I recently did the first 27 miles of the Mountains to Sea Trail, which has some wicked elevation changes & rough terrain. I'm in good shape, and do exercises geared toward conditioning me for hiking, but I hadn't actually backpacked in about a year. For the most part I experienced the types of aches & pains you'd expect, but there were two things that concerned me more, as I felt they might have forced me off the trail if I had been planning a longer trip (I was able to complete the 4 days/3 nights I'd planned this time). I'd love to hear from other people who have experienced similar issues along with any helpful information you obtained in terms of diagnosis (I know we're not doctors on here, yada yada), treatments, and prevention. They were:

Forearm swelling/pain: I used my trekking poles on this trip, and within the first day my left forearm had an area that was swollen and sore (but NOT red or warm to the touch). By the third and fourth days, it was so tender that even just rotating my forearm left/right or picking up something small like my 8 oz bear mace was very painful. If you hold your left arm out straight in front of you, palm down, the swelling is on the right side extending a bit onto the top of my forearm, near the wrist and farthest from the elbow. Driving home from the hike I thought I felt my cell phone vibrate my arm, but realized it was the swollen/irritated tissue in my arm...rubbing against itself I guess, as I rotated my forearm. It's been a week and it's still a bit swollen and tender, but seems to be slowly starting to resolve. I have been sleeping in a wrist-brace. All I can guess is that this is from me using my trekking poles on steep ascents & descents? I've hiked with trekking poles before with no problem, and my right arm is fine, it was just my left arm that had problems. Has anybody else experienced this? I'm seeing information on hands swelling, but not forearms. I'd hate for this to become a recurring problem.

Right knee: Became very sore & hot to the touch following steep descents, to the point that I had to descend sideways in order to keep my right leg straight, because bending it & lifting the knee upward was too painful. I was limping for ~24 hrs after the completion of the hike. However, this issue resolved quickly as soon as I was no longer doing steep ascents/descents. It even felt better each morning but would then act up again as I continued hiking. Has anybody successfully used a knee wrap/brace to alleviate this issue? I'm thinking of wearing a knee brace or wrapping it on my next hike.

Thanks!