Neck/Shoulder Pain

[erinjoy777]

My hubby and I went for our very first hike together yesterday! We went to a state park and after a miserable night of sleep (air mattress was NOT a good idea), we were still pumped and ready to get out there yesterday morning. We hiked about 6 miles. Although we live in TX we were in the hill country so there were actually some pretty steep inclines at times! It was definitely a workout.

Anyway, I carried a camelback w/ 70 oz. of water and maybe a lb. of other items. So maybe about 6 lbs. total? But after 3 hours of hiking my neck and shoulders were in PAIN. All I could think was, how in the world will I make it with a 30-40 lb. pack on my back?

I'm not in good shape right now, so that may have something to do with it, maybe it was the fit of the pack (it was resting on my shoulders most of the time), maybe tension, I dunno. But does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions on this subject? Are there any exercises I could do that might help? THANKS!!

[TIDE-HSV]

The Camelback is hanging off your shoulders, so your pain is not unexpected. You need a pack which will transfer some weight to your waist. And 30 lb should be your upper limit, not your bottom limit...

[leaftye]

If it's muscular pain, it could be caused by looking at the ground.

[erinjoy777]

Both very good thoughts. I definitely was looking at the ground most of the time as the inclines/declines would come up suddenly.

TIDE-HSV, is there a better water pack that you would suggest?

[Spirit Walker]

Probably a combination of a bad sleep that tightened up your back and neck and an ill fitting pack. Most of the weight should be on your hips, not on your shoulders. Were you using hiking poles? I have found that I can use one pole, but two makes me tighten up my neck too much.

If this was your first overnight hike, you were using muscles that you aren't used to using. It does get better as your body gets used to walking with weight. It's why someone can be a very fit runner or bicyclist, but their first backpack trip is still hard. They are using their muscles in different ways.

My first backpack trip was four days. The first three I was in agony. By the fourth day I started to enjoy it. One thing I learned on that trip that has worked ever since - take advil at night, even if you don't hurt a lot. The muscles stiffen and make sleeping difficult if not impossible and you wake up even more stiff and sore than when you went to bed. Advil helps.

[Jonnycat]

I agree about weight on your shoulders, when I use my pack, I put darn near all of the weight on my hips, or my infraspinatus and teres start to tell me they are not happy.

Also, the correct pillow makes a HUGE difference on your quality of sleep, and the resulting pain/discomfort the next day. I roll up my jacket for my pillow, but I have to do it a certain way or it won't work.

[erinjoy777]

Spirit, I was not using hiking poles, although this is the first I've heard of two poles causing tension. That's interesting.

Yes, I started out in our tent, then moved to the car, then ended up on the ground. I definitely woke up stiff. So yeah, it was probably a combination of things.

The camelback had a strap, but it hit right under my bust, so way above my hips. Maybe a weird design? I dunno.

[Blissful]

I have to use my Gregory jade for any day hikes now (I tighten the straps). Works very well for me.
Would be interested to know what air mattress you used. Though any time you are doing something you aren't used to, it can be uncomfortable at first. Just take some tylenol.

[erinjoy777]

Bliss, wow that's an expensive day pack!

We are brand new to hiking. This weekend was our first camping/hiking excursion ever! We have the dream of thru hiking next year, but we don't know for sure if we will be able to go yet, and we also don't haven't hiked enough to know if it's really for us, so we don't want to invest in expensive equipment at this time.

For this camping trip, we borrowed a friend's 3 person tent, and we bought a coleman queen sized air mattress (30 bucks). We chose this because we knew we could use it at home when we have company, so it didn't feel like a total waste of money in case we went camping, totally hated it, and decided thru hiking definitely is not for us! Luckily we enjoyed the hike but we definitely need to find different sleeping arrangements in the future.

[erinjoy777]

PS, I enjoyed looking at your blog, Blissful! Congrats on finishing the AT!! And I think I will invest in that balance board, I am clumsy and roll my ankles on flat ground!

[TIDE-HSV]

Both very good thoughts. I definitely was looking at the ground most of the time as the inclines/declines would come up suddenly.

TIDE-HSV, is there a better water pack that you would suggest?
I wouldn't think you should need a water pack for day-hiking. A good daypack with a couple of liters should be enough for a day hike. When you get back to your vehicle, you can make up any deficit. As I remember, you were carrying around four liters and that's a lot for one person, even in the heat of the hill country, IMO...

[leaftye]

70 ounces is about 2 liters. Not much at all. The 6 pounds she thinks she was carrying is hardly anything, and it would have gotten lighter as she hiked. I very much doubt the weight of that pack or how it fit caused her pain.

