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In this article, we will summarise how to prevent injuries and health issues that hikers can face and how to stay safe when hiking.
You probably know that feeling of returning tired from a hike, yet satisfied and happy. But have you ever thought about the risks that await you? Falls, exhaustion, heatstroke, overheating or hypothermia… anything can happen. Thorough preparation before a hike can often save lives, and proper and timely prevention can avoid many accidents. Let’s summarise everything necessary, go hiking prepared and return healthy.
Safe hiking: Slowly but surely
If you’re only starting with hiking, don’t rush anywhere. Increase the length and difficulty of your hikes step by step. Be especially careful in exposed sections and when descending from hills. Take smaller steps and climb to stable places. When descending in very steep terrain or on gravel surfaces, opt for a zigzag movement along the slope, and if possible, don’t go straight down. If your ankles and knees are not sufficiently stabilised, be even more careful. Trekking poles are excellent helpers that should be part of your equipment. They’ll lighten your load and help with stability. Properly chosen hiking shoes play a crucial role, providing not only comfort but also support and safe movement. This way, you can avoid the most common hiking injury.
Physical preparation for hiking
Physical fitness is very important to avoid injuries when hiking and to end the day with a good feeling. If you have a sedentary lifestyle, don’t do strength training and don’t engage in any physical activity, you’ll have a hard time enjoying hiking. Moreover, you increase the risk of injury and overloading the body. Any prior development of strength, fitness and flexibility will pay off in hiking. We recommend regularly incorporating comprehensive strength training of the whole body and you’ll feel much better when walking with a heavy backpack. Adding aerobic activities will improve your fitness much faster. Running, cycling, skating, dancing… do what you enjoy. And of course, regular hiking will definitely build up the necessary form.
Dynamic stretching before and static stretching after
Flexibility and mobility are important elements of physical fitness. By including stretching exercises, you’ll improve your mobility and flexibility. Stretching exercises involve stretching muscles and tendons that support flexibility, and mobility exercises which improve the range of motion in joints. And that’s something you’ll definitely appreciate when moving in alpine terrain. Before starting your hike, include dynamic stretching, a dynamic warm-up of individual parts of your body with swinging movements and get your blood flowing. Static stretching after the hike is essential, i.e. stretching individual muscles and tendons for 20 – 30 seconds. Immediately after the hike, focus mainly on the most stressed muscle groups – calves, thighs, buttocks, ankle area, back and neck muscles. Performing stretching exercises of the whole body regularly, not only before and after hiking but anytime during the day, will improve recovery, the range of motion, reduce pain and muscle soreness after hiking and prevent injury.
Hiking first aid kit always in your backpack
A first aid kit should always be an essential part of your hiking equipment as it can significantly help you provide first aid, whether you need to treat yourself or others. The first aid kit needs to contain all basic supplies like various bandages and dressings, a triangular bandage, disinfectant, gauze, tampons, scissors, gloves, tweezers, burn gel, aluminium foil, adhesive tape, etc. There are various types of hiking first aid kits available, providing basic equipment in a compact package. You should choose the size and type according to the difficulty of your hike and the size of your group. We recommend also packing insect repellents and tick tweezers. Check regularly whether any supplies in your first aid kit need to be replenished.
Safe hiking and medication
For multi-day treks and long hikes, it’s good to pack basic medications. Analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs (to relieve pain, inflammation, fever), antihistamines (useful for allergic reactions, insect stings), antidiarrheals and digestive aids (for digestive problems), eye drops, allergy drops, cooling gels for muscle tension or bruises, creams for swelling and inflammation, etc. Of course, you don’t need to carry all possible medications everytime. Consider the difficulty of your hike, possible risks and especially your health condition. Don’t forget about medications you regularly take. Multi-day hiking trips and stays in nature, away from civilisation, should not be underestimated. You need to be prepared for all scenarios.
Skin protection from the sun in the mountains
Everybody probably prefers beautiful sunny weather when hiking. But remember that sunlight is very intense, especially in alpine areas. The water surface and snow are also tricky, multiplying the sun radiation. You may have come home with sunburned shoulders or tan lines from sunglasses in the past and it was not tragic. But a full day in sharp sun can end much worse. To avoid heatstroke and burned skin, protection is essential. You should have sunscreen with the highest possible UV factor (ideally 50). Apply it at home before the hike; you might forget about it later. 🙂 It helps to keep a sunscreen in a visible place in your backpack and don’t forget about it during the hike. Head covering is also significant and eye protection with quality sunglasses is crucial.
Watch out for ticks
The tick season peaks in April, May, September and October. There are several locations with high tick activity in our country, but any areas with grass are risky. Sometimes you can’t avoid these places while hiking. If you pass through areas with high grass, we recommend wearing long pants and sleeves and applying repellent. If you’re wearing short clothing, spray repellent on exposed parts of your body thoroughly. It’s essential to check whether you’ve brought any unwanted hitchhikers with you after returning from your hike. If you notice a tick attached during the hike, the best is to remove it as soon as possible. Therefore, it’s good to have tweezers intended for this purpose in your first aid kit. Don’t twist the tick, just grab it as close to the head as possible with the tweezers and gently pull upward with steady pressure.
Avoid overheating and hypothermia
Choosing the proper hiking clothing can sometimes be quite a challenge. Transitional season periods can trouble hikers and changing conditions can cause hypothermia. Therefore, don’t underestimate dressing and always have high-quality functional clothing in your backpack as a backup, which you’ll appreciate when conditions change. Properly layered clothing can significantly help you feel comfortable in all weather conditions. In summer heat, there’s also a risk of heat exhaustion when the body can’t cool down and it can lead to a failure of thermoregulation and heat stroke. It’s essential to protect yourself not only with suitable clothing and head cover but also with adequate fluid intake. If possible, avoid direct sunlight at lunch hours. During the hike, don’t overdo it with your performance; proceed slowly and drink regularly.
Master first aid
If injuries or other health problems occur, it’s essential to know how to provide first aid. On every hike, you should have a first aid kit with necessary supplies and, above all, know the basic principles of first aid. Revise what you learned at completed courses in the past (e.g. mandatory driving school course) or sign up for another accredited course. There are many options.
Take out insurance for the mountains
Don’t forget the essential numbers – 18 300, 112, 155. If you’re in mountainous areas, call the Mountain Rescue Service – 18 300. We recommend using the HZS (Mountain Rescue Service) app, where you can quickly and efficiently call for help. If you need help outside mountain areas, call the EU emergency number – 112. If you’re not insured for the mountains, you’ll have to pay for the technical assistance of the Mountain Rescue Service. Therefore, no matter where you go hiking, we recommend taking out insurance. 1-day mountain insurance can be arranged via SMS quickly. If you regularly go hiking, it’s definitely worth investing in 1-year mountain insurance. More attention should be paid to hiking abroad. Always check the availability of rescue and insurance services in the area where you go and find out if your travel insurance includes mountain and risk activity coverage.
Hiking is beautiful, but it’s essential to be prepared, responsible and do it with regard to your health. As they say, fortune favours the prepared. And that’s true especially in the mountains.
This article has been created in cooperation with MTHIKER.sk.
