Climbing Stairs: Lower-Body Strengthening Exercises, or Chairlift?

[Canopus]

At 78, am having trouble climbing stairs (need to grip handrails to do so). Reasons: loss of foot flexibility, weaker lower-body strength.

A two-fold question:

1) Will doing lower-body strengthening exercises (quadriceps, hamstrings, gastrocnemius, soleus, etc.) help forestall the need for a chairlift? Or is it the case (as I have read) that age-related loss of muscle-mass/muscle-strength is irreversible?

2) If it comes to installation of a chairlift, what cost/features should I be aware of?

Canopus

[cs412a]

At 78, am having trouble climbing stairs (need to grip handrails to do so). Reasons: loss of foot flexibility, weaker lower-body strength.

A two-fold question:

1) Will doing lower-body strengthening exercises (quadriceps, hamstrings, gastrocnemius, soleus, etc.) help forestall the need for a chairlift? Or is it the case (as I have read) that age-related loss of muscle-mass/muscle-strength is irreversible?

2) If it comes to installation of a chairlift, what cost/features should I be aware of?

Canopus

In before the lock. This is a request for medical advice. Time to have your primary care physician refer you to a good physical therapist for an evaluation if you haven’t already done so.

[Canopus]

Clearly not a request for medical advice. There have been many past threads that call for advice on exercise regimens; threads that were not locked.

Canopus

[ResearchMed]

At 78, am having trouble climbing stairs (need to grip handrails to do so). Reasons: loss of foot flexibility, weaker lower-body strength.

A two-fold question:

1) Will doing lower-body strengthening exercises (quadriceps, hamstrings, gastrocnemius, soleus, etc.) help forestall the need for a chairlift? Or is it the case (as I have read) that age-related loss of muscle-mass/muscle-strength is irreversible?

2) If it comes to installation of a chairlift, what cost/features should I be aware of?

Canopus

In before the lock. This is a request for medical advice. Time to have your primary care physician refer you to a good physical therapist for an evaluation if you haven’t already done so.

Yes, have your physician take a look and decide if physical therapy would be helpful.
If it's to prevent or lessen fall frequency, it's likely to be covered by insurance, but check your own coverage, of course.

RM

[jebmke]

my YMCA has a stairmaster that I use regularly to develop strength. I find that it helps me with hiking and balance.

[Atomic]

Forestall with exercise as long as possible, but then open to new ideas. Maybe new house? Lots of people age into single-level living.

[cs412a]

Clearly not a request for medical advice. There have been many past threads that call for advice on exercise regimens; threads that were not locked.

Canopus

Some types of muscle weakness, especially with age, are due to central, nervous system issues rather than muscle strength. When I asked my primary care doc about improving my balance, I got referrals to both my neurologist and PT. Thankfully, although I have mild ataxia, most of my problems can be addressed with specific exercises I got from my PT.

Perhaps I’m acting from an abundance of caution here, but the remark about lack of foot flexibility concerned me.

[cs412a]

my YMCA has a stairmaster that I use regularly to develop strength. I find that it helps me with hiking and balance.

Yeah, I thought using a stair master would be good. My PT said absolutely not.

[stoptothink]

At 78, am having trouble climbing stairs (need to grip handrails to do so). Reasons: loss of foot flexibility, weaker lower-body strength.

A two-fold question:

1) Will doing lower-body strengthening exercises (quadriceps, hamstrings, gastrocnemius, soleus, etc.) help forestall the need for a chairlift? Or is it the case (as I have read) that age-related loss of muscle-mass/muscle-strength is irreversible?

There's a lot of recent research on this topic, ie. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36018750/ and https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22030953/

...lack of use is at least a significant, if not the predominant, factor in age-related sarcopenia. ABSOLUTELY increasing physical activity and focusing specifically on strength and balance exercises will delay the need for a chairlift.

[Mike Scott]

Depending on the stairs configuration, some "remodeling" or changing surfaces might make them easier to use.

