Cart before the horse

[Zman]

Ok. Other than my Zpacks tent which should arrive in mid August, I am about ready for my first short trip on the Appalachian Trail. I was not aware of the expense of getting ready. I have also been training by walking on a treadmill at a 15° incline at 2 1/2 to 3 mph. now my knees are starting to ache. I would hate to think I will begin my initial 42 mile hike, and find that my knees hurt too much. Is this common? I am 56 years old. Is there something I can do to help the ache in my knees? I would hate to think I put the cart before the horse and purchased everything I needed only to find out I cannot make the hike.

[Gambit McCrae]

We are not in the same age bracket, BUT I did have knee pains early on. I was using anatomy that was not used to the workout. Now days, the pain has left and I can do realistic trips without any pain. Now if you ARE hurting, and the pain is not just "end of the day pain" then I might suggest pulling back on the daily mileage or trip expectations. Nothing wrong with starting out with what you are comfortable with, its not a race. Your daily elevation changes should probably be taken into account as well. If you have a pretty flat day of walking, maybe go a little further. if it feels like a roller coaster, a shorter day might be in order. This is why pack weight is such a focus for lots of folks, the less my pack weighs the further I can go without feeling dead at the end of the day.

[Puddlefish]

Treadmills might not be the best exercise for pre-hike training. The correct answer is to see a medical professional to determine why your knees ache.

But, since this is the internet, I'll add my opinion. My knees have been a mess for most of my life, I tore the cartilage when I was young, I got fat, various ligaments started slipping out of place. For me, strengthening the muscles around my knees on a bike got rid of a lot of the pain. Stairmasters were also good for low impact training.

Both of these exercises ignore the downhill aspect, which is hard to simulate in a gym. Find a stair or such, and practice stepping down and back up in reverse, this will prepare you somewhat for the downhill portions. You can likely manage 42 miles if you take your time. Don't put a lot of pressure on yourself to walk too many miles a day. Start slowly, and you'll go further. You can probably take enough ibuprofen to deal with the pain, for a week or two, just so long as you aren't doing it long term, and have no medical restrictions with regard to your liver/kidneys.

The best way to train of course is to get out and day hike, starting with a light pack and slowly adding weight. A sudden change from treadmill without a pack, to trail with a heavy pack is going to be jarring on your knees.

[TNhiker]

ibuprofen.............

make it your friend.......

and your knees could hurt for a variety of reasons............

stretch out before and afterwards might help as well........

ive noticed that as a kid, i had a bunch of knee pain (mainly from playing catcher in baseball since i was 6 years old), that the more hiking I did, the less knee pain i would have...........i think the knees sorta just built up more strength the more i would hike...........

i still have problems when the weather changes but nothing like i was having as a kid.....

[Teacher & Snacktime]

Sometimes aching is just part of the deal, regardless of age. It would be why Vitamin I is an essential part of the First Aid kit. However, it would probably be a good idea to have those middle-aged knees checked out to be sure you're not causing damage that would cost you significantly more than your hiking gear.

It sucks getting old

[TNhiker]

The best way to train of course is to get out and day hike

yeah....

i meant to add this as well-----the best way to train for a hike----is to go hiking..........

[illabelle]

There are a variety of knee braces out there that you could consider. I like a simple knee strap that I found at Walgreens. Goes on/off with a little bit of velcro. Some of the devices are like a sleeve, where you'd have to remove your shoes, maybe even your socks to get it on, plus they can be hot.

The strap doesn't reverse aging, unfortunately, but it seems to be helpful in reducing the pain and swelling.

I assume you're using trekking poles. Poles are by far the most important piece of equipment in protecting your joints. Use them to reduce the load on your knees and prevent wrenching twists and falls. ...Yeah, I know, some people never use them, never needed them... whatever.

[Slo-go'en]

Where are you going to be hiking? That will make a big difference on how bad your knees get beat up. NH and Maine are hell on knees. Lots of very steep climbs and descents, with the down hills murder. I've taken to wearing a light knee brace for down hills here in the Whites. Just a little compression and stabilization helps a lot.

But I find that a commonly used down hill grade for trail in the south also hurts my knees after a while. Sometimes your walking down hill for miles. PA wasn't too bad on the knees, but the feet and ankles took a beating.

As for your current state of knees, I'd stop doing the treadmill and let your knees rest and heal a bit.

[la.lindsey]

I ended up doing rehab for my knee after a lot of pain my first few section hikes. I have issues that exacerbate knee pain (hyperlaxity), but you may be experiencing overuse syndrome.

Try backing off, a little ice afterwards, and adding in some strengthening exercises. The reverse stairsteps are a great idea and one I do to keep in shape, too.

Ibuprofen does bring swelling down, so take it to get rid of the pain, but don't take too much. And make sure you're drinking lots of water, too. It can damage your kidneys.

Trekking poles are a huge help on the actual hike; I don't leave home without them and would find a stick if one of mine broke.