[Pedaling Fool]

My hubby and I went for our very first hike together yesterday! We went to a state park and after a miserable night of sleep (air mattress was NOT a good idea), we were still pumped and ready to get out there yesterday morning. We hiked about 6 miles. Although we live in TX we were in the hill country so there were actually some pretty steep inclines at times! It was definitely a workout.

Anyway, I carried a camelback w/ 70 oz. of water and maybe a lb. of other items. So maybe about 6 lbs. total? But after 3 hours of hiking my neck and shoulders were in PAIN. All I could think was, how in the world will I make it with a 30-40 lb. pack on my back?

I'm not in good shape right now, so that may have something to do with it, maybe it was the fit of the pack (it was resting on my shoulders most of the time), maybe tension, I dunno. But does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions on this subject? Are there any exercises I could do that might help? THANKS!!
In my opinion that has everything to do with it. In these threads people always mention pack fit/weight. I've never had a pack fitted and the weight of my pack is pretty heavy, much heavier than the average. So I know this pain you talk about and I credit it all to physical shape.

I suppose if I had my pack professionally fitted and reduced the weight I would have been more comfortable in the beginning, but I rather my body just get use to what feels right to me.

Now that I'm in much better hiking shape I don't feel those same pains, but I'm sure some will still think I'm an idiot for not having my pack "fitted".

As for exercises, I always do weight training, not just for hiking, also just to keep the effects of aging away. Anything that exercises the back and shoulders would be good.

BTW, If you go running and afterwards your legs hurt do you blame the shoes? Some seem to think the shoes are the problem, but really it's just physical shape -- weakness leaving the body.;)

[TIDE-HSV]

70 ounces is about 2 liters. Not much at all. The 6 pounds she thinks she was carrying is hardly anything, and it would have gotten lighter as she hiked. I very much doubt the weight of that pack or how it fit caused her pain.

My bad; you're right. Shouldn't have figured in my head...:o

[Snowleopard]

... I started out in our tent, then moved to the car, then ended up on the ground. I definitely woke up stiff. ...
That sounds uncomfortable and might be the whole problem. 6 lb in a pack isn't enough to be a problem unless there's something odd about how you carried it. Try carrying that pack around your neighborhood to see if it bothers you.

Is better yet? If it's not feeling better in a few days it's possible it's something else (pulled muscle, etc.).

[hikingshoes]

Probably a combination of a bad sleep that tightened up your back and neck and an ill fitting pack. Most of the weight should be on your hips, not on your shoulders. Were you using hiking poles? I have found that I can use one pole, but two makes me tighten up my neck too much.

If this was your first overnight hike, you were using muscles that you aren't used to using. It does get better as your body gets used to walking with weight. It's why someone can be a very fit runner or bicyclist, but their first backpack trip is still hard. They are using their muscles in different ways.

My first backpack trip was four days. The first three I was in agony. By the fourth day I started to enjoy it. One thing I learned on that trip that has worked ever since - take advil at night, even if you don't hurt a lot. The muscles stiffen and make sleeping difficult if not impossible and you wake up even more stiff and sore than when you went to bed. Advil helps.

Lol,AMEN TO THAT!!! GF and I did a section on the AT (Max Patch to Hot Springs). We headed to Roaring Forks Shelter, This was my GF first Backpacking trip (EVER) and it was crazy that night( T-storms) lots of high wind, limbs falling over the shelter. Sad thing was her air pad leaked ( my old Army air pad O/D green).Anyway we hiked on in to HS on her second backpacking trip,which is crazy but thats what she wanted to do. The second section hike (Max Patch to Standing Bear) was a lot better(didnt think she would go back) and the hiking did get better too.For as my lady, We've been on 3 -4 backpacking trips and she still loves it!!HS

[The Old Boot]

I'd say just about everything that could cause pain happened all in one trip!!

Those $30.00 blow-up mattresses have no baffles in them so two of you sleeping on one mattress means that everytime one of you moved, the other almost got bounced off the bed. That's not conducive to a good night's sleep.

They also have no insulation in them so they're colder than the surrounding air. Even when I use my single BYOB inside, I have to put at least a heavy comforter underneath me to block the cold air...add another reason why you didn't get a good night's sleep.

Then you moved to the back seat of the car...they weren't comfortable for thrashing around when we were teens, they're no more comfortable now..:D

And then you tried the rock hard ground....I'm surprised you could get up in the morning to even start the hike!!

I'd bet your back was screaming BEFORE you put a pack on that hung 100% from your shoulders.

Add all of that to being admittedly out of shape and it's no wonder you hurt...heck it's nothing short of sheer determination that allowed you to do 6 hours of hiking.

Hiking sticks do help tremendously, they don't have to be expensive ones to start with - W/M carries some that are very inexpensive that could be used for start up gear. I hike with one sometimes, sometimes two - depending on whether the dog lead is in one hand. I don't notice my shoulder and neck muscles acting differently either way.

