The Walking Poles That Got Me Back on My Morning Route

I walked the same lake loop for years. Four miles, most mornings, before the day got loud. Then my knees started setting the schedule. The right one mostly, the left one when it felt like joining in. Downhill was the worst. I shortened my stride, held the railing where there was one, and told myself I was still getting out there.

I am 61. I live in Bloomington, Minnesota, with my husband, Gary. About three years ago my doctor told me I have mild to moderate osteoarthritis in both knees, the right worse than the left. I saw a physical therapist for eight weeks. I am not telling you what to do about your knees. I am telling you what I did about my morning walk.

About five months ago I bought a pair of TrailBuddy trekking poles. I did not buy them because I thought they would fix anything. A neighbor on the trail used two poles, and I noticed she was not slowing down on the slope where I always did. I wanted to know if two poles could give me back a little of the confidence I had lost. I ordered them, and they sat collapsed in their carry bag in the hall closet until the next morning.

Before that, I had tried the usual things. A compression knee sleeve, which I still wear on my right knee every morning. An ice pack wrap after longer walks. An over-the-counter gel, after asking my doctor whether it was fine with my other medications. Cushioned insoles in my walking shoes. Each one helped a little. None of them changed the downhill. A sleeve supports the knee. It does not give you anything to lean on when the ground slopes away.

The TrailBuddy poles are two 7075 aluminum poles. They extend to 54 inches and collapse to 24.5 inches, and the pair weighs 1.2 pounds, about 9.7 ounces per pole. They come with a carry bag, two mud baskets and two snow baskets, and the lever locks open and close with one hand, which matters more than I expected when my hands are cold. The straps are padded. They are backed by a five year limited warranty.

The downhill stretch I used to dread is now the part of the walk I barely think about.

The first week was awkward. I felt like I was carrying two extra limbs. I planted them too far ahead. I had the height wrong. I set them a little shorter for downhill, which is what I had read and what made sense to me, and that helped. By the second week I was not thinking about them every minute. By the third week I was reaching for them without deciding to. I also stopped worrying that I looked odd. On the lake trail, nobody cares.

What changed was not speed. I am still slower than I was five years ago. What changed was the end of the walk. Before the poles, the last half mile home was often a shuffle. I would get to the back door and sit on the bench to take off my shoes before going upstairs. After a few weeks with the poles, I noticed I was doing the same walk and not dreading the last downhill section. I was also less stiff when I got home. That is the whole claim. Less dread. Less stiffness. Not a new knee.

I use both poles on longer walks. For a short trip to the mailbox or around the block, I leave them in the hall closet. In winter I take them to the mall or use them on cleared sidewalks when there is ice. The mud baskets are what I use on pavement. The snow baskets stay in the bag unless there is actual snow. The lever locks have not slipped on me. I check them before I leave, the way I check that I have my keys. The threaded tips have kept the baskets attached in mud and on wet pavement. I do not use them on the treadmill in the basement. That felt like a way to trip, not a way to help.

My husband, Gary, has borrowed them twice. He is taller than I am, so he moved them up. That is the whole adjustment. He did not have strong opinions. He just said they made the sidewalk feel less slick. Then he gave them back.

What I'd Tell You If We Were Sitting at My Kitchen Table

I would tell you not to buy walking poles because a 61-year-old on the internet said they changed her life. I would tell you to buy them if the downhill is the part that has changed, or if ice on the sidewalk has made you nervous, or if you have started cutting your walk short because you are worried about the way back. I would tell you to ask your doctor or physical therapist first, especially if you have had knee surgery, if your balance is not what it was, or if you are not sure what is safe. I would tell you that the TrailBuddy poles are not a cure. They are a tool. They give you two more points of contact with the ground and something to lean on when the ground slopes. For me, that was enough to get back to most mornings on the lake loop. I still walk two to three miles, not four. I still have stairs at home. I still use the sleeve on my right knee and the ice pack after a longer day. The poles just made the walk feel possible again.

If you do try them, set them a little shorter for the downhill and give yourself two weeks before you decide anything. The first week tells you nothing except that you are holding something new. The second week is when you find out whether the slope feels different. That is as close to advice as I will get, and it is the same thing I would say across the table with a cup of coffee in front of you.