Why is going up stairs so much easier than going down?

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I get this feeling walking down stairs that my foot is going to catch , my balance go , and I'll end up tumbling down the stairs . There's no physical problem with my legs . My balance and coordination have never been good .

When human body leans forward, they move forward faster and easier. And so is going upstairs with it.
I'm sure leaning forward while going down and facing the stairs isn't safe, especially with coordination issues.

Issues with balance also has something to do with how the body tends to lean to towards when moving.

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I have a not very good arrangement of stairs and landing at the top of the stairs I use most. There's a step down, a small landing, another step down to a small landing, then a flight of stairs. There's also a low ceiling over the second step, so I have to lean forward to go down it. I often feel as if I'm likely to fall down the stairs if I'm not careful. If I ever get all the doors on the nearby rooms fitted, so I can make a lot of mess, I want to cut the offending step back, which should help. But this does make me quite anxious about going down stairs anywhere.

I think a lot of the problem with going downstairs is that's it's a bit like a mild version of stepping off the edge of a cliff! There's a big empty space in front of you, so if you stumble you can get badly hurt (or worse). Going upstairs, there's something comfortably solid in front of you, and if you stumble you'll land on the steps above you, and are likely to only be slightly hurt, if you're hurt at all.

I've fallen upstairs before.

I've also fallen down a couple of stairs - it was as I reached the bottom two stairs at the train station. I misjudged the second from the bottom step. I have no depth perception and I thought I'd reached the bottom so I stepped out wider and just fell into thin air. I ended up grazing my knee and hurting my wrist but mostly I was ok. Several people laughed which was not nice.

I think that when you're going down stairs, with each step there's a split-second where there's no... control I think the word is? It's like you're stepping into space. Off a cliff as JohnInSpace said. That's what it's like.

When going upstairs one is leaning forward and the consequence of misstep is lower. When going downstairs a misstep can be much more severe. Also, as one ages the sense of balance begins to fade. One can add the sense of touch (handrail or leaning and sliding against the wall) as well as using sight in a well lit stairway to aid in a total perception of balance.

I've always felt the opposite (going downstairs easier than up)

OMG! I have the opposite problem. I go into anxiety attacks when I’m climbing stairs, sometimes freezing in place and grabbing the handrail for dear life. Going downstairs, on the other hand, is a breeze for me. I think it’s psychological with me, and not physical.

I think the quadriceps, used when climbing stairs are stronger muscles than the hamstrings which are used for going down stairs.

I found that out years ago after running a marathon. The next day my legs in general, but mainly my hamstrings were so sore that I had to go down stairs backwards for a few days.

I've heard that going uphill and downhill each have their own challenges.

Going uphill is hard work for your muscles.

Going downhill is hard work for your joints.

I find going up and down stairs equally easy in general, but maybe that's because I go up and down three stories at least three times per day.

But, if you find going downstairs painful or difficult, it could be that you're developing arthritis.

I fell down the stairs a few times as a kid. I still find going up much easier, whether on stairs or in the mountains. I couldn't catch up on the downhill slopes but made it up on the uphills. A few years ago I again fell down some stairs, nearly knocking my mom and my heavily pregnant sister down with me.

Much easier to control my balance going up.

I'm more likely to fall going upstairs, although usually it's because I'm running. I find in situations where I can compare, I'm quicker than average walking upstairs, average or slightly subaverage at running upstairs and much quicker than average when descending.

I wonder how much the mechanics of how we perform this task matters.