I was out recently with a bunch of high school students doing trail maintenance and showed them the difference between my day pack that has a waist belt and theirs (none did). They all vowed that the next school pack would be a better one that had a waist strap. Putting the weight onto the hips makes all the difference in the world (yes, even when it's 6 or 8 pounds). I have a Kelty convertible pack for day use that's just plain sweet!!

Rather than specific exercises, just plain getting in better shape would do wonders....even walking around town would do SOME good.

[Hoop]

What john gault said

[Walkintom]

Also, there is one more factor that should be mentioned. When you hike, sometimes you hurt. I'm not saying that a hike means you will be in bad pain or even low level constant pain. But you will experience some discomfort, especially as you break in to hiking. Once you are past the hump it is not bad. You will learn ways to avoid causing yourself pain and you will frankly toughen up as well.

When the wife and I took our first 'test hike' to see if we could go more than a couple of miles in packs we did so many dumb things that I can't count them all. I will summarize it by saying that one should not carry a medicine ball for 'a little extra weight.' We made it about 11 miles in completely flat walking that was mostly shaded, ran out of water and were dragging around for two days in pain afterwards.

Even if you aren't ready to make a purchase I suggest going to an outdoor outfitter and trying on some packs. Let the sales person show you how they SHOULD fit.

[erinjoy777]

You all are ALL right I think. I do need to get in better shape, I am working on it. I've started lifting weights a couple times a week and hubby and I are walking everyday (packless at this point, though). I do think I carry stress in my neck and shoulders, in general though. If I have a bad day at work that's what hurts when I get home.

The Old Boot, your post made me laugh because yes, it was a rather ridiculous night! We will definitely invest in some sleep pads when we go out again.

You all are so great! I really appreciate your thoughts! I hope to meet some of you out there someday!

[lazy river road]

Try out an AARN pack

http://www.aarnusa.com/

the balance pockets relieve 99% of the pressure off of your neck and shoulders. IT balances perfectly on your hips causing your legs to do all the work and not your back and shoulders. A most excellent pack. Another suggestion would be trying out a hammock something like a warbonnet black bird or a hennessy. Getting off the ground really helped my aches and pains in the morning not having to roll off the ground and get up. And most importantly practice practice practice. The more you hike in any pack the more comfortable you begin to feel with it and if the pain persist then it may or may not be the right pack for you. Go to a reputable outfitters and try on several packs with different weights and base your decision off of that.

Good luck in your future hikes and hope you find a way to get rid of the pain while hiking.

LRR

[erinjoy777]

Looked at that pack, that's a very interesting concept. It totally makes sense! Definitely not the biggest fashion statement, but I would at least like to try one on. Also, this whole hammock thing really has me fascinated! I would like to try that as well. Although that wouldn't make for many cuddly nights with the hubby, if you know what I mean haha.

[erinjoy777]

Well everybody, I am now the proud owner of an Osprey Manta 20 hydration pack. I got it today at Backwoods, AFTER trying it on. It fit great! I really think it's going to alleviate the shoulder and neck pain I had. I can't wait to get out on the trail with it! It's larger than a basic camelbak, but I decided to go with it b/c while the basic camelbaks, etc. are good for summertime, there's no room for things such as a jacket, pullover, etc. that I will need in the fall/winter. So I'm very excited and just wanted to share with people that care! haha Does anyone else have this pack?

[TIDE-HSV]

Well everybody, I am now the proud owner of an Osprey Manta 20 hydration pack. I got it today at Backwoods, AFTER trying it on. It fit great! I really think it's going to alleviate the shoulder and neck pain I had. I can't wait to get out on the trail with it! It's larger than a basic camelbak, but I decided to go with it b/c while the basic camelbaks, etc. are good for summertime, there's no room for things such as a jacket, pullover, etc. that I will need in the fall/winter. So I'm very excited and just wanted to share with people that care! haha Does anyone else have this pack?
I notice you said you're in seminary earlier. My niece was commissioned a provisional elder in the UMC this AM. Neat ceremony with a lot of family present...

[erinjoy777]

Wow, that's great! Yes, I am, I'm studying to be a minister of music, worship leader, whatever you want to call it. I'm set to finish this semester. It's been a great experience but I'm definitely excited to be done!

[Del Q]

Just chiding in............most of us work, sit a lot at work, maybe don't work out that hard...........and you can't get ready for the AT in a few weeks if you are out of shape, then we head out with 30lbs + on our backs (maybe 40? / too much!! Been there.), on REALLY TOUGH TERRAIN, and we think that we're not going to get banged up a bit 100% of the time?

There should be a pain / age rating............at 50 plus I rehab something different after each section hike.