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Hope you are recovering well. I tried using walking poles after being preached at for so long, but, meh. I like keeping my hands free.Today I will only walk 13 km to reliegos so I can give my sore knee and body a break.
Dean, here is a suggestion: go to a pharmacy and get a tube of Voltran, it is a topical anti inflammatory (ibuprofen). Works great on joints and muscles. It is over the counter in Spain/Portugal. Ask pharmacist. It may add 2 oz to your back pack but your knee will love you for it.today will be day 6 walking for me. I am in el burgo ranero now and I started in Burgos. So I have done a number of relatively long walking days. I have been careful with my feet and, knock on wood, no blisters yet. But a couple of big downhills ( there are only a couple on the meseta) really did a job on my knee which was already an issue. So I have to say without my walking poles, which I almost left at home for fear of having to check my bag,I would be in big trouble. They are amazing!
My bag is about 13 pounds without water and I feel good about almost everything I have it decided to leave at home.
But poles... So good!
Today I will only walk 13 km to reliegos so I can give my sore knee and body a break.
Buen Camino to all. This is quite a journey.
I did the same twice last year.....SO happy I had my poles !. I turned my ankle last week and it would have been the end of my camino without my poles to take most of the fall. Ankle is sore and swollen, but it is not so bad that I can't walk. It is healing.
Camino Frances, April 2016, SJPDP to Santiago. Walking poles - Absolutely. I cannot imagine some of the worst descents without poles. Descents: nice slippery round rocks, standing and flowing water, weirdly paved sections, mud - poles please. Hills: another pair of legs pushing you up that hill! I've read that poles take 10% or more of the weight off ones legs/knees/feet. If they didn't make a difference to you doubters, I'll bet you didn't use them properly. Also used Mueller knee straps every step of the way as a precaution - knees OK. And Voltaren anti inflammatory gel twice a day for a minor plantar fasciitis issue.today will be day 6 walking for me. I am in el burgo ranero now and I started in Burgos. So I have done a number of relatively long walking days. I have been careful with my feet and, knock on wood, no blisters yet. But a couple of big downhills ( there are only a couple on the meseta) really did a job on my knee which was already an issue. So I have to say without my walking poles, which I almost left at home for fear of having to check my bag,I would be in big trouble. They are amazing!
My bag is about 13 pounds without water and I feel good about almost everything I have it decided to leave at home.
But poles... So good!
Today I will only walk 13 km to reliegos so I can give my sore knee and body a break.
Buen Camino to all. This is quite a journey.
If they didn't make a difference to you doubters, I'll bet you didn't use them properly. Also used Mueller knee straps every step of the way as a precaution - knees OK. And Voltaren anti inflammatory gel twice a day for a minor plantar fasciitis issue.
By saying "properly" I meant to emphasise that doubters try them over a variety of terrain (both ascents and descents) and weather/surface conditions. I therefore carefully avoided demonising them, it seems to me. I even tried my poles repeatedly on level surfaces - in fact a long paved section on my way into Pamplona, then later into Burgos. With poles, then without, repeat.How can anyone claim the deamonized-doubters were probably not using the poles properly?
In my case, I was hiking with a very experienced companion. I tried the poles for a few miles and felt it made no difference to me. I'm not asserting they are useless to everyone. Simply, that they seemed to make no difference to me. Just like a knee brace or voltaren - if I applied them and felt no difference, the extrapolated logic follows that I'm a doubter and probably not doing it properly.
Buen camino to all
So, Dean, hope your knees have carried you thru, so far. If you don't mind my asking, what did you do with your polls and what happened to your back pack when you got on the airplane? Rictoday will be day 6 walking for me. I am in el burgo ranero now and I started in Burgos. So I have done a number of relatively long walking days. I have been careful with my feet and, knock on wood, no blisters yet. But a couple of big downhills ( there are only a couple on the meseta) really did a job on my knee which was already an issue. So I have to say without my walking poles, which I almost left at home for fear of having to check my bag,I would be in big trouble. They are amazing!
