Do you take painkillers, ibuprofen, etc. when hiking?

[DougPaul]

~0F in my freezer

Why am I *not* surprised that you have an ultra-low freezer for home use??

It is nothing special--0F is a normal temp for a freezer. Yours should be similar.

Doug

 

[DougPaul]

My uncle, an orthopedist and sports medicine specialist, whose opinion I generally respect, says the stuff is a scam. The horses and dogs has shown that it definitely works, at least for some! Pretty interesting...

A number of studies have shown glucosamine and chondroitin to be helpful for many users. One problem is that they are classified as dietary supplements and thus are not well controlled and one cannot tell exactly what is in the bottle.

Other than a half or maybe full dose of Glucosamine on most days,

G+C is a slow actor--it is generally taken every day for an extended period.

Doug

 

[Cymbidium]

I take regular aspirin or ibuprofen after a long hard hike. It helps with aching feet. I also use an anti-inflammatory analgesic gel called Traumeel. I get it at the health food store. It has all kinds of stuff in it that really helps sore muscles, bruises etc. I'm 61 and hike twice a week.

 

[Neil]

Is that true?? Seriously, given your profession you are probably more "up" on this stuff than many here, so would you expand??

I was referring to "normal" pain and whatever inflammation that goes with it that I get after a hike. I think your case refers to longer standing issues such as chronic over-stressing (perhaps related in part to some underlying biomechanical fault) damage, inflammation and especially: fibrosis and cross-linking.

One thing for sure, getting in there nice and deep with the elbow sure helps a lot of ITB sufferrers.

 

[una_dogger]

Thanks for the explanation, Neil!
Yeah, my stuff was from overtraining\not enough rest between training.

 

[Mike P.]

UD,

late last year & early this year I went through some PT as I ended up with a bone spur behind the knee cap. The knee cap was being pulled out of alignemnt & the spur was filling in the space. As the MD said (former NYG MD) it is not an uncommon injury for people as they age.

Culprit (besides I'm not 30 anymore) was over training of the same general movement (jogging, walking, hiking) did cut back a little bit early this year, added some light weight training, some biking & did some of the PT exercises. (bascially took summer off now but for unrealted reasons...)

 

[una_dogger]

UD,

late last year & early this year I went through some PT as I ended up with a bone spur behind the knee cap.

All I can say is "Owww". That must have been painful!

I've got bone spurs forming the on all vertebraes for the entire length of my spine, they were detected on a set of full spinal x rays taken while I was recovering from an L4 transverse process fracture about five years back...supposedly they may cause me pain as I age..hoping that they won't!

Sometimes rest is a very good thing, hope you get back on the trails soon, Mike P!

 

[Silverfox]

For years I battled chronic knee pain with a typical 600 mg vitamin I in the morning, ice and maybe 400 mg vitamin I in the evening washed down with grape juice

since having knee doctored this winter.

.no more pain meds..

no swelling though I still use a little ice on muscles

finding the old fermented grape juice still seems okay in the evening

 

[Pete_Hickey]

How many people do a big, long stretch at the end of a hike before getting in the car for the drive home? My bet is not many, and yet it's something we should all be doing, especially those who are going to sit in the car unmoving for several hours.

I don't, but I know I should. I usually just get in the car and start going. When I stop a few hours later, I'm walking like a cripple for a while.

A few years ago, after a hike, I drove for a while, then stopped at a WalMart. Hobbling in the door, the greeter offered me one of their motorized wheel chairs.

 

[Rik]

A few years ago, after a hike, I drove for a while, then stopped at a WalMart. Hobbling in the door, the greeter offered me one of their motorized wheel chairs.

Did you take it?

 

[blaze]

I believe the prior post re. maintaining a "blood serum level" of your NSAID of choice applies more to recovery from some pre-existing injury.

I believe your original question was more about pain prevention/relief during and after a hike, where there is no (major) prior injury - so I am answering based on that assumption.

I too am in the NSAID camp. I sometimes, but not always, take an Aleve or a couple "I Be Broken" before the hike. And sometimes, but not always, particularly after a long and strenuous hike, I will take another dose before the drive home. Otherwise, and maybe this is must my age catching up with me, I will practically need a crowbar to climb out of my little car when I get home.

I don't take them on a regular basis. Agree w/prior comments re. potential risk of liver damage and/or stomach irritation. I very rarely take Tylenol, and I don't take any pain reliever that contains caffeine. Just my personal preference.

I am also a Glucosamine user. I believe the scientific evidence is less than unequivocal on this, and I clearly remember my knee surgeon's two somewhat contradictory statements about it: (1) "it's not understood how it gets from your stomach to your knee - it's like eating hair to cure baldness." (I wish that worked!) (2) "it can't hurt and there are studies that show it helps." I take one 1500 mg straight Glucosamine once a day. I buy it at Sam's, their "Member's Mark" brand, and it's pretty affordable compared to drug stores.

As a distance runner and marathoner for nearly 20 years, I am also a firm believer in gentle stretching before and after a hike (or run) to maintain flexibility. It's easy to fit in a couple quick stretches during the hike as well. In my opinion, the stretching is equally effective if not more effective, than pills alone, and of course you can do both.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

..."it's not understood how it gets from your stomach to your knee - it's like eating hair to cure baldness." (I wish that worked!)

Couldn't that same argument be applied to drugs like vitamins?

 

[blaze]

Couldn't that same argument be applied to drugs like vitamins?

I don't think so. I'm certainly not a physician, but I think the difference is that vitamins don't need to be delivered to the cartilege in your knees in order to work. I am not even sure to what extent blood vessels are present in and around the knee cartilege.

Like I said, I do take it. I'm just not 100% certain that it works, or if it does, how it works.

 

[DougPaul]

Ummmmm...

A lot of drugs have unknown mechanisms...
Doesn't mean that they are not useful.

Doug

 

[blaze]

ummm, never said it wasn't useful, nor did my knee surgeon.