The short-distance trekking referred to here means one- or two-day hiking activities carried out within the vicinity of your city over the weekend. The acute injuries caused by suchoutdoor activitiesare obvious and immediate, such as tingling pain in the soles of the feet, tendon pain, calf muscle soreness, exercise-induced abdominal pain, and so on. It goes without saying that these are the consequences of people with poor physical condition or those who have not exercised regularly suddenly engaging in high-intensity outdoor activities. As long as you stop the activity immediately to rest and recover, and then gradually increase theoutdoor exerciseintensity according to your own physical condition, you will be fine.
Even with short-distance trekking, if you consistently ignore the warning signals your body gives during the activity, chronic injuries will come uninvited and make you suffer terribly. Some of the adventurous folks around us often boast—consciously or unconsciously—about how they can finish a trail that takes others all day in just three hours. In my experience, such friends rarely stick with outdoor activities for more than three years. First, there will never be a shortage of competitive individuals; “the waves behind drive on those before, and the front waves die on the beach.” Second, after three years, they themselves might not even be able to walk anymore due to severe knee wear and tear.
The knee joint is the most complexly constructed joint in the human body, composed of the femur, tibia, patella, and fibula. Its stability is maintained collectively by surrounding muscles, tendons, medial and lateral collateral ligaments, anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments, as well as medial and lateral menisci. If you are too active outdoors—especially when running downhill at top speed—the articular surfaces of the knee joint may suffer cartilage ruptures or meniscus tears due to impact. In addition to cartilage and meniscus ruptures, common knee injuries include patellofemoral pain syndrome, patellar tendinitis, iliotibial band syndrome, and bursitis—no need to memorize these terms. Just ask yourself if you’ve ever felt knee pain.
Self-Diagnosis
Feel the raised area at the front of your knee, commonly called the “kneecap,” which is the most crucial component of the knee joint—the patella. With this as the center, pain on top usually indicates quadriceps tendinitis; pain below typically points to patellar tendinitis; pain on the outside often means iliotibial band pain; pain all around may suggest patellofemoral pain syndrome or iliotibial band syndrome; and pain inside usually signifies bursitis.
Solutions
The symptoms mentioned above can generally be alleviated and healed through rest and treatment. Once they occur, you should temporarily stop outdoor activities for two to three weeks.
Simply put, if you don’t know what to do, then do nothing—lie on the sofa in a meditative pose. Additionally, poses like standing on one leg (Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg), facing the sun (Phoenix Facing the Sun), or a child bowing to Guanyin (Child Worshiping the Goddess of Mercy) can aid recovery. But remember to inform your family beforehand to avoid them thinking you've lost your mind. If these positions seem too challenging, some light stretching or leg pressing exercises are also good—such as the forward lunge and side leg press we often do. Failing that, sitting cross-legged or applying an ice pack can also help.ChaoyangIn terms of medication, taking aspirin and ibuprofen can be helpful—650mg of aspirin or 400mg of ibuprofen each time, three times a day. It doesn’t matter much if you take slightly more or less, just avoid raising suspicion from your family that you’re using drugs.
On the other hand, if walking is okay but you feel sudden sharp knee pain when performing a certain movement, you need to see a doctor. It could very likely be that broken fragments inside the knee joint have fallen into the joint cavity, preventing normal function and causing pain.
In short, your body is your most valuable asset. As long as you always remind yourself that you’re not made of money and that your limited reserves can’t afford constant depletion, and if you resolve not to be an overly aggressive, reckless, or super hiker, then growing into a healthy and mature experienced trekker shouldn’t be too difficult.
Long-Distance Trekking
Unlike short-distance treks that we can casually go on every weekend, long-distance expeditions lasting more than three days are not something you can just decide to do on a whim. Unless it’s your profession, even frequent enthusiasts only manage such trips two or three times a year, while less frequent ones might go once every two or three years. There are many small details in such activities that, if overlooked, can turn into major issues.
