Hiking for Street Nurses 2021: Knee pain? Tip for backpackers

After about two weeks of stepping, I started a obstructive, sometimes stabbing pain on my right knee feeling. After rest, it was a little better each time, but the pain reared its head faster and faster. In the hilly heath near Maasmechelen, I noticed that pain disappeared when walking uphill. I tried to mimic that gait on flat terrain and noticed that the pain stayed away when I landed softly on the heel and then the foot rolled off nicely all the way.

With my heavy backpack, I apparently stepped differently than usual, with a reasonable hard landing directly on the midfoot. Those 'hits' are apparently very taxing on the knees. For the remaining 10 km I made myself mindfull concentration on soft heel landing and good roll-off, and the knee pain was fetched. A test of whether you are doing it right is to step noiselessly over concrete or asphalt. I hope this tip may also ease the discomfort of people with chronic knee pain.