Sticks To Trekking Poles
By Jim Copeland
For centuries hikers and walkers have used some form of stick or cane to assist them while walking. Often it was just a fallen tree branch with a handle whittled into it. For years I have used a sumac stick that frequently has a natural ninety-degree root that forms a comfortable handle. Nowadays, the most popular walking sticks are lightweight, telescoping super-tough alloy poles with soft molded grips. These are called trekking poles. These high-tech poles offer numerous advantages, which include safer stream crossings, better support on dicey trails and knee protection.
Now, there is scientific proof that trekking poles are highly beneficial tools to use while hiking. Scientists at the University of Massachusetts and the University of Wisconsin as well as at the Steadman-Hawkins Sports Medicine Foundation in Colorado found that poles provide the following benefits:
1. Poles reduce the risk of injury and tendonitis in knees, calves, thighs and even hips. They found that trekking poles also allow hikers to keep a more normal stride and a faster pace with less effort.
2. Up to 4.4 percent of the force that reverberates through one’s body with each step is absorbed by the poles. After a long day and thousands of steps, that extra support adds up. Almost all brands of poles have some sort of shock system. The shocks are designed to absorb impact and reduce stress on the one’s joints.
3. By using the pole there is less fatigue. Their studies revealed that when properly used, the poles reduced the workload for lower-body muscles and joints by transferring some of the load from the legs to the arms.
Some of the suggestions that the researchers made for proper pole use were:
1. When walking on flat terrain, you should hold the pole so that the arms are bent about ninety degrees. Most poles are adjustable so that you can adjust the length of the poles to allow for this angle. You should use the opposite arm and leg to help keep you in balance. The right leg goes forward when you plant your left pole, and vise versa. When you are going up hill shorten the pole and downhill lengthen the pole in order to maintain a comfortable grip and an upright posture.
2 Researchers discovered that using wrist straps and keeping a light grip on the handles were helpful
3. While on hilly terrain you, undoubtedly, will spend some of your time traversing. This can cause a bit of a problem if you have two poles that are the same height. Your uphill hand will be at shoulder height and your weight will be off balance. To compensate, you should shorten just your uphill pole to a height that is appropriate for the angle of the hill you are traversing.
The researchers all agreed with what many hikers and backpackers already know—four legs are better than two on uneven terrain.
Web sites featuring trekking poles:
http://www.freshtracksmaps.com/index.htm
