Let me know if you guys have any tips beyond icing. Any exercises or treatments you’ve found helpful?
I personally go for beer to ease the pain, but my Physical Therapist swears by low-impact exercises like swimming or cycling.
Hiking poles are a game changer, especially for going downhill. They take a lot of stress off the knees.
I tried backward walking as part of my therapy and it surprisingly helped a lot with my knee pain.
Rest and heat can work wonders. Acupuncture might be worth a try, too. Foam rolling your quads and shins helps loosen tight muscles pulling on your knees. Avoid kneeling, bending your knees past 90 degrees, and high-impact activities like running, jumping, or steep downhill hiking until you’re better.
If you strength train, temporarily avoid moves like lunges, deep squats, or anything that strains your knees.
For next year, start a strength training routine if you haven’t already. Building strong leg muscles and your posterior chain can help prevent future knee pain. There’s lots of info online for exercises tailored for hikers.
Stretching every day is crucial. Yoga with Adriene has some short routines (10-15 minutes) focused on flexibility that really helped my knees and lower back.
For now: stretch, apply heat and ice, enjoy a beer or edible, and maybe engage in some vigorous sex—it can do wonders.
For next year: strength train to build knee stability, get properly fitted hiking boots with good inserts, and continue with stretching, heat, and vigorous sex (because why not?).
I’ve dealt with chronic patellar pain due to misalignment, and these helped the most:
- KT Tape for support during hikes.
- Compression bandages post-hike to control swelling.
- Taking Aleve before or after hiking.
Physiotherapy to correct alignment and mechanics was also key. If this is new pain, though, you might want to figure out what’s causing it.
Try adding eccentric exercises for your quads, like slow squats or decline lunges—they help with patellar tracking. I also use a knee sleeve for support on longer hikes. After hiking, foam rolling my quads and calves along with gentle stretching has made a big difference in recovery.