Downhill: a new rehabilitation frontier. A systematic review of the literature
In the last few years, we have seen the gradual spread of a new treadmill training modality, which involves walking not on the flat but downhill, also known as "downhill". This review aims to qualitatively assess the efficacy of downhill treatment on different patient populations and outl...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
PAGEPress Publications
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.monaldi-archives.org/macd/article/view/3071 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850278771763970048 |
|---|---|
| author | Matteo Tamburlani Rossana Cuscito Alessio D’Angelo Giovanni Galeoto Leonardo Papi Ilaria Ruotolo Francesca Santini Annamaria Servadio Edoardo Tirelli Giovanni Sellitto |
| author_facet | Matteo Tamburlani Rossana Cuscito Alessio D’Angelo Giovanni Galeoto Leonardo Papi Ilaria Ruotolo Francesca Santini Annamaria Servadio Edoardo Tirelli Giovanni Sellitto |
| author_sort | Matteo Tamburlani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
In the last few years, we have seen the gradual spread of a new treadmill training modality, which involves walking not on the flat but downhill, also known as "downhill". This review aims to qualitatively assess the efficacy of downhill treatment on different patient populations and outline treatment routes for future efficacy studies. We searched five different databases: MEDLINE, SCOPUS, Web of Science, PEDro, and LILACS for studies to include. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in English were considered. PEDro scales and Risk of Bias 2 (RoB 2) assessment were used to evaluate the risk of bias. Forty-one RCTs were included, and three articles remained to be analyzed; the included studies showed 110 participants for three RCTs; of these, two were performed on patients diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), while one was for treating people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The outcome measures used in the studies were the pulmonary function test, the cardiopulmonary exercise test, the 6-Minute Walking Test, and the St. George Respiratory Questionnaire. In patients diagnosed with COPD, downhill training appears effective on functional capacity and symptoms of dyspnea and fatigue, while in people with MS, it increases strength and activity performance when compared to other walking training modalities. RoB 2 tool shows good methodological quality for all studies included in the review; when evaluated with the PEDro scale, all presented a score of 8. Downhill could be such an effective, safe, and feasible eccentric training modality that it can be considered a new rehabilitation strategy that could be implemented for patients with low exercise tolerance.
|
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-65fc2dac135d4cc0a7a966306afee36f |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1122-0643 2532-5264 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | PAGEPress Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease |
| spelling | doaj-art-65fc2dac135d4cc0a7a966306afee36f2025-08-20T01:49:20ZengPAGEPress PublicationsMonaldi Archives for Chest Disease1122-06432532-52642025-01-0110.4081/monaldi.2025.3071Downhill: a new rehabilitation frontier. A systematic review of the literatureMatteo Tamburlani0https://orcid.org/0009-0004-1624-930XRossana Cuscito1Alessio D’Angelo2Giovanni Galeoto3Leonardo Papi4Ilaria Ruotolo5Francesca Santini6Annamaria Servadio7Edoardo Tirelli8Giovanni Sellitto9Local Health Board Rome 2, RomeTor Vergata University, RomeTor Vergata University, RomeDepartment of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University, RomeTor Vergata University, RomeDepartment of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University, RomeTor Vergata University, RomeLocal Health Board Rome 2, RomeTor Vergata University, RomeDepartment of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University, Rome In the last few years, we have seen the gradual spread of a new treadmill training modality, which involves walking not on the flat but downhill, also known as "downhill". This review aims to qualitatively assess the efficacy of downhill treatment on different patient populations and outline treatment routes for future efficacy studies. We searched five different databases: MEDLINE, SCOPUS, Web of Science, PEDro, and LILACS for studies to include. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in English were considered. PEDro scales and Risk of Bias 2 (RoB 2) assessment were used to evaluate the risk of bias. Forty-one RCTs were included, and three articles remained to be analyzed; the included studies showed 110 participants for three RCTs; of these, two were performed on patients diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), while one was for treating people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The outcome measures used in the studies were the pulmonary function test, the cardiopulmonary exercise test, the 6-Minute Walking Test, and the St. George Respiratory Questionnaire. In patients diagnosed with COPD, downhill training appears effective on functional capacity and symptoms of dyspnea and fatigue, while in people with MS, it increases strength and activity performance when compared to other walking training modalities. RoB 2 tool shows good methodological quality for all studies included in the review; when evaluated with the PEDro scale, all presented a score of 8. Downhill could be such an effective, safe, and feasible eccentric training modality that it can be considered a new rehabilitation strategy that could be implemented for patients with low exercise tolerance. https://www.monaldi-archives.org/macd/article/view/3071Downhill walktreadmillrehabilitationphysiotherapyaerobic training |
| spellingShingle | Matteo Tamburlani Rossana Cuscito Alessio D’Angelo Giovanni Galeoto Leonardo Papi Ilaria Ruotolo Francesca Santini Annamaria Servadio Edoardo Tirelli Giovanni Sellitto Downhill: a new rehabilitation frontier. A systematic review of the literature Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease Downhill walk treadmill rehabilitation physiotherapy aerobic training |
| title | Downhill: a new rehabilitation frontier. A systematic review of the literature |
| title_full | Downhill: a new rehabilitation frontier. A systematic review of the literature |
| title_fullStr | Downhill: a new rehabilitation frontier. A systematic review of the literature |
| title_full_unstemmed | Downhill: a new rehabilitation frontier. A systematic review of the literature |
| title_short | Downhill: a new rehabilitation frontier. A systematic review of the literature |
| title_sort | downhill a new rehabilitation frontier a systematic review of the literature |
| topic | Downhill walk treadmill rehabilitation physiotherapy aerobic training |
| url | https://www.monaldi-archives.org/macd/article/view/3071 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT matteotamburlani downhillanewrehabilitationfrontierasystematicreviewoftheliterature AT rossanacuscito downhillanewrehabilitationfrontierasystematicreviewoftheliterature AT alessiodangelo downhillanewrehabilitationfrontierasystematicreviewoftheliterature AT giovannigaleoto downhillanewrehabilitationfrontierasystematicreviewoftheliterature AT leonardopapi downhillanewrehabilitationfrontierasystematicreviewoftheliterature AT ilariaruotolo downhillanewrehabilitationfrontierasystematicreviewoftheliterature AT francescasantini downhillanewrehabilitationfrontierasystematicreviewoftheliterature AT annamariaservadio downhillanewrehabilitationfrontierasystematicreviewoftheliterature AT edoardotirelli downhillanewrehabilitationfrontierasystematicreviewoftheliterature AT giovannisellitto downhillanewrehabilitationfrontierasystematicreviewoftheliterature |