I became passionate about outdoor activities in 2009, and did the most hiking in 2010—averaging twice a month for 1.5-rated hikes and once for 1.0-rated ones. Since I had long heard that high-intensity hikes can harm the body and knees, I rarely did hikes rated 2.0 or above. In 2011, due to work reasons, my opportunities to be in the mountains decreased. From the end of 2011 to the first half of 2012, because of work, I was near Badachu, and I started night hiking again. At my peak, I went night hiking from Monday to Thursday, and continued exploring outdoors on Saturday and Sunday. Although I knew that hiking too fast could also harm my health, I thought I had kept the pace relatively slow—but still, knee pain eventually caught up with me.
The symptoms were not very obvious when going uphill, but when descending, as soon as I bent my knee, the tendons on the outer side would hurt. I remember one time coming down from Beer Creek, dragging what felt like a crippled leg for 10 kilometers—it was utterly discouraging.
Last Sunday, I woke up at 4 a.m., drove to Peking University Third Hospital, arrived at 5 a.m. and started queuing—there were already over 20 people ahead of me. I entered the registration hall at 6 a.m. to queue, registered at 7 a.m., and luckily managed to get an expert appointment, number four.
Dr. Yan Hui (female), the chief physician of sports medicine at Peking University Third Hospital, diagnosed me. After asking detailed questions about my condition, she used her right thumb to press on different parts of my knee joint, held my ankle with her right hand and moved it in various directions, and asked which movements caused pain. She ultimately diagnosed me with “mild patellar chondromalacia” and gave two recommendations: 1. Rest—temporarily stop or reduce activities such as hiking, running, squatting, standing up, and going up and down stairs. 2. Lie flat and lift your leg straight to a 30–45 degree angle, aiming for a total of 30 minutes per leg each day.
Dr. Yan explained that the cause of patellar chondromalacia is that the muscles protecting the patella are not strong enough to support it under certain high-intensity exercises, leading to wear and tear of the patella. Rest is needed to allow the patella to recover, and straight leg lifts are required to strengthen the surrounding muscles.
Here, I also hope all fellow hikers cherish your patellae—use them sparingly, carry lighter loads more often than heavy ones, hike gentler peaks like Fragrant Hills more than tougher ones like Little Wutai, stick to lower intensity hikes rather than high ones, and walk slowly more often than rushing.
Tips for getting an expert appointment at Peking University Third Hospital’s Sports Medicine Department: Be sure to go on the weekend, and make sure you’re in line at the hospital before 5:05 a.m. Meeting these two conditions will basically guarantee you an expert appointment. Dr. Yan Hui is great—highly recommended to everyone. The chance of getting an expert appointment if you queue after 5:15 a.m. is about 30%, and after 6:00 a.m., it’s almost 0%.
The knee is the most valuable piece of gear a hiker has. A full set of premium outdoor gear means nothing compared to healthy knees—cherish your knees.
This post has been synced to the Weibo account of Toes' Exterior Attachment