Health Prep - Stephen
I talked about fitness prep in my last post but there is another part of preparing that needs to be covered as well. Preparing your health for the trail. This may seem like an obvious idea. Don't go on a long distance hiking trip if you aren't healthy. But what does healthy mean? Do you have to be genetically perfect to go on a hiking trip? Absolutely not (although some would say that I am 😜😎). I found this awesome video by Homemade Wanderlust. Who Can't Hike the Appalachian Trail Dixie hiked the entirety of the Appalachian trail a couple years ago and is starting the Pacific Coast Trail soon. She makes some great points! There are a lot of people who have hiked the trail, and while you may need to make adjustments, this is just another case of HYOH! (see our previous post Trail Terminology)
So what do you need to get done before you leave for an extended-section hike (what we are doing) or a thru-hike? First of all its time for a check up. Go to the doctor and get your health checkup and physical done. While I just said that anyone could go hiking it is important that you aren't putting yourself in danger. If you have a heart problem and your doctor suggests that you shouldn't go on a long distance hike, then you probably shouldn't go on a long distance hike. I know Jack feels strongly about this too since he is going into medicine, but go in and get your health checked and take care of your body.
I had a separate motivation for going to the doctor as well, allergy medication. I get my butt kicked by seasonal allergies! While going through the Green Tunnel I will need all the help I can get from prescription strength allergy medication. I haven't had to start taking them yet but the time will come before I know it. My only concern is that some of the stronger stuff has a tendency to put you in a bit of a fog, which I would like to avoid. This is a concern that I have discussed with my physician and I think I found something that should work. I can give an update later on how it works, although medications affect everyone differently.
The final health thing I want to discuss has a bit more to do with my previous post on fitness. (Fitness Prep) The reason we have started training is to avoid injuries as best as possible. But what about current, chronic, or past injuries that might cause problems. In high school while playing football I suffered an injury to my neck that I didn't find out about until last year when an x-ray revealed the old damage. I went through spinal therapy for a several month period last year which has helped a lot but I still run into issues every once in a while. Now I spend time every day, apart from the training I am already doing, stretching and doing exercises to keep my neck and back limber. This is something that may affect people in different ways. Trick knee? Bad ankle? These are things you need to prepare for. Make sure that you are physically prepared for a hike so you don't cause any further damage to your body.
-Stephen
So what do you need to get done before you leave for an extended-section hike (what we are doing) or a thru-hike? First of all its time for a check up. Go to the doctor and get your health checkup and physical done. While I just said that anyone could go hiking it is important that you aren't putting yourself in danger. If you have a heart problem and your doctor suggests that you shouldn't go on a long distance hike, then you probably shouldn't go on a long distance hike. I know Jack feels strongly about this too since he is going into medicine, but go in and get your health checked and take care of your body.
I had a separate motivation for going to the doctor as well, allergy medication. I get my butt kicked by seasonal allergies! While going through the Green Tunnel I will need all the help I can get from prescription strength allergy medication. I haven't had to start taking them yet but the time will come before I know it. My only concern is that some of the stronger stuff has a tendency to put you in a bit of a fog, which I would like to avoid. This is a concern that I have discussed with my physician and I think I found something that should work. I can give an update later on how it works, although medications affect everyone differently.
The final health thing I want to discuss has a bit more to do with my previous post on fitness. (Fitness Prep) The reason we have started training is to avoid injuries as best as possible. But what about current, chronic, or past injuries that might cause problems. In high school while playing football I suffered an injury to my neck that I didn't find out about until last year when an x-ray revealed the old damage. I went through spinal therapy for a several month period last year which has helped a lot but I still run into issues every once in a while. Now I spend time every day, apart from the training I am already doing, stretching and doing exercises to keep my neck and back limber. This is something that may affect people in different ways. Trick knee? Bad ankle? These are things you need to prepare for. Make sure that you are physically prepared for a hike so you don't cause any further damage to your body.
-Stephen
-The Loch, Rocky Mt. NP-
Comments
Post a Comment