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During August long weekend, I had planned to take on the Juan de Fuca trail. Unfortunately, 3 weeks before my hike I aggravated an old knee injury. The injury was not so bad that I couldn’t walk but it was definitely hard to hike up and down trails while carrying ~40 lbs comfortably. With good weather and time off in short supply for someone in Vancouver, I wanted to find a way to comfortably complete the hike but also not aggravate the injury and set myself back a few weeks. Hiking with an injury can be safe if you’ve had it cleared by your medical professional and there are things that can help you carry it out more comfortably. Here are some tips to consider if this applies to you!

1) Use walking poles! I will be the first to admit that I had never used these until I got my first injury while hiking the West Coast Trail. My friend lent me hers and they were incredibly useful. Walking poles should be in every multi-day hike pack and most are collapsible and don’t take a lot of space. They will allow you to modify the load on your affected area just enough to be comfortable and in control at all times.

2) Check your gear! Make sure you waterproof and inspect your footwear before setting off. We are no strangers to a bit of rain and weather interference here on the west coast. Just like you swap out your car tires in the winter, you need to make sure your footwear is ready for the terrain. Most of our shell jackets and hiking boots can need to get re-sprayed to ensure they maintain their waterproofing. These are especially relevant in certain weather conditions.

3) Modify the step rate! We know this very well from the running literature and we have a good amount of evidence to suggest that an increase of 5% in step rate can lower the total loads on our tissue (joints, muscles, bones, tendons) by as much as 20%. On my hike, I was going at the same speed as the rest of the group but taking shorter steps at a higher rate. We were covering the same distance over the same time but I was spreading the loads over more steps. While recovering and rehabilitating from an injury, our body develops a larger capacity for loads and stresses. Step rate is another way we can modify and expose our body to stresses to help it adapt.

Long-story short, in most cases, things can be done to cope with an injury and maintain some form of activity. Not every injury should mean withdrawing from every activity you like and enjoy. In most cases, we can often perform our exercise and activity as needed while managing the affected area. Talk to one of our therapist to help you keep moving and engaged with your favourite activities!

Iyad Salloum, MPT, IMS