Hiking Stick

More than just the "popular" or "fashionable" thing to do, carrying a hiking stick when you're hiking is just common sense. Using hiking sticks, walking staffs, or trekking poles will save your bacon when traveling in the backcountry. What's more, it will help prolong the life of your legs, feet, and especially, knees. Backpacking puts extra weight on your knees, hips, and ankles; hiking sticks can help alleviate the strain.

Hiking sticks can also do wonders for your confidence. With a hiking stick in hand, you can walk more naturally, and again, put less strain on your body. Using two sticks provides even more support.

There are many different choices of sticks available in the market. They come in different shapes, different materials, and different sizes. Some even have high-tech, shock-absorbing, telescoping features, while others could be as plain as a simple wooden stick. Just as types vary, prices of hiking sticks vary as well. They range from free (if you cut a branch off a tree at home) to $120 for a pair of the high-tech telescoping poles.

But how important exactly is a hiking pole or walking stick? Is it indispensable to every hiker? Or are you better off without it?

As it turns out, we are spared playing any guessing games when it comes to a discussion about the importance of hiking sticks. Roithner and others in Austria have compiled a recent study entitled Comparison of Knee Joint Forces During Downhill Walking With or Without Hiking Pole where they were able to show that the use of trekking or ski poles caused reductions of external and internal loads on the knee joint up to 20%.

That's good, but does this mean for the itinerant hiker like us? Well, it basically means that if you have weak knees and wish to protect them over the long term, having moderate support on the descents can save the knees. Not only that but it can also help prevent severe muscle soreness in the quadriceps (that's your thigh muscles by the way).

Authors of another study published in Muskuloskeletal Dynamics, Locomotion and Clinical Applications, by Andriacchi and Mikosz (1991), observed four times higher knee joint movements during descending stairs compared to walking on flat ground. That means that those people who have trouble walking down stairs in the city will almost undoubtedly have more difficulty on uneven terrain in the mountains.

When out there in the backcountry, your steps can be even steeper, and occur over longer time periods. That is why it is best to strengthen well in advance all the muscles in the lower leg that will be needed for climbing and descending. In the meantime while optimum strength is not yet reached, trekking poles or hiking sticks are a viable tool especially in early season as you get your legs ready for longer or harder climbs.

Bottom line?

Hiking or trekking sticks do help reduce the forces through the knee joint and can be appropriate for those who already suffer knee pain. They are also recommended for those beginning a long season of hikes and backpacking trips. However, whenever possible, try to develop the balance and leg strength to be stick-free when the need arises.