Knees,ankles,legs?

[Dogwood]

Get your footwear dialed in! Use after market orthotics if they help. You can't go anywhere without good tires.

Reread Lyle and Many Walks posts.

You don't say what you feel is at issue with your legs. If joints are a problem there are some supplements that help a lot of hikers. Glucoasime, chondroitin, MSM, and Hyaluronic Acid are some of the major ones you may possibly want to explore, even before you start hiking Some others that support joints or are anti-inflammatories: Boswellia serrata, Turmeric, Arnica, White Willow, Cayenne, Hydrolyzed Collagen, SaMe, Pycogenol and foods or supplments that are high in Omega fatty acids.

[neighbor dave]

nimblewill says it best, it's all in yer head;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpXDPndON6A

[Dogwood]

Neighbor Dave, what are you doing posting in the afternoon when you should be pounding nails and chomping wood grinding out the house payment? What are you becoming, a hiking bum like me?

[Snowleopard]

Find out from your doctor or a physical therapist what are the best exercises for your specific injuries or weak spots. Then do them religiously. I've been slacking off on my knee exercises and hip stretches lately. When I do them my joints are almost better (operating at 90% instead of 60%). My exercises may not help you, but the right exercises for you might help.

Other than that, start walking and work on keeping your pack light.

[BrianLe]

Hey Neighbor Dave, how are things? I'm thinking of doing the AT next year with a Feb start. Lucky and J.B. are both on the CDT now (Lucky SOBO, J.B. NOBO), both doing fine as far as I know (neither of them keeps a journal). My wife has some 2010 Fall plans that made the CDT seem like too much for next year, and I've not done the AT so ...

Regards to Chickety.


Brian Lewis / Gadget PCT '08

[BrianLe]

Oops, apologies, I shouldn't be posting with no thread-related content (!), so here's something I guess ...

I reckon that the height of trail wisdom is knowing when to listen to your body, and when to tell it to shut the hell up. Sorting between those two options in different situations is tough, I certainly still get it wrong, but experience and being in tune with your body (paying attention) definitely help.

So sometimes "just keep walking" is the right answer, sometimes it's not, ultimately only you can decide which is which.

[Kerosene]

Has anyone hiked long sections (100+ miles) with an unloading knee brace? I just got fitted for a custom DonJoy brace that "unloads" weight from the medial knee compartment to the outside of the knee where I have sufficient cartilage. I've been wearing the brace for walking outside a mile at a time, but I have a hard time believing that I'll be able to put up with it for 12-15 miles a day due to the constant pressure on the outside of the knee plus chafing plus heat. I've got a Lycra sleeve that might help a bit, but that doesn't provide much padding.

[SawnieRobertson]

Oh, Kerosene, I do hear you. I am thinking that maybe I can reduce other gear weight and just carry the dadgum thing in my pack until I reach my destination for the day, at which time I'll put it on. Maybe that will get me through it. A little pain is okay, but, if there is a real breakdown, it could ruin everything.--Kinnickinic