STOP Knee PAIN When HIKING Downhill

There are many health benefits of getting outside, especially spending time in the forest. Hiking is a great way to reduce stress, get some exercise, and reconnect with nature. However, hiking downhill gets painful on my knees if you are like me. In this video, I talk about how you can change your downhill hiking positioning to reduce the stress on the front of your knee and demonstrate a simple, yet effective lower extremity strengthening program to further reduce knee stress.
To my valued YouTube subscribers, I have categorized my most popular videos based on body parts, from headaches to foot pain to make it easier for viewers to watch helpful videos. Enjoy & hope they help!

Headaches, dizziness, jaw & TMJ pain:

Enjoy!
#kneepain #hiking #bellingham

[alanah]

I’m backpacking Grand Canyon in April and I’m concerned about knee pain hiking down Hermits Rest. Will start implementing this on my conditioning hikes. Thank you for posting!

[sherryflavour]

I lift 4 plates and deadlift 6 plates am 178cm and 85kg and my knees have been destroyed by the downhill section of Tour Du Mont blanc, I'm looking to better my downhill technique as it couldn't have been my supportive muscles, and this is the ONLY video that has helped me. Thank you so much.

[CarronRodriguez]

I was injured doing lifeguard certification 5 days ago, rendering me unable to even walk down the sloping floor in my pool room. Living in a hilly area with a dog that needs to walk an hour per day has been miserable. You have help me navigate going down hill almost completely pain free. Thank you! I will incorporate the strengthening exercises once the pain subsides a bit.

[ClareCelticHiker]

I hike a lot in the hills and fells of Northern England and I always dread the steep downhill!, I'm going to try your tips! Thank you

[Arkxyz]

Thank you for this! Lately I've been getting mild knee pain when walking downhill. It seems to be all over the place - side pain, upper pain, lower pain - so I found your video after searching for the right way to walk. Turns out I'm 100% doing what I shouldn't be doing! Can't wait to try your tips when I go outside later today.

[TheFairway]

Short and sweet great explanations and advice very good video thank you

[aliensoup]

When I started serious hiking, downhill was torture on my knees. It took me 3 years to condition them. Not a problem since.

[RambleRiv]

Bit odd to say, but thank you for hiking up your shorts in the demonstration!

I was teased for my "funny way of going downhill" when I used the proper posture. Hearing this often enough made me doubt the way I'd learned to handle descents. The advice from others was always related to how funny it looked to have a sort of squat-like stance (for lack of better term) and not about how it was actually bad for me.

I've tried watching videos and, while they all give advice- they are all wearing baggy pants! I can understand what they are explaining but need the visual aspect to be able to put it into practice. The simple action of you pulling up your shorts allowed me to see how the knees reacted to steps. It made it more clear to see what was being affected by different strides.


I now feel confident that my descent steps may look funny, but are doing the important task of keeping my knees safe!

[snowleopard]

I’ll definitely be giving this a try, I was an avid hiker for my whole life but kind of gave it up about 3 years ago due to a bad knee. Now at 68, I have a knee replacement and have started hiking again but can feel the down hill pressure in both knees on 45* plus slopes. I also have picked up a set of good trekking poles. When I was younger I hated poles, but now they are like pusher sticks for going up and great for preventing jarring on the way down. Thanks for your great videos.

[jancie]

Exactly what I needed! Now I need to learn to use poles properly.

[tammyshui]

Thank you! Trying it on my following hike on Sunday!

[Yarradras]

To be honest the only thing I agree here is to not have full knee extension when the ground hits. rather do this instead:
- shorten your stride. This will reduce the overall force from each step (this is also true for uphill and will save you lots of energy).
- only wear massive hiking boots if your really need them (e.g. for glaciers and high mountain tours). The thick soles lessen you foots ability to feel the ground ans absorb the shock. You also tend to stamp instead of lightly tread because you have no feeling for the ground
- do not break all the time and instead of your muscles for breaking use the terrain to control your speed
- walk naturally! Humans are not design to land heel first!! Your foot is designed to absorb shock but can only do this in the front through pronation

[andid]

This was great! I’m hiking the Grand Canyon rim to rim next June and look forward to implementing these recommendations now! Thanks!

[zinguliwa]

Excellent advice and demonstration. Thank you!

[jaslyn]

Hi thanks for sharing. I cant wait to try this after my injury heals. I had to fly home and walk with crutches for 10 days. Hopefully I will return and finish my cammino in Spain

[LogSpoonYT]

Clutch video for me after transitioning from road running to trail running and experiencing pain in the front part of my knee. I am going to slow down and pay attention to my foot strikes on hills, thank you!

[rnkim]

I do this naturally just from lots of experience hiking... digging in with them also gives exponentially mire stability and less slipping in gravel or loose soil /mixed or even muddy and slippery areas. that heel first allows you alot more play and surface area to apply for stability and balance

[kevinconnerymusic]

Thanks so much for the great advice. I implemented the recommendations last week on a visit to Lyme Regis in the UK and it made a huge difference. I did not have any pain which is very positive

[michaelescobar]

Thank you man this is excellent advice!!

[bradd]

I recently saw the orthopedic doc about severe knee pain I get while hiking downhill, developed around 10 years ago. Just to the outside of the kneecap, in both knees. It flares up within 5 minutes, or 20-30 minutes if I am on 3-4 Advil, and it is excruciating. He gave me a PT referral, but I was too busy to follow up on it. He talked about learning to use my glutes more to lessen the stress on the knee. Just what you are showing here. Looking forward to trying it out.