knee damage

[Powder River]

I completed a thru hike this year and my knees just aren't the same as they used to be. I find it painful to walk up or down stairs, or on certain days even walk down the street. I absolutely cannot run at this time, and at best I can kind of 'fast walk' without too much pain. It has been two months since finishing the trail, so I don't think its because things are still stiff or something like that.

Has anybody else experienced this, and do you have any hopeful perspectives on whether this will pass?

Thanks.

[Tennessee Viking]

If you had cut down your calcium and essential vitamins during you hike that could explain things. Try glucosamine, calcium, & other joint/bone supplements.

This was due to hiking, I had an inflamation of the knees that was possibly by a light version of strep. The doctor explained that my antibodies were in excess, and they landed in my knees. They were swollen & inflammed, and I couldn't walk at all.

[Serial 07]

i'm tellin' you what...i've worked in the supplement department of my health food store for over 6 years, the best thing that i've taken for knee pains was about 5000 mg of MSM a day for say 2 or 3 weeks...msm is fairly cheap (go to a health food store to purchase not costco ;), there is a quality issue here) and is best taken in conjunction with vit. c...i hurt my knee preety bad (i don't have insurance) and took MSM/vit c combo for a couple weeks and was back to normal (and thankful!)...

the dose is usually 1000 mg per tablet...take no more than 2 at a time (it's best utilized over time, not 5000 all at once...like anything in life...) and take a vitamin c with it...the vitamin c will help with absorption and also helps heal tissues...

for pain, tumeric is herb of choice...other options are devils claw, boswellia, yucca, ginger...anything with a nice combo of these things is good...take once 3 times a day...

good luck...

[Serial 07]

ah, you're from balto...holla at my boy a.b. barackus for me!

[Lone Wolf]

I completed a thru hike this year and my knees just aren't the same as they used to be. I find it painful to walk up or down stairs, or on certain days even walk down the street. I absolutely cannot run at this time, and at best I can kind of 'fast walk' without too much pain. It has been two months since finishing the trail, so I don't think its because things are still stiff or something like that.

Has anybody else experienced this, and do you have any hopeful perspectives on whether this will pass?

Thanks.

did you use hiking poles?

[Kerosene]

It's not clear how old you are, but once you get above 35 or so it just takes a lot longer to recover from injury. My favorite anecdote was going to the ortho at age 50 with a torn MCL (I still try to play competitive soccer...duh), and him saying that it was only a 4-week injury for an 18-yo, but at my age it was more like 4 months. I was back on the field in 3, but it was 4 before I felt fully recovered (and 6 before I was in shape again!). I hyper-extended my knee last summer, and it took almost a full year to regain strength and have it feel better.

Consider doubling up on your anti-inflammatories for a week; the proposed remedies above won't hurt; you might try to ice whenever you feel pain; and avoid use wherever possible for several months. Feel free to consult with a sports medicine doctor also.

[Lyle]

I've never experienced knee problems, but other pains have taken a while to heal and feel better.

If I were you, I'd see a Doc, get an evaluation. Not saying he/she could do anything for you, but it will give you a baseline status check for the future.

[Blue Jay]

did you use hiking poles?

HOW DARE YOU, have you no fear?

[Lone Wolf]

HOW DARE YOU, have you no fear?

it's a valid question. the more you don't use poles the more you build up muscles surrounding the ligaments. i've torn the 3 main ligaments in my knee. i know what i'm talkin' about

[jersey joe]

Hopefully the pain is getting better. It took me a good month before I didn't feel any pain in my legs and feet after my thru hike and I was in my 20's. Give it some more time.

[.5step]

I haven't thru-hiked, so I can't give you any insight on post-thru hike knee pain, but I do have similar knee pain when I go up and down stairs.

My doc told me it's most likely tendinitis. Apart from simply resting, which is a bizarre recommendation from a doctor to a hiker, he mentioned doing leg pressess, extensions, or lunges at the gym to build up your quads and hamstrings and take pressure off of those tendons (although if you've just completed a thru hike this may be a non-issue).

The last thing I've done is taken glucosamine, although I think the science is still out on this one.

[Kerosene]

...he mentioned doing leg pressess, extensions, or lunges at the gym to build up your quads and hamstrings...Careful with the extensions, as using too much weight/too soon, can hurt your knees. Surprisingly, my physical therapist avoided leg extensions during my treatment.

You'll also want to make sure that you try to balance the relative strength of your quads vs. hams; most men have over-developed quads, which can lead to hamstring pulls, and back/knee problems.

