate oxygen-rich blood throughout the body.
People with heart failure have a tendency to retain fluid. This appears as swollen ankles and legs because of excess fluid building up. You may notice that your shoes don't fit and socks appear tight or leave a prominent indent above the ankle.
People will often experience shaky or weak legs when dealing with vascular issues in the leg, like deep vein thrombosis or blood clots. Clots are very serious if untreated because they could break off into the bloodstream and travel to an artery in the lungs, blocking blood flow.
Sitting for long periods can lead to weakening and wasting away of the large leg and gluteal muscles. These large muscles are important for walking and for stabilising you. If these muscles are weak you are more likely to injure yourself from falls, and from strains when you do exercise.
There isn't really an age when walking up and down stairs becomes “too demanding”. It really depends on the health and physical aches and pains of the individual. Someone that has foot, knee, or back conditions could find it painful to go up and down stairs at any age.
Many health conditions can make climbing the stairs difficult. These can be conditions such as arthritic knees and hips that can be painful when walking up and downstairs. You may have osteoarthritis or osteoporosis that affects your gait and balance making you unsteady and bent over.
Stair climbing increases leg power and may be an important priority in reducing the risk of injury from falls in the elderly. Stair climbing can help you achieve and maintain a healthy body weight. Stair climbing can help you build and maintain healthy bones, muscles and joints.
When you go up stairs you need to have strong quadriceps (muscles in front of the thigh) to contract and carry your body weight up to the next step. You also need to have strong gluteal muscles (buttocks) to keep the body straight as you come up onto the step.