Know Your Knee How Hiking Protects Your Knee
How Hiking Protects Your Knee
Spring is here, the cold is over, the earth is getting warmer, everything is recovering, the spring breeze is blowing, and the sun is shining. Go outdoors, go to the natural landscape, use your heart and your eyes to feel the beauty of the outside world.
Then comes the problem of the knee. Although many sports can cause wear and tear of the knee, our hiking is not as dangerous as basketball or skiing, but the injury to the knee is very serious. It is common, such as walking on a cobblestone road, you will fall if you are not careful, and if you walk frequently, the wear and tear on your knees will gradually accumulate and increase.
As winter passes and spring comes gradually, more and more people go out to walk outdoors, with incorrect hiking posture or bravery during hiking. Excessive exercise will not only bring no exercise effect, but also cannot improve Cardiopulmonary function, and may also bring about sports injuries. Knee injuries are increasingly common among hikers. This type of injury has the potential to cause lameness, it does not heal overnight, it can lead to osteoarthritis, and even total knee replacement is required.
However, the good news is that knee injuries are almost always caused by personal error, that is, it can be almost completely avoided, so let’s start by understanding our knee joint , and then figure out how to protect it.
Know Your Knee
The structure of the knee can easily support movement, normal movement is part of the joint’s task, but during weight-bearing walking, especially It is downhill, but the test of this bending joint is aggravated. On average, a person takes about 2 million steps a year, and this statistic doesn’t include those backcountry hikes. But knee injuries aren’t just a matter of the number of walks. When walking on the floor, the pressure on your heel is three times your own weight; when jogging on a flat surface, this pressure is about five times your own weight. Hiking down the mountain is similar to running. If you also carry a large backpack, the pressure includes five times the weight of the backpack.
The knee has its own shock absorber: the meniscus, which are two meniscus-shaped pieces of cartilage that sit where the femur and tibia meet and act like a cushion to distribute weight. In addition, there is articular cartilage, which acts like a smooth elastic lining that covers the top of the bones where the knees meet, minimizing friction when the ends of the bones move relative to each other. However, these two types of cartilage can only reduce a certain amount of impact force. When hiking with a heavy backpack, especially walking downhill, it is easy to cause qualitative lesions of the knee joint. The shock absorber of a car is aging, you can still replace it with a new one, but for the knee joint, you can’t just replace it with a joint, you basically have no choice.
The structure of the knee joint is complex. It is not like the scapula fossa, nor like the hip joint, which is structured like a suction cup. The knee joint does not have such a deep joint socket. It is more like the hinge on the door. The hinge, which houses the femoral head, which is slightly longer on one side and shorter on the other, is bound together by four major ligaments (several of which are cruciate ligaments) that pull these ligaments with every flexion and extension of the knee. Such a not very strong joint acts as a lever for the legs when the movement accelerates, and acts as a ‘brake brake’ when it decelerates. In fact, any quick turn involves a twist in the middle of the leg, which in the case of the knee can cause pain, or worse.
When hiking in the wild, you will also encounter some unexpected problems. The road under our feet is often uneven, littered everywhere, and sometimes the rain can make the road extremely slippery. If you accidentally trip, slip, or fall, you can strain or tear one of your ligaments.
When a knee is sprained, the first injury is usually the medial collateral ligament (MCL), which begins in the thighbone and inserts into the tibia on the inside of the knee. If the sprain is severe, a pop will be heard when the medial collateral ligament is torn. After a while, the pain will turn into a dull ache and you may be able to walk, at least straight ahead. Medial collateral ligament tears usually do not require surgery, and rest, anti-inflammatory medication, and ice can help with recovery; strengthening exercises can help prevent the ligament from tearing again. If the sprain is extremely severe, it may tear the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), then the pain will be severe, and it will cause instability in the knee joint, and you will most likely need surgery later.
Simply put, the proper movement of the knee depends on the blood to transport nutrients, the normal support of the bones, the elasticity and auxiliary support of the ligaments, and the muscles to help the movement and disperse the impact force. So a healthy body is the foundation of your outdoor hiking, and a normal metabolism is an essential prerequisite. If you are not feeling well or are recovering from illness, you should reduce outdoor activities, or choose a suitable exercise method with low intensity and restorative activity. Under modern living conditions, the nutrients and reserves provided by the journey’s diet are sufficient to support your outdoor activities. There is no need for special measures to strengthen nutrition, only necessary carbohydrates and vitamins need to be supplemented in a timely manner.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
The above injuries are very scary, but don’t be too nervous, these injuries are actually preventable and avoidable. Before we go, prepare carefully.
First, study how your feet are in contact with the road. Take a look at your shoes, is the inner side more worn? If so, it means that you are using too much force on the inner side of your foot when you walk, and your foot is overturned inward during the process of lifting the heel to the ground on the toes, and so on. , the corresponding twist on the tibia can pull the kneecap off center, which can lead to anterior knee pain. The easiest way to correct this is to wear a pair of sturdy boots that support the ankle and allow for easier posture control. Insoles with arch support can do the same thing. A good pair of shoes for hiking and hiking will attract enough attention.
