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Thread: Knee trouble

  1. #1

    Knee trouble

    My wife gets really bad knee pain while hiking. It only happens on the way down. It never hurts on the way up. Even if they are hurting and we get to a spot that gains elevation they will stop hurting.

    Does anyone have a suggestion for this. I was looking at mabey getting some nice trekking poles. She wore some neoprene knee braces on our last trip to bald mtn. and they didn't help.

    I think we will probably end up going to a doc because they hurt her so bad. When hiking down it hurts to bend her knees at all.
    The man thong is wrong.

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  3. #2
    This exact thing was happening to me for a while, especially after my last knee surgery. What's strange is my orthopedic surgeon kept blowing it off. He did a full MRI and when he was scoping me he said he couldn't find anything that would be causing it. At the time it was so bad that I could barely even walk down stairs, but going up I was just fine. The only recommendation he gave me was to lose some weight. Since then I've lost about 25 pounds and I don't recall the last time I felt that pain.

    I do highly recommend trekking poles though. I use them all the time and they take a lot off the knees.

  4. #3
    ephemeral excursionist blueeyes's Avatar
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    Since my surgery going downhill or scrambling down off rocks hurts. Down is the worst. I could go up all day long and they don't bother me. If she has weight to lose that will help (I need to myself) and doing exercises that strengthen the knees.
    Chere'




  5. #4
    she is in the low 100's for weight and in good shape. Plus I don't want to tell her she needs to lose weight. Because she doesn't but also because I would get my butt kicked! I will tell her to look into excersizes for knee strength. I am also planning on getting her some really nice trekking poles.
    The man thong is wrong.

  6. #5
    ephemeral excursionist blueeyes's Avatar
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    Yeah I wouldn't tell her to lose weight either.

    I have to focus on how I hike. Make sure I land my foot secure and don't pound it down or let it wobble to the side. Bo also showed me cool technique last year when I went through Subway with him. I couldn't begin to explain it but maybe he will be kind enough to do so.

    A really good exercise is to get one of those big exercise balls and put it behind your back against the wall and do squats. Have her go to a physical therapists to recommend some knee exercises and watch her perform them to make sure she has good form. Then she can do the exercises at home.
    Chere'




  7. #6
    Here's an interesting thread on the same subject: http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...d.php?t=131766
    I too am interested in this because it happened to me way bad last year. When I was hiking Half Dome and following the Mist Trail. There are over 500 stairs along that trail and I went up and down every single one of them. Going up didn't seem to hurt my knees, but coming back down, I was in agony. I could've taken the Muir Trail and missed the stairs, but I wanted more pics of the waterfalls, and I got my best ones on the way down, so I'm glad I did it. It took me several days after to be able to walk normally again. I think the trekking poles should help absorb the shock on the knees on the way down.

  8. #7
    POLES! they will help to take some of the weight, and pounding off her knees. i did over 100,000 feet of vertical two years in a row guiding. i don't think my knees would have held out without my poles. i'm sold on them. the nice ones even have shock absorbers in them. i have the leki makalu. not cheap. i think they were over $100. check ebay for deals.
    But if I agreed with you, we would both be wrong.

  9. #8
    I used the Leki Super Makalus for a while with the shock absorbers, they were nice but I HIGHLY recommend any of the Black Diamond poles that have dual flick-locks for each part of the shaft. The cams wear out on the Leki poles, the flick locks just need a simple tightening. I still have my Leki's which come in handy when loaning a pair out but I LOVE my BD's.

  10. #9

    Knee Pain?

    [QUOTE=blueeyes;408499]Yeah I wouldn't tell her to lose weight either.

    I have to focus on how I hike. Make sure I land my foot secure and don't pound it down or let it wobble to the side. Bo also showed me cool technique last year when I went through Subway with him. I couldn't begin to explain it but maybe he will be kind enough to do so.

    Not really sure what I explained to you, but I've found a couple things that help me. First...I always try to keep my knees bent on a downhill. Rarely do I straighten my legs at the knee joint. Also I generally keep a wide stance (almost bowlegged). I find that by doing the "lock knee" technique on the uphills, I get a split second rest on the muscles each step I take. What has helped me the most recently is to try to wear my Vibram Fivefingers as much as possible. Something about "barefoot" seems to keep my legs/hips/torso aligned and therefore less discomfort in the knees. Maybe psycological, maybe physiological? but I don't question..It works. I still don't use trekking poles, but I certainly can see the advantage that they would offer. I think plyometrics would be a good way to strengthen and condition legs for uneven terrain and the "bursts" that accompany hiking.

  11. #10
    ephemeral excursionist blueeyes's Avatar
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    Thanks Bo!

    It was the lock knee thing. I think doing that going uphill doesn't tire out my knee as quickly. So muscles have a little more left in them.

    I see people with those knee straps? I don't know why exactly one wears one for the elbow or knee but maybe it would help.
    Chere'




  12. #11
    Yeah, I've had both of my knees operated on. Try to come downhill on the tip toes, knees bent. Hiking poles will help too.

    Or else just come down the trail on a bike.

  13. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by denaliguide View Post
    i have the leki makalu. not cheap. i think they were over $100.
    I have had these same poles for about two years and love them. I purchased them off SAC for $60 to help deal with knee pain and they definitely make a huge difference on long downhill hikes. Last month I was starting to have some issues with the shocks sticking so I took them apart, cleaned, lubed and they are working better then ever.

  14. #13
    Dreaming of the Winds! homerj's Avatar
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    I had this happen to me for the first time while hiking in Southern Utah this spring. We had hiked probably 30+ miles in 3 days, all of it off trail/bush-whacking. At the end of the 3rd day my knee all of a sudden started hurting bad and the pain quickly shot down my leg. Luckily I was only about a 1/2 mile from camp and was able to hobble back. It's happened many times after that, but never as bad. Going down steep slopes is what does it the most. What has helped is doing exercises to strengthen the knee and stretches. I have gotten my knee back to nearly 100%, but I'm still not there yet. If I start to feel it coming down I put on my knee brace (which doesn’t help much) and I slow it down, take more breaks, and stretch my legs. I think the stretching helps it the most. Anyway, I hope this helps!

  15. #14
    Ibuprofen....
    Life is Good

  16. #15
    and therapy, and biking and squats, and neoprene knee pads, and then some more Ibuprofen. I was told I played way too much basketball and had almost bone on bone contact in a couple of spots. Not happy with the knees but still going.
    Life is Good

  17. #16
    In late 2002 my right knee started doing exactly that; hurting on the descent. Neoprene braces weren't enough, so I bought a complicated knee brace with several Velcro closures, and snugged that sucker down tight for my next descent, Guadalupe Peak in Texas. That did the trick, and since it allowed me to strengthen the knee, eventually I didn't need it any more.

  18. #17
    Sweet. Thanks everyone!
    The man thong is wrong.

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