LW's suggestion to go without poles has validity. In most cases, strengthening all of the muscles around a joint, along with improved proprioception (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprioception), is a better approach than reliance on a knee braces or other mechanical assists. While I haven't too many knee problems (knock on wood), my ankles are a mess. I finally started to get things under control through a series of ankle exercises and have eliminated the need for ankle braces. Actually, backpacking on an uneven surface strengthens my ankles enormously; and my improved proprioception allows me to "catch" myself before the ankle turns all the way.

[mudhead]

Thanks for the link. Interesting.

Quite the word. Thirty center, at least!

[Blue Jay]

LW's suggestion to go without poles has validity. In most cases, strengthening all of the muscles around a joint, along with improved proprioception (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprioception), is a better approach than reliance on a knee braces or other mechanical assists. While I haven't too many knee problems (knock on wood), my ankles are a mess. I finally started to get things under control through a series of ankle exercises and have eliminated the need for ankle braces. Actually, backpacking on an uneven surface strengthens my ankles enormously; and my improved proprioception allows me to "catch" myself before the ankle turns all the way.

Of course it has validity, people just do not want to hear it. Pain is there for a reason. You need to do something about it as suggested here, not cover it up.

[.5step]

[quote=Kerosene;730108]

You'll also want to make sure that you try to balance the relative strength of your quads vs. hams; most men have over-developed quads, which can lead to hamstring pulls, and back/knee problems.


You might want to try squats using a bosu (the bubble looking thing at the gym) with no weights.

Keep one foot on the bosu and one on the ground and squat; then alternate your feet, picking up speed as you go.

[Blue Jay]

[quote=Kerosene;730108]

You'll also want to make sure that you try to balance the relative strength of your quads vs. hams; most men have over-developed quads, which can lead to hamstring pulls, and back/knee problems.


You might want to try squats using a bosu (the bubble looking thing at the gym) with no weights.

Keep one foot on the bosu and one on the ground and squat; then alternate your feet, picking up speed as you go.

Yet another great suggestion. This thread is excellent.

[Plodderman]

I have had knee pain for years and a couple of surgeries but still hike relatively long distances. Making sure the muscles are developed around the knee are critical so more is needed than just walking. I regularly do stretches and leg lifts to get the muscles firing around the knee.

[DapperD]

I completed a thru hike this year and my knees just aren't the same as they used to be. I find it painful to walk up or down stairs, or on certain days even walk down the street. I absolutely cannot run at this time, and at best I can kind of 'fast walk' without too much pain. It has been two months since finishing the trail, so I don't think its because things are still stiff or something like that.

Has anybody else experienced this, and do you have any hopeful perspectives on whether this will pass?

Thanks.It would be best to go see a doctor. From what I understand, unfortunately, is that once knees are damaged they do not reverse themselves. They may get somewhat better with rest, but the key is "damage control" in that continued damage possibly can occur by not seeking professional assistance, and most likely , if you have health coverage, it would be in your best interest to do just that.

[double j]

pain is weekness leaving the body.

[DapperD]

pain is weekness leaving the body. There is the pain of a good muscle workout, for instance, where the muscles then need to rest, and then there is the very real "sharp" pain notifying that an injury has occured or is occuring. I happen to feel that when someone states that on certain days the pain hurts in their knees so much they can't even walk down the street, then it could be something requiring medical evaluation.

[Spogatz]

I use a Cho-Pat knee brace. I have seen other hikers swear by this one too and they have it at Mountain Crossings @ Neels gap

[Jorel]

an ounce of prevention is worth something, I forget what exactly. wall sits are an excellent exercise to build quad strength. for hamstrings, lie on floor on back, and bend one knee at 90 degrees, lift other leg off floor and hold straight out for 30 seconds. repeat three times on each side. this is good, low stress exercise that should be done daily for 90 days or so before long hike, especially for older hikers. one legged squats on bosu are good. for ankles, hold leg out and spell the alphabet with your foot, then with other foot. great for flexibillity and strength. and of course, walk on uneven surfaces with your pack filled with plastic water bottles filled with water, carefully of course. and although not using hiking poles is good to build strength, there are lots of places on any trail where they are necessary safety devices, especially for us over 50 types. all imo of course.

