How to prevent autumn foliage hiking, joint damage, and falls?
Oct 31, 2024
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In these days when the daily temperature range is growing, joint damage such as knees and ankles can occur frequently even if you are careless due to the lack of flexibility of muscles and joints and the uneven and slippery hiking trail environment. In particular, middle-aged people who mainly enjoy hiking are likely to suffer joint injuries due to sliding or falling because their joints and ligaments are aging and their agility is low.
Shin Dong-hyeop, Director of Orthopedic Surgery at Gangbuk Himchan Hospital, said "In autumn, the daily temperature difference is large and dew is easy to form, but the road is slippery without being aware of this, and it is easy to slip or fall while moving."If you go on an excessive hike that does not take into account your physical strength, your body's muscles are more tense than usual and often suffer joint damage..." he said.
◇ Be careful because it is easy to slip on frost or dew stuck on a hiking trail
Climbing is an aerobic exercise that is good for improving full-body strength such as lower body, arms, and legs, and can be repeated uphill and downhill, showing excellent exercise effects. However, it is rather easy to get injured after not exercising much normally and then suddenly going hiking in the fall foliage season. When you climb the mountain early in the chilly morning, your body shrinks in the cold air, and your blood vessels and muscles contract more than usual, making your joints stiff due to poor blood circulation. In this case, even a small impact increases the risk of pain or injury.
Especially when hiking in autumn, the floor may be covered with fallen leaves or slippery due to frost or dew, and the ankle is likely to bend or fall. In particular, in the case of middle-aged people, bone density is lowered due to aging, so care should be taken as it can lead to major injuries even in minor falls. In addition, knee injuries can occur because the weight of the weight is loaded on the lower body while going up and down the inclined area.
The knee is the part that slides on fallen leaves and is prone to injury. Middle-aged people in their 50s and 60s are bound to be vulnerable to sudden shock because they have 30-40% less muscle mass than those in their 30s. In particular, on the way down, the load on the knee increases more than four times and is also shocked in the process of changing direction, and at this time, it is easy to damage the meniscus cartilage plate.
The meniscus cartilage plate protects and buffers joint bones and cartilage in the inside and outside of the knee joint, and as you get older, your elasticity decreases and can be easily torn by external impact. Therefore, if you feel pain in your knees after hiking or feel swollen and stiff, squeaky even with a slight twist of your knee, and feel like you are caught without being fully stretched when your knee is bent and unfolded, you should visit a hospital because you suspect damage to the meniscus cartilage.
In addition, ankle sprains are common because they slip even if they are a little careless. It is an injury that causes the ankle to bend outward due to sliding or folding on a hiking trail and damage to the ligaments. A sprained ankle can weaken the ligament and make the ankle increasingly unstable. Therefore, if you have an ankle injury while hiking, you should not leave the pain feeling better, but rather calm the swelling with a cold compress and gradually strengthen your muscles to restore the stretched ligaments. If the stretched ligaments stick to each other in the early stages with poor fixation, the ankle becomes unstable, leading to repeated injuries, which can lead to greater damage.
◇ Make sure you plan the course and take care of the climbing equipment
In order to climb safely from injuries, it is first necessary to choose a smooth course that suits your physical strength and experience. If you are a beginner, you should choose a flat path or a short trail and check the weather before departure to prepare for weather changes. In addition, the weather can get dark quickly during the season, so when deciding on a course, it is recommended to organize it so that it can be completed one to two hours before the end of the season.
It is also important to have good hiking equipment. In particular, even for light hiking, there is a high risk of accidents if you climb the mountain wearing boots or sneakers as usual, so you should wear high-friction hiking boots to prevent slipping. If you use a hiking stick, it balances your body and distributes your weight, protecting your knees from impact when you go down. In addition, since it is a season with a large daily temperature difference, you should pay attention to visiting Korea. When exposed to the cold, muscles and ligaments contract and there is a high risk of injury, so you should bring cold clothing, windbreakers, and hats to maintain your body temperature.
Director Shin Dong-hyeop should refrain from hiking that does not take into account age and joint conditions, etc., and be careful not to put too much pressure on the joints as a warm-up exercise before climbing a mountain"If you feel tired in your knees or ankles even after hiking, release your muscles and ligaments through cold compress and massage, and if you have severe bruises or pain, it is necessary to visit a medical institution for treatment."
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bellho@sportschosun.com
