[pct-l] tendonitis (was Getting Back on Trail,

[kylie skidmore]

thanks dan & tom - this is very helpful. where did you get your info on gait
and stride length - did you just figure it out or did someone recommend
changes?

On 3 June 2010 06:11, Tom Holz <tom.holz at gmail.com> wrote:

> Ive been loosly following this discussion from the trail, but wanted
> to add that my hike this year was entirely made possible by changing
> my old hiking gait (heel strike, wide stride, shin splints, foot pain)
> to a short relaxed "barefoot" type stride.  I now believe gait and
> form are as or more important that packweight, shoes, or insoles in
> reducing hiking injuries
>
>  From Agua Dulce,
> Bigfoot
>
> On Jun 2, 2010, at 7:31 AM, Dan Ransom <danransom at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I'm happy to explain my situation...  Though there will probably be
> > people who offer differing opinions.  For a week or more I was calling
> > this "shin splints" for lack of a better understanding.  It is not
> > traditional shin splints, however.  It is (was?) severe tendonitis in
> > the muscle that lifts your toes off the ground, 2 inches above the
> > ankle, right on the outside of the shin bone.
> >
> > My problem was probably three-fold.
> >
> > 1 - I have poor walking form.  I take very long heel-strike strides
> > and walk relatively fast.   The heel strike motion, instead of a more
> > neutral strike, forces the foot to flex with every step, and muscles
> > get strained.  In my shorter walks the last week, I've spent
> > considerable time relearning a shorter stride with less impact.  So
> > far pain free.
> >
> > 2- Footwear was not supportive enough, no torsional rigidity.  The
> > rolling motion induced by sidehilling on snow probably contributed to
> > the muscle fatigue.  These have been changed from new balance trail
> > runners to Salomon XT wings.  Arch support has also been recommended
> > to me, as well as different lacing patterns that allow the foot to
> > swell and expand within the shoe.
> >
> > 3 - The snow on Fuller Ridge I believe caused lots of little
> > micro-slips, and again, I wasn't deliberate enough with foot
> > placement.  Just figured I'd walk through it.  Walk through it I did,
> > but when I got to I-10, it felt like I shot my right leg at point
> > blank with a shotgun, and it was pretty obvious there was significant
> > damage.
> >
> > Pack weight certainly can compound any of the issues here, and at the
> > time I was carrying about 13 pounds base, plus 14-ish pounds in food
> > and water.  Not a really heavy load, but for my return I will be
> > coming back lighter, ridding myself of some of the 3 pound camera kit
> > I was carrying.
> >
> > I've never had an injury in this location before, and I've done a fair
> > share of backpacking previous.  But never such big days so
> > consistently.  I suppose the lesson for me is to go slow, take it
> > easy, and listen to your body, and focus on walking stress free...  I
> > was too confident I could walk through it, and it blew up.  Hopefully
> > a very humbling 3 weeks, a ton of ice massage and a course of
> > cortisone will resolve the issue for me.
> >
> > Thanks to some help from this list, I think I'll be back out this
> > weekend...
> >
> > - Dan
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