Pain in back of knee

[reuben bolieu]

I have recently been getting a pain in the back of my leg at the bend of the knee. Usually after 6-8 mi. of steep hiking. Lately even in the desert where it is not so steep. I have been getting this pain when going down hill.

I first noticed it in my left leg then a couple of weeks later in my right. I can put weight on it but on the upstep before I plant it is when it hurts.

I am set to go down and up the Grand Canyon May 3rd 07' and have been doing training hikes between 8-16 mi. over some pretty bad terrain.

Anyone have any ideas?

[Mike Barney]

Are you stretching out before you hike?

[Anonymous]

Reuben,
A lot of things happen in and around the knee when you exercise, especially on rough terrain. Rather than speculate, I'd suggest that you see a good sports medicine physician, or an orthopedist. They have all sorts of diagnostic tools at their disposal(X-ray,MRI,CAT,etc) and have spent years studying exactly this kind of situation. If you try to self diagnose, friend diagnose, or just tough it out, you run the risk of incurring serious damage. The road back from a seriously damaged knee is long and arduous, and ofter fails to achieve 100% of original function. Best of luck.

[Brian James]

One visit to a Podiatrist cured my unexplained knee pain.

He spent 30 seconds with my feet and told me what type of bone structure I have. For many, your bone structure dictates the type of shoe you need to be wearing. No orthotics required, he said, although I wanted them. I just bought the shoe he recommended and have been blissfully pain-free ever since.

A word to the wise: I don't know about in the US, but in Canada our standards for Orthotics vendors vary widely. Because this service falls outside of government healthcare, it is poorly regulated. That means that a guy selling you an orthotic could have spent 2 years in school or he could literally have just taken a 2-week course. He could sell you a high-grade custom orthotic or a cheapo generic cookie-cutter model. Some will apparently even take a casting of your foot to make it look official, and then deliver a generic orthotic anyway. North of 49, your best bet is to see a Podiatrist. YMMV

Brian

PS the Podiatrist was the last stop on a journey towards painless knees — I wish he had been the first! My favorite thing in the world to do is walk all day and I panicked when I started having knee pain. I lost 20 lbs of bodyweight, 20 lbs of pack weight, and bought hiking poles over the course of a couple of years. It all helped incrementally, but getting the right shoes for my (apparently weird) feet was the real cure.

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Brian

> One visit to a Podiatrist cured my unexplained knee pain.
> He spent 30 seconds with my feet and told me what type of bone structure I have. For many, your bone structure dictates the type of shoe you need to be wearing. No orthotics required, he said, although I wanted them. I just bought the shoe he recommended and have been blissfully pain-free ever since.

Not fair!! More info needed!
Would this guy be willing to write an article for us?

Cheers
Roger

[Brian James]

Interesting idea. Very interesting.

Unfortunately, he'd probably want to be paid. I wonder if there aren't industry journals that have covered the subject in detail — perhaps a BPL report could be commissioned?

[reuben bolieu]

Just got back from work. I am a professional drummer and that doesn't help when your knee already hurts.

I didn't get a decent warm up before that specific hike. And the trail was really bad. Steep rocky and uneven. I tripped on many rocks and fought for my balance many times putting stress on my ankles and legs. I must also say that I don't rest enough and when I do I don't take my pack off all the time. Sometimes I don't even get off my feet. Maybe some big mistakes on my part.

[Douglas Hus]

sciatica nerve;
(Been there, done that)
Sciatica commonly refers to pain that radiates along the sciatic nerve and is typically felt in the rear, down the back of the leg and possibly to the foot. Sciatica is one of the most common forms of pain caused by compression of the spinal nerves, and the leg pain often feels much worse than the back pain.

-Streching & abdonimal muscles-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sciatic_nerve

http://www.spine-health.com/topics/cd/sciatica/sciatic_nerve01.html

Doug

.

[John Mowery]

I have (had) the exact same problem – too many days spend bump skiing. Here is what I did to combat it:
1. Had an MRI ($700!) to make certain there was nothing structurally wrong with my knee. There wasn't.
2. Started to work out more – especially core work. Yoga has been a major help.
3. I was fitted for Superfeet orthotics. I have flat feet so I wear the "blue" kind.
4. Started using treking poles.
5. Of course, I've lightened my pack as much as possible.
6. When I'm on the trail I stretch at every rest.

I hiked 90 miles last September in 6 days with no problem. Prior to the above fixes, I could barely make it 6 miles without severe pain.

Hope this helps.

[Zoran Karadzic]

I found this blog about some new kind of insoles that control your posture in an interesting way. Interesting stuff. Tell me what you think about it. Here is the link:
http://myflatfeet.blogspot.com/
Good Luck!

[John Karo]

Hi Zoran. That blog is really interesting. Thanks!
Definitely worth checking out. I'm actually thinking of buying the insoles for my knee problem.

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