I discovered I had knee problems getting ready for a backpacking trip. After 5 miles on a practice hike, they became extremely painful. One hiking pole didn't help, but two made a huge difference. It took the weight off on the downhills enough that I could finish.

I tried Patella bands that go around the knee, below the kneecap and a wrap around neoprene support, with a kneecap hole, that fastened with velcro. Neither helped. The magic bullet was an ACE neoprene knee support that pulled on over the foot, had a kneecap hole, and had two flexible tubular side supports on either side of the knee. They are found in most drug stores.

I bought a pair of Leki collapsable hiking poles for the trip. Don't waste money on anti-shock. They are a nuisance and noisy. I used them during practice hikes and never could tell that it helped, so I ended up locking the anti-shock off for the main hike. Mountainsmith makes a reasonably priced aluminum collapsible hiking sticks without antishock. My son used those and was happy with them.

Between the knee supports and the hiking poles, I completed a Philmont trek with the scouts, pain free. The knee supports are hot, but worth it.

THE 2 OZ. BACKPACKER by Robert S. Ward, published by TEN SPEED PRESS P.O. Box 7123 Berkeley Ca. 94707 ( 800) 841-2665 The information on walking alone is worth the price.

Interesting that you should bring that up Chris... I've got a copy that I forgot about 'till you mentioned it... you're right, it's well worth the price. And as a side note, while reading his stuff on leg stress relief, I realized that I was already doing most of it without realizing it. Amazing what the body will come up with all on it's own, if you'll just listen <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Troy

I would second going to an Orthopedic Surgeon to get checked out. I went to one that was highly recommended. Unfortunately for me, after x-rays and an MRI, he told me that there was nothing wrong that was operable or that could be corrected with the orthodics. He understood the stress I was going to put on my knees and recommended experimenting with over the counter knee braces to try to find something that worked. I did feel a lot better after I saw him that I didn't ignore a potential problem that might have prevented me from completing my trip.

If you are having knee problems, there might be something an orthopedic surgeon could do for you that might correct a long term problem before it gets worse.

Thanks to everyone for great responses! <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
I will definitely check out the hiking poles, knee brace and sole inserts. Then I'll see how things go.