Does Nordic Walking spare your knees? The evidence is mixed

One of the most common claims is that poles relieve the knees. You hear it from sellers and from friends, and it sounds logical: poles do carry something. Is it true? The answer is more cautious than you would expect, and without surprises: the evidence is mixed.

Walking on level ground

Studies that measured the load on the knee joint found no difference in compressive or shear forces between Nordic Walking and walking without poles on level ground. Work on ground reaction forces, that is the force with which the ground pushes you back at each footfall, also does not confirm that Nordic Walking technique reduces the load. In one study a drop in reaction force of at least 8% was found in the mid-stance phase, but elsewhere the rate of load increase went up.

In other words: when you walk on level ground, the knees see no miracle in the numbers. Poles may give you a different feeling of walking, but the measurements have not confirmed it so far.

Walking downhill

Here the evidence is more favourable: for trekking poles, not directly for Nordic Walking, studies report on a 25° descent a reduction in knee load of roughly 10–16%. On a descent the poles really can be used as support and the knees get a rest.

What it means

We do not reliably know yet that Nordic Walking spares the knees. We cannot promise it to you. We know that on descents poles can help, and that on level ground nothing fundamental changes. If your knees hurt, it matters all the more how you use the poles and on what terrain.

How is it for you? Tell us in the forum whether poles relieve you on descents, or whether you feel nothing on the flat. Your experience does not replace measurement, but it shows where to look.

What you can try: if you want to find out what poles do to your knees, walk two identical routes, one with poles and one without, and notice how you feel on descents and on level ground. Your body is the best measuring instrument you have, though not the most precise. And the answer that holds for you matters more to you than an average from studies.

Knees are among the most heavily loaded joints and nobody wants to promise what cannot be kept. That is why it is better to know what is known: on the flat nothing fundamental changes, on descents poles help. From that a practical piece of advice follows: on descents use the poles as support points, not as crutches, and go slowly.

Sources

• Nordic Walking does not reduce the loading of the knee joint (Scand J Med Sci Sports)
• Does Nordic Walking technique influence the ground reaction forces? (ScienceDirect)
• A Review of Biomechanical and Physiological Effects of Using Poles (PMC)
• Comparison of knee joint forces during downhill walking with and without hiking poles

Text: Kompas.