Why do knees hurt during hiking?

After a long hike our body feels like it’s “worn out”. This can lead to a number of unpleasant feelings. One of them is knee pain during hiking. Let’s try to understand what we can do to prevent and stop this unpleasant pain.

Why do we feel knee pain while walking?

Many people feel knee pain during hiking. During hikes the knees are more loaded than during a regular walk around the city. This is due to the fact, that we walk on uneven terrain and steep slopes, with a heavy backpack on our shoulders. The quality of the shoes also affects the condition of the knees. Regularly making the same mistakes, as a result of constant physical activity, you can seriously damage your knees. Keep in mind that treating knee and joint injuries is a long and expensive process. And a competent prevention is much simpler and cheaper.

Going down the mountain and each time putting the foot to the ground, the knee gets hit. And going up, you push yourself up and load the knee joints. Of course we can’t avoid steep slopes, but we can follow several rules that will reduce the load on the legs.

*Choose the right clothes and equipment

• Use trekking poles. They give you two additional points of support and reduce the load on your legs by 25%. As a result, the knees are less loaded.
• Wear the right hiking boots. Depending on the length of the route, the difficulty of the terrain and the weight of the backpack, you will need appropriate hiking boots. If your route is long and difficult, then you need more durable hiking boots, with a thick strong sole and an insole which eases the impact force and holds the heel and ankle well.

• Very often during hikes, jogging and during physical exercises in general, residual fatigue accumulates in the joints, which with age can cause some complications. To avoid this, it is advisable to wear a knee brace, especially if you have had an injury in the past, or if you notice that your knees often hurt.

*Be careful when descending a slope

• Use trekking poles.
• Avoid hiking boots that do not fix heels and ankles.
• Walk not too fast and not too slowly, to properly load the knee joints. Let the force of gravity dictate the pace of the walk.

• Build a route in zigzag pattern, to make it easier to walk on the slope.
• Slightly tilt your body back, to maintain balance.
• Descend sideways and squat slightly. It will give additional stability to your body, and you will be able to control your legs better.

*Be careful during the climb

During the climb, take small steps so that you don’t have to lean on one leg with your whole body and push forward. The knees should always be upright.

Keep your body in a correct position relative to your knees. Lean forward slightly so that the body is slightly ahead of the knees. Do not bend too much.

• Before you start walking, do some warm up exercises. Warm up the muscles, do stretching. It is very important that the muscles fully open and regain their elasticity. Thanks to these exercises, blood circulation in the muscles is also activated. Do some exercises after the hike as well, so that the tense muscles relax and rest.

Reduce the weight of the backpack as much as possible. Do not take with you unnecessary things that you will not use. Also, learn how to pack your backpack in order to correctly distribute the center of gravity.

Do not run downhill. This is a familiar situation. Going down, you are inspired by a successful ascent, you feel rush of energy and want to get to the camp as soon as possible. But running is the worst thing you can do while descending from a mountain. Firstly, you can fall, get a concussion or fractures. And secondly, it makes your knees extremely vulnerable and can cause serious injuries.

Lose some excess weight. Overweight is an additional burden for our skeleton.

Don’t forget to drink water. Between our joints there is a fluid that softens kneecaps while walking. When dehydrated, these parts also need fluid and, roughly speaking, the bones begin to touch each other, which over time leads to nerve and joint injuries.

Eat healthy food. Eat a lot of fruits, vegetables, nuts, oily fish, dark chocolate, mushrooms. Inflammation can often begin in the knees. The foods listed above have anti-inflammatory effects, they are also rich in vitamins and healthy calories, which are generally necessary for a person leading an active lifestyle.

How to stop the knee pain after a hike?

• Relax your legs and take off your shoes.
• Do some stretching exercises.
• Put something cold on your knees, this will relieve tension in the muscles.
• Massage your feet, thighs, lower leg to relieve muscle tension.
• After long and intense training, competitions or difficult ascents, give your knees a few days of rest so that they have time to recover.

If you follow these simple rules you will reduce the discomfort in your joints. However, if you still feel knee pain during hiking, consult your doctor. Knees are one of the most fragile parts of our body and should be treated with care.

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