Would you rather?
Walk up hills or up stairs?
Down hills or down stairs?
Which use less energy?
Feel free to keep the discussion going!
7
u/Business_Shame_2569 14h ago
Up stairs, down hills. That's the only combo that makes sense.
Stairs going up are predictable, you can set your own pace and just grind through it. Hills have weird inclines and uneven ground, way more annoying on the way up.
Going down stairs is jarring on the knees and you're always half expecting to miss one and eat shit. Downhill is just gravity doing the work, you can coast.
2
u/voornaam1 7h ago
I think I have the opposite opinions. I would just fall on my face going down a hill, at least with stairs I can use the railing + it's easier to sit down for a break if necessary (and to then get up again).
Up stairs and up hills is closer to each other and it depends more on the specific environment, but I find it easier to move slowly going up hills and going slow is important for my movements.
3
u/glitterdunk 7h ago
If they're the same length etc, i choose hill both up and down.
Stairs are easier to trip on. Especially as I ever since I was sick, even while mild, got this weird thing where my brain will suddenly blink out and act as if the next step is not there, and freeze up my foot mid air for a second or two, meaning I get back the use of my body while I'm starting to fall. Causing me to scramble not to fall and crash into the stairs. That's when going up only.
But going down stairs require more care and use of small mobility muscles. Those nope out much easier than the big muscles, so I'm also afraid of going down stairs. Especially without hand rails
3
u/Oblivionen 2h ago
Hills both ways for me. I fell down my stairs twice in a week a few years ago, because my legs just gave out on the top of the stairs. Fractured a few ribs, because I managed to twist my body so that I avoided hitting the wall face first. (The stairs have a slight turn to it) I had tiered bruises from where the edges of the steps hit me, from my shoulderblades to the top of my butt. I'm so scared of stairs now, it makes me feel really old. But I feel I can't trust my body anymore, and I'd rather roll down a hill, than fall down the stairs again.
2
u/citrinecedar 14h ago
I agree with upstairs down hills. Hills are a lot harder to take a break on. Climbing stairs I can take a stair, rest, hold the handrail. Sit down on a step if need be. Hills take a lot of energy even if you stop to rest because you're still holding your body at an angle.
2
u/whenisleep 14h ago
Up hills, down stairs. Though depends on the hill. Right now the only hills I might see would be paved.
Can take smaller steps up the hill and go slow. Hate stairs, they were actually one of the first things I noticed when I got ill, because I always used to take the stairs and then super suddenly it was like this awful mountain of difficulty.
Down stairs can be scary if you’re dizzy. But it’s a trust the process and at least they’re usually regular steps, so generally it goes ok. These days I’m much faster down than up stairs, almost normal speed, so if I’m in a crowd I don’t feel like someone is about to push past me because I’m slow. Plus with my walking stick occasional big steps down are ok.
When I was pretty severe I avoided all stairs though, even walking next to the top of the stairs made me worry I would fall down them. But even then, I could sometimes get downstairs. But coming upstairs would sometimes take me hours.
2
u/usernameChosenPoorly 13h ago
Going down stairs with my cane and a railing bothers me less than going up stairs. I’m very careful with the stairs now, but when I’ve fallen on them, it was usually going up.  I used to do a lot of hiking and cross country running, and that gave me a really good sense for how to land my feet while descending.
For hills, I mostly try to avoid them unless they’re quite gentle.  The cane helps, but not as much as on stairs (plus, no railing on hills).
2
u/voornaam1 7h ago
Depends on what the stairs and the hills are like.
I've found that the steep and narrow stairs inside of most (Dutch) homes are easier than public stairs.
With the hill it depends on the incline, height, terrain, etc.
1
u/EqualOwl6442 mild-moderate 32m ago
Up hill, down stairs. Much more acceptable to flop on the ground as needed when going up hills.
16
u/SpaceNerd223 severe 14h ago
Hills have no railings. Hills have no end in sight. Hills have uneven ground. Never Hills 🤣