My bag is about 13 pounds without water and I feel good about almost everything I have it decided to leave at home.
But poles... So good!
Today I will only walk 13 km to reliegos so I can give my sore knee and body a break.
Buen Camino to all. This is quite a journey.
How can anyone claim the deamonized-doubters were probably not using the poles properly?
In my case, I was hiking with a very experienced companion. I tried the poles for a few miles and felt it made no difference to me. I'm not asserting they are useless to everyone. Simply, that they seemed to make no difference to me. Just like a knee brace or voltaren - if I applied them and felt no difference, the extrapolated logic follows that I'm a doubter and probably not doing it properly.
Buen camino to all
I also find that poles are useful in keeping the swelling down in my fingers.It amazed me how many people had their poles tied to their backpacks or were using them to tap along like blind people using a white stick!
My poles saved me from going head over heals when tripping over a tree root. Hitting a rocky path face first and then getting bashed on the back of my head by a 10kg backpack would not have improved my handsome good looks!
I heard on my Camino about a girl that tripped and broke her nose coming down from the Cruz de Ferro, when phoning for an ambulance I heard that the response was "put her in a taxi". Which explains the taxi that I saw hairing up the hill at a terrific speed. Poles are not just about reducing strain on legs or increasing speed, they are also great for giving stability in rocky, muddy or wet conditions. They are also good for beating down weeds in overgrown areas or for having a swipe at aggressive dogs. A Canadian bloke I kept meeting up with had got himself a sturdy staff rather than buy a trekking pole and was exceedingly pleased that he had it with him when two sheep dogs decided to have a go at him.
There are numerous videos on YouTube to help the uninitiated.
Having said all that, my wife is still among the tappers along the road, that is when she can be bothered to bring them with her.
Sur, an American woman and a French woman both ended their Caminos this week due to falls that would have been no big deal with poles. One broke her shoulder and the other twisted her ankle but broke her wrist when she fell.Hope you are recovering well. I tried using walking poles after being preached at for so long, but, meh. I like keeping my hands free.
Christian, if you don't see a difference between using and not using, you may not be using them correctly.I agree with you, I have used poles for days and see no difference. I now take one pole as I use it for uneven terrain and allows for a free hand which is what I prefer. Having said that, I do know that poles are a big help to others.
Not really knowing what caused this accident, you are just assuming. For all we know the poles could have made it worst.Sur, an American woman and a French woman both ended their Caminos this week due to falls that would have been no big deal with poles. One broke her shoulder and the other twisted her ankle but broke her wrist when she fell.
Hands free are nice but I like my legs too much! Trekking poles rock my world!
BC,
Jennifer
Christian,Not really knowing what caused this accident, you are just assuming. For all we know the poles could have may it worst.
Sur, an American woman and a French woman both ended their Caminos this week due to falls that would have been no big deal with poles. One broke her shoulder and the other twisted her ankle but broke her wrist when she fell.
Hands free are nice but I like my legs too much! Trekking poles rock my world!
BC,
Jennifer
Sur...assumptions?I'm with Christian Hiriart - how do we know the unfortunate peregrinos weren't using their walking poles; how do we know the use of walking poles could have prevented their particular demise. I'm beginning to think there are assumptions by Jennifer, and we all know what Steven Segal had to say about assumptions.
I'm starting to think that for peregrinos with a pre-existing knee problem, the walking poles may be a good aid for them. However, if I don't have a predisposition for a problem knee, then the use of walking poles may not be of any benefit. At this juncture, my dear mother would say, Surri prevention is better than cure. But maybe I just need to simply be aware and in tune with my body.
Buen camino all
Christian, since I was beside one woman and behind the other. I know precisely what caused the two accidents. One woman stumbled on a steep stepped descent and having nothing to prevent her fall, fell into a culvert, breaking her arm.Not really knowing what caused this accident, you are just assuming. For all we know the poles could have made it worst.
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