[Sailor (The other one)]

build up muscles surrounding the ligaments. i've torn the 3 main ligaments in my knee. i know what i'm talkin' about
This is an important point, not only because of the muscles surrounding the ligaments, but the ligaments themselves.
I'm a personal trainer, massage therapist in a chiropractor's office, body builder and knee pain sufferer. A little anatomy if you don't mind.
Ligaments connect bone to bone. Tendons connect muscle to bone. Each has very little blood supply compared to other tissue, ligaments having the least. Both ligaments and tendons help hold the knee joint together. There's a huge tendon that comes out of the quads and goes over and around the knee cap and down to the shin, for example.
Exercising the muscles surrounding the knee helps the knee by lessening the strain on the coinnective tissue, partly because it strengthens the tendons that also hold the knee together.
But the exercise - especially low weight, high rep, high set exercise like light leg extensions - gets more blood flowing into the ligaments, which is essential for both healing and strengthening.
If I were you (and I have been) I would do the following, along with seeing a medical doctor:
-light weight, high rep, high set leg extensions to start with. Do them only once a week to begin. Start with less weight then you think you can handle and increase weight/sets/reps very slowly. You're looking to get to like four sets of 25 reps with a burn but no pain.
-Ice. Ice Ice Ice. 20 minutes out of an hour. Ice promotes healing, partly by flushing blood through the area as the area returns to room temp. Do not use heat. It feels good, but doesn't promote healing.
-Glucosamine/Chondroitin/MSM/Vit C/Calcium. These are essential for the reproduction of connective tissue as well as cartilege. These tissues are not static; they are constantly being rebuilt. Otherewise the healthiest diet you can manage, especially rich in raw veggeis and fruit since they have tons of healing chemicals.
- Sit on the floor, back against the wall, legs straight out. Flex your quads. Your knee cap will move. This helps get the knee cap or keep the knee cap properly aligned. Do this daily for one set of 15 reps.
- If you're overweight, lose weight.
- Rest. Pain is Nature's way of saying Stop! After the exercise, rest. If you hike one day, take the next day off. The good stuff from exercise comes during the rest after the exercise when your body starts to adapt to what you have done just in case you do it again. I suspect a lot of the things thru hikers suffer is because of inadequate rest on the trail.
- Be very wary of using pain killers, including Vit I. What I mean is, I constantly run into clients who use a pain killer to deaden some pain and then go work out the injured body part. They've just masked the pain and are increasing the injury without being aware of it, until the medication wears off.
Good luck.

[twoshoes06]

What type of shoes did you use? I find that my knees kill me when I used boots, then I started using trail running shoes, which are much lighter and I haven't had knee problems since.

I had ACL surgery 4 years before my thru-hike and I never had problems with my knees on the trip. I heard somewhere that every 1 lb on your feet is like 7 lbs on your back.

Is that what everyone else has heard?

So I say use hiking poles for your ankles and trail running shoes for your knees ;-)

[fiatspider2000]

I am 57 years old and went on a 200 mile hike starting southbound July 1. I was never athletic and carried extra weight. My knees would hurt as I would try to bend down at a lower counter before I hiked. I carried 35 lbs as I stared the 100 mile wilderness, I brought a knee strap that I used on my left knee after the 2nd or 3rd day. Then my son needed support on his knee. I just used a handkerchief tied below my knee. I walked with hiking poles and wore trailrunners. After resting in Monson I did not need the support as much.
Now that I am home 6 months later, I am able to bend to lower cabinets without pain, unfortunately I have put the weight back on that I lost in Maine, but this hike has shown me how hiking can rejuvenate the body. I look forward to getting back on the trail.

Popeye

[Plodderman]

The problem with knee pain is that you favor the knee and hurt the other or the hips as well.

[dmax]

I'd for sure go to the doc and get a mri. My knee was like that, just not after a thru. I went to alot of doctors over a two year span. One would say tendonitis. One would say stop smoking, which I need to do. Another would say arthritis. And so on. I finally had a mri done. It was a bad meniscus tear. After surgery and a few months of healing, the knee is all better.

[Ender]

Has anybody else experienced this, and do you have any hopeful perspectives on whether this will pass?

Thanks.

Unless you have a serious issue, which it doesn't sound like you have, it'll pass. I was like that for a few months after my hike... thought it would never end. Then one day I realized I'd been taking the stairs without pain for a couple weeks and hadn't even realized it.

[Deadeye]

I find Doctors are better equipped to answer questions like this than hikers are:-?. You may have to look for the right doctor, but that'll be easier than finding the right hiker.

[Ender]

I find Doctors are better equipped to answer questions like this than hikers are:-?. You may have to look for the right doctor, but that'll be easier than finding the right hiker.

Agreed, but he asked us hikers, so we might as well answer. :rolleyes:

[Plodderman]

The doctor deal is important when it comes to knees as some wait to long and end up with arthritis and bone problems. An MRI and scoping reveals the knee problem. Make sure if go to the doctor it is a sports medicine type plac,e they tend to use other options to keep you going.