Have you stopped to consider how often you are climbing and going down stairs every day? You probably haven’t, and that’s not surprising. Many people don’t think much about such a common daily activity. At least, they don’t until such an activity becomes harder or more painful to do. 

People who are feeling pain when descending stairs may be suffering from many different injuries. Physical therapists can help you learn more about the most common of these injuries. They can also help you address your injury so that descending stairs is less painful. 

Descending stairs can be more painful with these four types of injuries

Physical therapists and other medical professionals often recommend climbing stairs. Why? This activity can have many health benefits. However, there are certain types of injuries that can make ascending and descending stairs a painful exercise. You may want to avoid exercises such as stair climbing if you have: 

1. Knee injuries — Your knee has to bend every time you go up or down stairs. An injury to this joint can make this movement a painful one. Patellofemoral syndrome is a kneecap tendon injury that can cause pain when you’re on the stairs. Knee ligament or meniscus injuries can do so, too. 

2. Thigh muscle injuries — Your thigh muscles also do a lot of work when you’re on the stairs. Injuries to these muscles can become more painful if you aren’t careful when climbing or going down stairs. Examples of injuries that fit this profile include hamstring strains and quadriceps strains. 

3. Ankle injuries — Your ankles also move a lot when you’re walking up and down stairs. Thus, an ankle injury can make this activity more painful. It can also affect your balance and make this activity more dangerous. Ankle injuries that can do these things include sprains and tendinitis. 

4. Foot injuries — The feet provide a solid base for stair climbing. A foot injury can erode this base and make stair climbing a painful chore. Some foot injuries that may affect your stair-climbing ability include plantar fasciitis and metatarsalgia. 

Address injuries that make descending stairs painful with help from Rehab Access

Are you finding going down stairs more painful because of an injury? Our Rehab Access Physical Therapy team can help you address your injury and the pain it’s causing. We can diagnose the source of your pain by doing a free screening for you. In addition, our physical therapists excel at constructing personalized treatment plans for a wide array of lower extremity injuries. 

Contact our team today for more information about our treatment options or to schedule an initial appointment to begin treating your injury.