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Earl Grey
09-19-2006, 18:30
On Saturday and Sunday I hiked with a 30lb pack for about 15 miles each day. Yesterday and today my knees have been hurting BAD. I try to walk down steps and my right knee is painful the whole time. Walking on level ground is ok though. Since I run alot and in pretty good shape I thought 15 miles a day wouldnt be that bad but with 30 lbs its hard work. Is this something you get used to on the AT? I plan on doing 15 miles a day because well I have to if I start in mid May and need to be done by Oct 15.

blackbishop351
09-19-2006, 19:08
Running is probably the cause - that's the main reason my knees are screwed. Try poles, they've helped me a LOT.

Blissful
09-19-2006, 19:12
On Saturday and Sunday I hiked with a 30lb pack for about 15 miles each day. Yesterday and today my knees have been hurting BAD. I try to walk down steps and my right knee is painful the whole time. Walking on level ground is ok though. Since I run alot and in pretty good shape I thought 15 miles a day wouldnt be that bad but with 30 lbs its hard work. Is this something you get used to on the AT? I plan on doing 15 miles a day because well I have to if I start in mid May and need to be done by Oct 15.

I know we said we wouldn't put down thread URLS :rolleyes: but there has been a great discussion on knees over there in the safety and health section. May want to take a look.

http://whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=6477

I know that running and hiking uses different muscles and tendons. That is, they are stretched and used differently. Cardiovascularly you're fine, but the muscles and tendons need time to adapt to the differences and the new weightload of a pack on them and going up and down terrian. So take it it easy, build up to the mileage, do stretches, take glucosomine. This is what I've been doing. For now ice your knees two to three times a day and take Advil liquid gelcaps (not the generic stuff). I would give them time to heal up.

Sly
09-19-2006, 19:18
Take two Vitamin I's and an Aleve at night for the 1st 2-3 weeks and you should be OK.

Skidsteer
09-19-2006, 19:39
On Saturday and Sunday I hiked with a 30lb pack for about 15 miles each day. Yesterday and today my knees have been hurting BAD. I try to walk down steps and my right knee is painful the whole time. Walking on level ground is ok though. Since I run alot and in pretty good shape I thought 15 miles a day wouldnt be that bad but with 30 lbs its hard work. Is this something you get used to on the AT? I plan on doing 15 miles a day because well I have to if I start in mid May and need to be done by Oct 15.

Remember how you felt the first time you did a long run?

Carry thirty pounds for fifteen miles when you're not used to it and you're gonna get sore. Rest, vitamin I if you need it, and build up your miles a bit slower. If the pain doesn't go away, see a doctor. :)

Tractor
09-19-2006, 19:48
blackmath. Three things helped me: poles, slowing down on the downs and not getting anal about water (weight) when there's plenty of water up the trail........ Before these lessons I hiked the Smokies as if I was the alien possessed farmer in Men In Black. Loooong painfull days, short painfull nites.

State Owl
09-20-2006, 11:36
Blackmath, I can feel your pain. I just completed my first hike 100 mile Wilderness and by the third day I was in brutal pain. Vitamin I did help but it slowed me way down especially on descents. I too am a runner and was in good shape going in but I agree that hiking utilizes many different muscles and tendons than running. That and the fact that I carried a 42lb pack doesn't help. I had poles and they did help. There are great techniques as well to using poles but being stubborn I ignored them for the first half of the hike...big big mistake. Rest up it took about a week for most of the pain and swelling to go down. Best of luck.

Owl

FanaticFringer
09-21-2006, 00:54
Just thinking about a 42 lb pack makes my knees swell with fluid.

speedy
09-21-2006, 02:15
Just thinking about a 42 lb pack makes my knees swell with fluid.

Thanks, I was thinking the same thing. I know people keep saying trekking poles, but if you aren't using them already, that just goes without saying. Glucosamine/chondroitin is also a good place to start. I really hate the thought of using vitimin I, but if you have to, at least it's actually treating the inflamation and not just removing the pain. Stretches will help any soreness quite a bit. I know I'm the nutty guy that is likely to head into the woods for a week long trip using a tyvek postal envelope to carry my 8 grams of gear, but lightening up you pack really will help quite a bit. What's the point of having that 8lb, foot thick sleeping pad if you can't enjoy it for the pain.

Also, what kind of shoes are you using? A trail runner/gaiter setup allows your ankle to move a lot more than boots. On descents this allows your foot to absorb the impact more slowly and evenly as you walk, reducing the impact on your knees. (think toe hits first, then weight rocks back to your heel rather than your heels pounding your knees like some sort of wooden pirate leg) Hope this helps. :D speedy

orangebug
09-21-2006, 10:17
The pattern of pain on the downhills is a classic symptom for hikers who exhaust their quads on the first day. It can happen without a pack (did that myself on a day hike after back surgery) - and can be a bit frightening. You can reduce the pain on the downhills by making your own switchbacks, walking sideways and/or resting more frequently on the first few days. If you exhaust the quads, you will have a bad time - especially on a section walk.

I am very impressed you were able to do a second 15 miler on day 2.

Any analgesic will help. This is not an arthritic condition, so don't expect much from glucosamine and related products. REST REST REST and build up the miles over a few days.

speedy
09-21-2006, 12:54
Thanks orangebug, that explains a lot. I've learned to avoid or deal with it (with trailrunners and trekking poles and the like), but never understood it. It always felt like there was some sort of muscular aspect to it, but I couldn't ever figure out how to connect that with joint pain. :D speedy

Kerosene
09-21-2006, 16:12
This happened to me on my recent section hike through the Whites. I decscended Moosilaukee from Beaver Brook Shelter (a steep almost 2 miles) which wasted my quads. My right knee started to hurt on Day 3, after which I started taking 4 tabs of Aleve a day. I got through 80 miles to Pinkham Notch, but my knees are still bothering me at home. I've never had knee problems before, use poles, and only carry a 27-pound pack, but if poles don't help a lot when you're boulder hopping your way down.

cakeman21k
09-21-2006, 16:57
You might also try knee braces if the problem persists. If you need to you can also wrap your knee with tape (duct tape will work but there are better products avaliable in any good pharmacy) to see if that helps. I had the classic "my knees hurt on the downhills) problem for several years till I bought myself a good set of knee braces and have had no trouble ever since. The exact kind of knee brace you might need depends on where your knee hurts, but again try wrapping it with athletic tape first to see if that helps.

Greywolf
09-21-2006, 23:17
Greywolf's knee hurt too. This is what I did:
Stretch to the side each day and during breaks if any that you may take. Platapus with ice cold stream water is good for icing the knee. Ibruprofen to reduce the swellng. And Finally, I use the hiking poles when faced with the dreaded down hill.
Oh yea!!!!! Get that pack weight down to about 20lbs if you value your knees!