As revealed in an earlier blog using walking poles can relieve stress on the legs by as much as 20%, but what can be done for the bits of your legs that are the real workhorses, namely the knees.

 

It might just be a little twinge under the kneecap at the end of a day’s walking or full-on aches caused by coming down a fellside (shoot me now! Been there, bought the t-shirt!), either way we can all feel knobbled by our knees at times.

 

Increasing the intensity of your walking can cause pain, so if you are moving from lowland to mountains or fells it’s best to increase your walks, whatever the pace, length and gradient you are aiming for, on a bit of a sliding scale, (no pun intended considering scree slopes or grassy slopes): roundabout10% a week is a good average, but remember not to push too far too soon. Don’t try Snowdon as your first ever walk up a hill, or even as your first walk of the season!! Ease yourself into things, start a couple of weeks earlier and if possible stay local – try out those little walks round your own locality that you always meant to do, but never quite got round to.

 

Downhill walking is normally the one that the knees hate the most (I know that feeling), so be aware of the best way to approach it. Your posture can make a big difference: avoid leaning back, try to keep upright or even lean slightly forward, your weight over your hips, but be careful of overdoing it and falling forward. If at all possible choose a zig-zag route down steeper slopes (longer but a lot easier on the knees says the voice of experience, and less chance of falling), and use your walking poles; as stated before these will all help to reduce the impact on your knees.

 

Exercise can help too, stretching out your quads (before setting out in a morning, or after that lunchtime break at that little pub you spotted), repeats of stepping down (from a low stile for example), and the good old wall sit can all help strengthen the knees ( even if you look a bit daft). So look after your knees, they certainly do a lot for you!!