Secondly, if you need to travel long distances, you may wish to prepare a pair of knee pads. The most common knee pad is an elastic sleeve, which wraps the entire knee when worn. It can slightly pressurize and support the knee joint and surrounding muscle tissue, and can prevent the knee after long-distance walking. swelling. If your knee is mildly sprained while hiking, wear a knee brace immediately to protect and support the injured knee. In addition, the knee pads also have the function of storing heat and keeping warm, which is suitable for hiking in cold areas. Some knee pads have an opening at the knee to expose the knee, the purpose is to support the knee without putting too much pressure on the knee and causing other knee problems. Choose knee pads, which should not be too tight, as long as they are comfortable to wear. If there is no knee injury, nor long-distance hiking or downhill, it is recommended to use knee pads with caution, because local pressure and poor perspiration will affect the metabolism of the knee, which will accelerate fatigue.
Thirdly, don’t let your hands be idle. Holding a pair of light walking sticks can greatly reduce the wear and tear on the knee joints during hiking. This is because on the one hand, the support of the cane can enhance the stability of walking, maintain balance, prevent falls, stumbling, and reduce the chance of knee injury; on the other hand, with the cooperation of two canes, the intensity of exercise can be reduced , reduce the pressure on the knee joint, thereby reducing the wear on the knee joint.
Fourth, if you are going to climb for a long time on your hike, such as going up steps, you should stop and take a break from time to time, because prolonged climbing will wear the knee joint the most. Twenty minutes of climbing and three minutes of rest can relieve the tension in the knees.
Fifth, it is also very important to choose a smooth road for walking. Rough, rocky roads can increase the frequency of knee torsion and wear and tear on the joints.
Sixth, developing good walking habits and mastering scientific mountaineering skills can also effectively prevent knee injuries. Knee injuries are caused by impact, unstable center of gravity, sprain, accidental fall and joint dislocation, etc. The root cause of these three situations is the center of gravity problem, and the stability of the center of gravity is the top priority of safety. When walking on a flat road or a trail with a small slope, you should master the center of gravity well, and move rhythmically and have a certain amount of time. Elasticity, keep your feet up and landing brisk, not too big, not too fast, pay attention to taking a proper rest for 3 minutes in about 1 hour. If you are climbing with weight, pay attention to the moderate weight, move your center of gravity forward when you ascend, and then climb your legs Find the support point upward, and use the center of gravity to drive the back legs to follow naturally, instead of using your body, muscles to pull the body and bag upward. When going downhill, try not to run, the center of gravity is backward and maintain the center of gravity, and the knees are slightly bent , The foot is forced to the outside, the landing should be light, the stride should not be too large, and the front foot should be stabilized before lifting the back foot.
Seventh, pay attention to the influence of rheumatic cold. In addition to sports injuries, external rheumatic cold is also the enemy of the joints. When walking on foot, the joints consume energy as well as heat and sweat. It??s not a big problem. When resting, don??t let the wind blow for a long time. In summer, don??t let your knees blow directly in the wind to keep cool. Avoid the direct wind when you are resting, and exercise your body in a small range to avoid the body being too cold all of a sudden. When you are camping, try to dry your joints and change to dry underwear. In winter, when you have no conditions to dry your joints, you should also move first to let your body heat up before you get into the sleep
ing bag,
Finally One point, to enhance their awareness of knee health. Serious injuries are often caused by negligence while hiking, or stepping onto rough roads without adequate preparation. Enhance health awareness and make adequate preparations before traveling. If the knee is injured, don’t take it lightly, even if it is a minor injury, don’t wait for the slight pain to turn into a heart-wrenching pain before stopping.
Workout starts today
As we know above, the joint is an extremely delicate system composed of bones (cartilage), muscles and ligaments, and now In life, especially in the city, the knee problems caused by malnutrition are basically gone, so regular exercise can also help us strengthen the leg muscles, enhance the toughness of the knees, and make you walk easily when walking.
Iliotibial Girdle Stretch
Stand on your side 2 or 3 feet from the table with your legs crossed, outside leg in front and inside leg in back. Hold the table with one hand and lean toward the edge of the table, feeling the outer hip drop and the outer iliotibial girdle of the inner leg being stretched. This move can be used as a stretch recovery gymnastics before hiking or other exercise, rest in between, and after exercise.
Vasor medialis oblique (VMO) stretch
This exercise is designed to specifically target the teardrop-shaped muscle in the quadriceps??the thigh Medial Oblique (VMO). This muscle plays a vital role in the stability of the knee. Just walking alone is not enough to build the VMEs effectively, so we need specialized MFO exercises, especially for women, because their quadriceps are usually not as strong as men’s. The researchers believe that the relative frailty is a big reason why female hikers are eight times more likely to tear their ACL than men. Most fitness machines can assist with this exercise. Start with two leg lifts, choose the right weight, and then start alternating lifts with one leg. Note that you have to alternate one leg, if you are using two legs, then getting the exercise is another part of the quadriceps. It is not suitable for the weight to be too large at the beginning, and then gradually increase the weight after you get used to it.
Back Lunge
Stand naturally with feet hip-width apart. Step your right foot back without touching the heel. Bend your legs down until your left thigh is parallel to the ground and your right thigh is perpendicular to the ground. Hold the pose for a moment. The gluteal muscle exerts force, and the right leg is retracted, returning to the initial state. Then switch to the left leg and repeat. Note, try to keep your body as stable as possible when pulling your legs in. At the beginning, this action is repeated 10 times each time, and as the strength increases, gradually increase the number of repetitions.
All fellow mountaineers and hikers, please pay attention to the protection of the knee joint, scientifically and effectively avoid knee and other outdoor injuries, and walk along the way healthily, happily and happily.