Knee pain from hiking

There are many ways people can choose to exercise, and most people choose running, while a few choose hiking. Hiking is also a very good form of exercise for people, but you should also pay attention to protecting your knees when hiking, otherwise you are likely to suffer knee injuries. So what should a person do when he or she experiences knee pain from hiking?

How to recover from knee pain after running

The knee is the most complex joint in the human body and the main joint for weight-bearing and movement of the lower limbs. Therefore, it is very sadly the joint that is most vulnerable to injury during sports and the most difficult to heal. Among running injuries, knee injuries are the most common, accounting for 1/4 of all running injuries, among which pain in the front of the knee and pain on the outside of the knee are the most common. Most people experience muscle soreness 12 to 48 hours after exercise. How to recover from knee pain after running?

1. Just resting for a few days after exercise can relieve the discomfort of knee pain.

2. After running, don't stop to rest immediately, but move around slowly, such as jogging. Gradually stop exercising, which takes about 10-20 minutes, to release the lactic acid produced by the exercise.

3. After running, you must stretch your whole body using static stretching, focusing on several large muscle groups: thighs (front, back, inside and outside), calves (front and back), buttocks (front and back), torso (upper back, lower back, chest and abdomen), shoulders and neck. Each stretching movement should be maintained for 20-30 seconds, and at least 2 cycles should be done. Static stretching can accelerate muscle relaxation and help the recovery of spastic muscles.

4. Apply ice to your knees or take a cold bath. Since the muscle microstructure is damaged after training, a hot water bath will accelerate the blood circulation of the injured muscles, thereby aggravating the damage to the muscle microstructure. Therefore, the soreness the day after a hot water bath will definitely be more severe than the day after a cold water bath. At the same time, it will increase a person's fatigue and even lower blood sugar. Ice compresses or cold water baths can shrink the capillaries in the damaged muscles, preventing the damage to the muscle microstructure caused by training from continuing to expand. Cold compresses also have an analgesic effect.

5. Drinking water after running is enough to replenish the water lost by the body, while drinking sports drinks is more helpful for the body's recovery.

6. Don't wait too long to eat after a long or fast run. Eat more alkaline foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and soy products, within 30 minutes after exercise to maintain the basic balance of acidity and alkalinity in the body, eliminate fatigue caused by exercise as soon as possible, and minimize the degree of muscle hardening or soreness.

How to protect your knees while running

1. Correct posture is the key to avoiding all sports injuries. Keep your upper body stable and don't shake it left and right, look straight ahead, relax your shoulders and avoid hunching your chest. Swing your arms forward and backward with your shoulders as the axis, and the left and right movements should not exceed the midline of the body (use your waist to control it, girls should pay attention). Keep your waist naturally upright, and your feet should land directly below your body so that your knees will bend naturally and the muscles can absorb the impact of landing to avoid injuring your knees.

2. Especially for those who have no exercise foundation or exercise habits before and want to start exercising with running, early muscle strength training is very important. Get into a prone position on the floor, supporting your weight on your toes and your forearms. Bend your arms and place them under your shoulders. Keep your body straight at all times and maintain this position for as long as possible. To increase the difficulty, the arms or legs can be raised.

3. Follow the principle of gradual progress, especially in the early stages, and do not increase the amount rashly. As a general rule, you don't have to run every day. It's good to run one day and rest one day.

4. Correct bad running habits. Incorrect running postures, such as running with your feet turned outward, running with your feet turned inward, running with your legs raised high, and uneven force on the left and right sides, will have adverse effects on the knee joints. Secondly, some people want to add some pressure to themselves and choose to run uphill and downhill. This kind of difficult-to-control stepping on the ground will increase the pressure on the knee joint and increase knee joint damage.

5. For overweight or obese people, deciding to run is a difficult start. However, the heavier the weight, the more fragile the knee joints become due to excessive weight. For those overweight people who are eager to lose weight, forcing themselves to run will put a heavy burden on their knees. The correct running posture is to keep the upper body stable, the lower body sufficiently stretched, the calves and feet must be ahead of the knees, and the knees should be slightly bent when the feet land.

6. Strengthen muscle training. Strong leg muscles, especially the thigh muscles, can provide appropriate protection for the knee joint, especially the quadriceps femoris and tensor fasciae latae. There are many ways to exercise your thigh muscles, such as lunges, squats, stair climbing, and wall squats.

7. Try to choose a softer surface for exercise. Use a plastic track or flat asphalt road to avoid excessive impact on the knee joints during exercise.