Make sure you stretch- knee pain can be caused by a tight IT band. There are tons of videos for IT band stretches online and it's a good practice to get into. Opening up your hips is good to do too.

And lastly, consider alternating the treadmill with the bike and some outside walking. Treadmills aren't good for the smaller muscles in your knees that the little bumps and roots and rocks will be activating.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Engine]

Some days my knees hurt and some days they don't. But, treadmills are quick to cause pain because it's a constant repetitive motion with very little variation. If the treadmill is going to be your chosen mode of training for the day, make sure you vary the speed and incline enough to alter your gate and step rate. I usually start at 3.5-4.0 mph on a 1-2% grade for a few minute to warm up and then add 1-2 % every couple minutes up to 15%. By that point I've often had to decrease the speed a bit. After 5 minutes or so I'll decrease the incline and run at 5-6 mph for a few minutes and then repeat the process. Just keep it interesting and break it up with other types of exercise on a regular basis.

[Water Rat]

You have already received some awesome suggestions.

Just to throw out another thought. I have a knee that has been the recipient of many sports injuries and surgeries. It does not like walking on roads or treadmills. Neither of them really absorb your step so the shock of your footfall might be traveling up to your knee. Do your knees ache the same if you are hiking on a local dirt path? It could be as simple as your knee finds the treadmill to not be forgiving (much the same as walking on pavement can be painful to the knees).

[gbolt]

Don't forget to stay hydrated. Joints need fluid to work efficiently. Water is a major part of that fluid. You may be fine as far as temp regulation; however, you may be dehydrated by body joint fluid standards. I have seen knee pain that was corrected by increasing daily water intake. The other suggestion at our age is glucoglycosomine (sp) supplement. It may take up to 3 months to see its impact though. As mentioned above, a treadmill is hard on joints compared to trail walking. It is just a step below road walking imho.

[SkeeterPee]

I would think having a dr assessment might be good if you have no idea of cause. I suspect hiking can cause much of the same ailments as running. In general increasing flexibility may help. quad stretches, calf stretches foot stretches, itb band rolling etc.

I treat my backpacking prep a lot like marathon prep. If you come from the couch, every other day walks. Add hills, add miles, add weight, but don't do all three at once. Each week you can add 10% more mileage. But don't try to add more weight and hills at same time.

Currently I am below the mileage I would like to be doing pre hike so next week we only plan to do 6-8 miles per day for my older brothers first backpacking trip.

normally i'd like to be walking 5-8 miles/day with 25 lb pack, with longer weekend hikes with hills as prep for a trip.

[Maydog]

I'm also 56. The one thing that helped my knee pain the most was losing 30 lbs. Other than that:

1. I take 400 mg ibuprofen before I hike, and repeat every 4-6 hours (if I'm still hiking).
2. Trekking poles helped me tremendously; I now call them knee-savers.
3. I go downhill very slowly, taking very small steps and keeping my knees slightly bent.
4. I take glucosamine-chondroitin-MSM supplements daily.

I would suggest stopping the treadmill training about 3 days before you start your AT hike so that your knees have some recovery time.

[Hikingjim]

I have had knee issues arise in the past that seemed to get work themselves out if I don't overdo it.
You could see a doctor, but if you don't, I would recommend making your hike a bit flexible for daily distance and stop when needed. And don't incorporate many really steep downhills on your first hike

[Odd Man Out]

I took my first "big" hike a few of years ago at age 55. I planned 70 miles in 6 days on the AT in central VA after a couple of years of planning and acquiring gear. After thee days of hiking, one knee was very sore. I limped into a campsite and was ready to quit. That could have been the end, but fortunately for me I was at a spot where quitting was not possivle.y only option was to limp over a Mountain on day 4 to a road crossing with a hostel. I a day off to recover and did a day hike on day 6. I ended up doing 50 miles but still had a great time. It didn't help that I carried too much stuff and picked a section that went east-west (up and down ridges). Since then I've taken several pain free hikes. I've learned to be better at cutting weight, not feeling pressured to keep up with the thru hikers, and doing sections that align with my ability. In my case, the knee pain was from over use and it went away immediately with rest. It was not an injury that needed repair or healing, which was an advantage. So don't feel discouraged. You can make it work. But don't expect it to be painless (literally or figuatively). Like me you seem to have done a good job of planning. But all the planning doesn't replace experience. After just a few hikes I feel much more confident.

[Zman]

I will be hiking from amacalola State Park to Neels gap in Georgia

[Zman]

I actually found that my knee pain pretty much began once I started using the treadmill.

[MuddyWaters]

"knees hurt" dont give much info.
Lots of parts there, soft and hard.

You can get past tendonitis, muscle strains.
Prognosis much poorer for arthritis type ailments

Exactly...what part hurts and how...is what you must determine and work on

[Trailweaver]

May I suggest that you save yourself (and your knees) a LOT of grief by avoiding the Amacolola access trail and get a shuttle to the parking lot on FSR 42? Everyone knows that the stairs from Amacolola are a trip killer. If you already have problems, why start with a difficult stair climb that isn't even the AT?