Hiking and good health advice needed

Jim10000

I've been enjoying getting into hiking a little bit over the past couple of months and am hoping to keep it up and get in to it more seriously, but an old lower back problem which i thought i'd gotten rid of has been coming back after I've been hiking for a couple of hours - I hope its just the result of something I'm doing wrong and thought people here might be able to advise.

One thing I thought might cause it is the bag I've been using, it's just a cheapo rucksack, which isn't really comfortable. Does anyone have any tips or specific brands recommendations for back packs? And also sticks, I see a lot of people using them and have heard all sorts of advice from 'no need' to 'they're absolutely essential', so again, what do people think?

I'd really appreciate any opinions and if anyone has specific ideas about what might cause back pain while hiking, that'd be great.

thanks!

Alun

The thing with rucksacks is that a lot of people seem to ignore the waist strap and hang all the weight off of their shoulders. The idea is that you do the waist strap up sufficiently (but not too tight) that you're actually carrying the weight on your hips, not your shoulders. The shoulder straps can actually be quite loose then. Also the idea is to keep the centre of gravity quite high, i.e. not drooping down by your waist.

As for poles ... well usually the people who are most vociferous against them are people who've never tried them ... and those who are the biggest fans are those who have! Personally, as I'm getting on in years, I find them a great help, especially on downhill stretches to relieve pressure on the knees, but apart from that, even when walking on the level, they give your upper body a bit of a workout too. Some university in the UK did some research recently and discovered that using walking poles on the level or small inclines reduced the total effort required by a considerable amount.

I'm not a doctor, so I couldn't comment as to what might cause back pain, but the rucksack thing might be a factor, especially if you're straining forward to stop a heavy, low centre-of-gravity rucksack pulling you backwards.

Good Luck.

Evil Phil

^^ What Alun said.

Walking poles can save up to 20 tons of impact on your knees over a days hillwalking. They are a great idea.