That hiker wielding trekking poles like kendo sticks may be onto something. Investigators at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Ill., and Willamette University in Salem, Ore., have found that using poles while hiking downhill eases muscle activity and strain on the knees and ankles, even when hiking with a heavy pack.
Fifteen male hikers recruited from a Salem hiking club were studied while walking down a specially designed ramp with embedded sensors to detect impact. In separate trials, they walked with and without poles while wearing either no pack, a light pack (15 percent of body weight) or a heavy pack (30 percent of body weight). Use of trekking poles resulted in a significant decrease in pressure to the ankle and knee joints, suggesting that they could, in the long term, reduce pain and overuse injuries.|Los Angeles Times
