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[pct-l] permanent injuries from thru-hiking?



hi all-

i'm wondering if anyone out there has any stories to share vis a vis 
permanent (or at least long-lasting) injuries sustained from the simple 
act of thru-hiking a trail such as the PCT. i'm not talking about 
injuries from isolated accidents or incidents- i'm more interested in, 
say, knee or foot injuries due to all that daily stress that linger well 
after the hike is over. it seems that everyone that attempts such a hike 
complains about various types of pain either sporadically or constantly, 
but i don't recall reading much about the consequences of continuing on 
day after day despite the pain... except, of course, in cases where the 
pain was sufficient to knock the person off the trail... but even in 
those cases, people generally report their eventual recovery.

so, any stories of permanent injury? any particular types of pain that 
should be interpreted as real red-flags?

also, when i hiked section A of the pct last year, the main issue my 
body had was illiotibial band syndrome on my right knee. i had pain on 
the outside area of my knee, and it was much worse on downhill than on 
uphill. my knee and hips remained sore for weeks after my hike- much 
longer than i had expected! i have an article with some stretches, etc, 
related to this problem, but i'm wondering if anyone out there has any 
advice, especially techniques or technology to help avoid having this 
problem in the future.

thanks in advance!
peanut
(pct05 wannabe)