Hip pain/injury from rucking

[Rdolcini]

A lot of good advice has already been posted. What helps many of my clients are simple isolation warm up exercises to activate certain muscles that have been “turned off” due to being in a lengthened state for a prolonged period of time (like the glutes from sitting at a desk all day) which can lead to postural disorders. A great page to follow on Facebook or Instagram is MoveU. They have hundreds of videos that can help just about anyone with simple exercises.

 

[Professor]

My very late contribution to this thread. Rucking with a heavy pack is much different from hiking with a light one, especially if you are pushing to maintain or improve your pace. It can really wear your hips down, especially if your belt is too low or too loose. When external packframes ruled the trails it was common knowledge that your belt should set above your hipbones. For me I have to tighten it around my belly button, let it settle, and tighten it again. With all the super light gear used today I guess it does not really matter as much, but when I start getting close to 50 lbs it becomes critical. If the belt is low it constricts the hip abductors, cuts off blood circulation, and can pinch nerves.

I train with 60 lbs most of the time because 60 is where my glutes really start feeling it. I have to constantly adjust my belt to switch the weight back and forth between my hips and shoulders. If I am going up a steep hill often I will unclasp my belt and let my shoulders take all the wait because the pressure on my hips too much.

 

[lamarclark09]

My father loves hiking. And he also had very bad hip pain due to rucking and it stayed there for a long long time. He consulted different doctors and watched many videos on the internet but nothing worked for him. But after some time with the help of his physical therapist, he did some normal hip exercises and it helped him a lot. I guess it just got better after some time and that’s why he got cured by normal exercises.

 

[slimC]

What style of hunting do you do? Do you expect to be carrying 60+ pounds on your back for miles and miles in mountain terrain?

Also, I think you started too heavy. You mentioned last year was your first mountain hunting exp. I am assuming this was first time using a pack with frame then? If so, maybe your body just was not prepared for the beating you put on it with 60 pounds training for the first time with a pack like that. I would start at 20-30 pounds and see how your body reacts.

 

[mtwarden]

Agreed 60 lb is too much if that's what you're starting with.

My rucking regime is limited to ~ 8 weeks from the start of hunting season (I am lifting twice a week w/ relatively heavy weight- squats/bench one day, deadlifts /overhead press the other).

I start with 30 lbs and only ruck with that weight 2-3 times/week (I am hiking almost daily). I do this for two weeks. The next two weeks I bump it up to 45 lbs, again 2-3/week (but still hiking nearly daily). Next two weeks the weight goes up to 60 lbs- again for two weeks, 2-3 times/week.

The last two weeks I drop it back to down to 30 lbs, but bump up the days to 3-4 times/week.

The actual weight is probably closer to +10 lbs w/ the weight of the pack, water I carry, etc

I've used that routine for the last decade and haven't had any undue drama hauling 80-90 lbs of meat during the season.

Rucking is great, but can easily be overdone imho- too frequently or too much weight or both.