Everyone has had the experience of getting blisters on their feet. While not life-threatening, they can be quite painful, and sometimes you still have to push on through a long journey—if someone isn’t bothered by the pain, it’s only because they haven’t felt enough of it yet. It’s not uncommon for minor issues to lead to big trouble. During long-distance treks, I’ve seen
backpacksrub raw someone’s waist, collars chafe their necks, glasses irritate their ears, and even underwear abrade their thighs. Overall, ill-fitting gear is the biggest cause of such problems, followed by unreasonable itinerary planning and unscientific movement postures.Solutions
Long-distance trekking is a systematic project. Beyond the activity itself, it also requires support in food logistics, medical care, communication, and even safety equipment. Continuous combat, excessive fatigue, and overly high intensity are the main causes of sports injuries during long-distance treks.
For expeditions, under normal circumstances, the load should not exceed one-third of your body weight, and daily walking time should be around six hours. Over-exercising can lead not only to abrasions and chafing but also to issues like black toenails (blood blisters under the nails), arch pain, muscle soreness, joint wear, and tendon strains. It may even result in physical exhaustion due to overfatigue, thereby increasing the risk of accidents like heatstroke or hypothermia, or directly triggering disorders in the heart, respiratory, or excretory systems. In severe cases, it could cost your life. Our holidays aren’t long, and there’s no need to turn everyone into marathon runners in the outdoors. Knowing your limits is the best approach.
High-Altitude Climbing
High-altitude climbing
When it comes to high altitudes, altitude sickness naturally comes to mind. Medically, it is categorized into seven types: acute mountain sickness, high-altitude pulmonary edema, high-altitude cerebral edema, high-altitude coma, high-altitude hypertension, high-altitude polycythemia, and chronic mountain sickness with mixed symptoms. What is commonly referred to as “altitude sickness” is actually the mildest form. Altitude sickness is not significantly affected by whether you exercise or not — once you reach an altitude above 3,048 meters, about 75% of people will feel unwell regardless of their activity level. The most common symptoms include headache, poor appetite, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, weakness, dizziness, and difficulty sleeping. Sometimes the symptoms resemble those of a cold, so many people assume they’ve caught a cold or are suffering from “traveler’s stomach,” but in reality, they have acute mountain sickness.
The most dangerous thing is that there is no absolute pattern to the onset of altitude sickness. People in good health may not necessarily have milder symptoms, and those in poor health may not necessarily have more severe ones. Even the same person may experience different symptoms under varying conditions. Overall, it depends on the rate of ascent, altitude, individual physical condition, and even mood. The most effective preventive measure is ascending slowly and allowing your body to acclimatize gradually.
Acute mountain sickness usually improves within 24 to 48 hours. However, if it worsens, the situation becomes serious—it could develop into pulmonary edema, cerebral edema, vascular thrombosis, or even heart failure, among other complications. In short, anyone experiencing acute mountain sickness should not continue ascending. This is absolutely not something to take lightly, as there are numerous tragic precedents. If not handled properly—or if one underestimates the condition and insists on pushing higher—it can lead to more severe, even fatal, forms of altitude sickness. The earliest recorded fatality due to high-altitude climbing was in 1891, whenFrancea doctor from the village of Chamonixdied at the Val Lot Huton Mont Blanc at an altitude of 4,359 meters. The cause of death was acute mountain sickness, which he refused to treat by descending. It eventually developed into high-altitude cerebral edema, which proved fatal. More than a century later, such tragic cases are still not uncommon. Not fearing death is one thing—seeking it out is another. When facing snowy mountains, we hope everyone maintains the right mindset.
Solutions
Aside from staying mentally alert, “active acclimatization” is also a key method to prevent altitude sickness. For instance, engage in moderate activity—don’t just lie down at the first sign of discomfort. Avoid excitement, drink plenty of water, steer clear of greasy food, dress warmly, sleep later, ensure proper ventilation, avoid smoking and alcohol, and use supplemental oxygen when necessary. Once the symptoms become severe, don’t expect some miracle drug like in *Vertical Limit*—dexamethasone can only help expel fluids from your body to ease swelling. The best treatment for severe altitude sickness is placing the patient in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber—a large plastic bag resembling a silkworm cocoon—that increases pressure until the patient’s complexion improves and they look revitalized. But that fancy bag is nowhere near as affordable as the magical sack of the Buddhist monk, and such chambers are generally not readily available. So the most straightforward solution is to quickly pack up yoursleeping bagand head down—as low as possible. If your symptoms don’t improve after descending, seek medical attention immediately.