[tunafish]

I'm age 80 in the same situation as the OP. I find physical therapy esp. exercise bike and leg press machines noticeably helpful. I may have to get a chair lift eventually, but I plan to avoid it as long as possible. Use it or lose it is my motto.

[jebmke]

my YMCA has a stairmaster that I use regularly to develop strength. I find that it helps me with hiking and balance.

Yeah, I thought using a stair master would be good. My PT said absolutely not.

Not my first choice but I live at sea level and the nearest "hill" is a couple of hours away. My first choice is to walk with elevation changes.

[tunafish]

my YMCA has a stairmaster that I use regularly to develop strength. I find that it helps me with hiking and balance.

Yeah, I thought using a stair master would be good. My PT said absolutely not.

Why not?

[minesweep]

The #1 Exercise to Do as You Get Older

[TravellingTechOnFire]

I'd work on developing enough strength and flexibility to accomplish a deep, full squat position and be able to stand back up from there. This is a basic human movement capability that should be maintained into old age. Google "third world squat" or "resting squat".....you will see people into very old age who can easily and comfortably descend into a full, deep, "a$$ to grass" squat, hang out there comfortably for long periods of time to rest or do chores, and stand back up with ease.

Most sedentary people will not be able to achieve this without spending some time working on flexibility and strength. A good way to work on the flexibility and strength required for this type of squat is to start by squatting to a chair and standing back up. Do this over and over every other day until it is easy. Then sit to a lower object over and over i.e. maybe 3 sets of 10.

To work on the flexibility needed for a full depth squat, hold on to a wall or sturdy pole/railing, descend into the full depth squat, and spend time every day working on ankle dorsiflexion. Essentially, work on pushing your knee or knees out over the toes while keeping the feet flat on the floor using your body weight. The support pole/rail/sturdy object can be used to assist standing back up again.

I find it very common for people to lose the strength and flexibility needed for this(and most) basic human movement as they age, even long before retirement age. The result is loss of independence, inability to sit down and stand up even from a normal chair without tremendous effort, and falls, injuries, etc.

There was in interesting documentary on Netflix called "Blue Zone" or something of that nature. A common thread of longevity in one area they studied was simply the steepness of the roads. Rather than catering to the ill effects of being sedentary(single story houses, no stairs, etc), folks walked very steep hills on a daily basis as they walked around town for their daily tasks. Their houses were all 3-4 stories rather than sprawling single story "old folks" homes. They *had* to climb multiple flights of stairs multiple times/day. In other words, they stayed vigorously active. The result was an extraordinarily high number of folks who lived into their 90's and 100's.

[GAAP]

my YMCA has a stairmaster that I use regularly to develop strength. I find that it helps me with hiking and balance.

Yeah, I thought using a stair master would be good. My PT said absolutely not.

Why not?

Not a PT -- but putting someone with problems doing stairs on a machine with absolutely no awareness of that problem strikes me as a bad idea. Maybe one of those hydraulic type steppers, but not something with a motor running the steps. Cardio condition could be a related concern.

[mhalley]

Sarcopenia (reduction in muscle due to aging) can indeed be prevented and reversed. From the journal Geriatrics:

Many consequences of sarcopenia are preventable or even reversible. Progressive resistance exercises can produce substantial increases in strength and muscle size, even in the oldest old. For many older patients, exercise represents the safest, least expensive means to lose body fat, decrease blood pressure, improving glucose tolerance, and maintain long-term independence.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8621102/
See your doctor to be prescribed an exercise program, diet with enough protein, and possible referral for physical/occupational therapy.

[oldcomputerguy]

Topic locked for moderator review

[LadyGeek]

Upon further review, the first question is requesting medical advice. See: Medical Issues

Questions on medical issues are beyond the scope of the forum. If you are looking for medical information online, I suggest you start with the Medical Library Association's User's Guide to Finding and Evaluating Health Information on the Web which, in addition to providing guidance on evaluating health information, includes a list of their top recommended sites.

It's not possible to separate the chairlift cost / features vs. medical advice. For this reason, the thread will remain locked.

Please search this forum for similar questions related to chairlifts and general strength conditioning.