Best Post Hike Recovery Tips:
Stiff And Sore Muscles Be Gone!

By Diane Spicer

You need the best post hike recovery tips after hauling that backpack all day!

In fact, you deserve to know every single trick I have tried to get back on the trail the next day (or next week end) without feeling creaky, stiff and sore.

None of these recommendations are medical advice.

• Just one hiker sharing her tried and true approaches to post hike recovery!

Hiking For Her is an Amazon affiliate, so shopping for post hike recovery products through this website will earn HFH a small percentage of your purchase price.

You pay nothing extra.

So let's get to it :)

Post hike recovery tips
using warmth

When a sore, achy muscle group (think thighs) is calling out for something warm and soothing, there are various ways you can deliver an appropriate amount of heat.

• Heat calls more blood flow to the sore area via dilated blood vessels, allowing metabolites and break down products to be carried away.
• It also brings in nutrients and oxygen for muscle and tissue repair.
• Plus, it feels good!
  

Targeted relief

A Sore No More roll-on gel that fits easily in your hand is so easy to use for applying heat to achy muscles, sore feet, knee or elbow pain.

More to love:

Fits easily into an outer pocket on your day pack for warming up your muscles at the start of your hike.

Or for relief at a rest stop along the trail.

It's also available in an 8 ounce jar of warming gel to use at home.

What's NOT in this product is important to highlight.

There are no:

• petroleum products (petrolatum)
• drying alcohols
• parabens

And you can feel good about this natural pain relieving gel because it was not tested on animals (just us poor sore hikers).

There is also no chance of staining your clothing or gear with this non-greasy formula.

So what's in it that creates soothing warmth on your sore muscles, aches and pains?

• A natural vasodilator based on a topical formulation of Capsicum anuum fruit extract in a glycerin base
  

Lots of other good stuff, too:

• green tea extract
• orange peel (giving it a pleasantly citrus odor)
• grapefruit seed extract
• and other plant extracts

One heads up: It contains menthol so will have an odor you don't want to bring into bear country.

Another small, lightweight option

Want to carry something just as small and lightweight on your next backpacking trip?

Use this 2 ounce indestructible metal tin from a company that I love for their lotions and balms.

Sore feet

You have a lot (seriously, a LOT!) of small muscles, ligaments and tendons in your feet, and every one of them can scream at you after you take your boots off.

Here's one way to calm them down: Topricin Foot Therapy

• Non greasy formula: no lanolin or mineral oil to stain your backpack, socks, boots or sleeping bag
  
• No menthol scent typical of foot care products, so can be used in bear country or around environmentally sensitive people
• Cream based, with moisturizing effects on your heels and dry cracked skin

Apply this lotion and pull on a pair of clean socks for warm, pampered hiking feet.

Ice can be nice, too,
for recovery after a tough hike

Sometimes a sore muscle responds best to cold applications.

Here's an easy way to apply cool relief to a sore area: Bucky Body Wrap

Put this buckwheat (filled with whole seeds to absorb cold) soft pad into the freezer, inside a plastic bag, before you leave for your hike.

After your hike, wrap the sore muscle group in this coolness.

In my experience, the coldness lasts for 20 - 25 minutes.

The cloth prevents direct contact of the frozen seeds with your skin.

• Because freezer burn on skin sucks, right?

Here's a way to make your relief from this blanket go even further:

• This Bucky Body Wrap can be microwaved instead of frozen.
  
• Alternate heat with cold applications, always ending with cold to make sure any excess blood flow from inflammation is encouraged to leave the area.

So that means you'll need two of these wraps!

Tip: you can remove the cover on this wrap, toss it in the washing machine, and be all set before your next hike.

Post hike recovery tips for
general soreness relief

If you're like most hikers, your neck and shoulder muscles become sore by the end of a hike.

(If this happens routinely to you, please investigate the possibility that you need a different backpack, using these tips.)

By the next morning, you're ready for this neck and shoulder wrap from a company I trust: Gaiam.

It's filled with unhulled grains of rice plus a lovely lavender scent, so you can warm it up in the microwave time and time again for soothing warm relief.

This company also makes lower back as well as wrist//thumb wraps: all places where a hiker could use a little soothing warmth.

• Can you see what a thoughtful gift this would make for your favorite trail buddy?
  

Another warming option

Wrapping your sore spots in warmth really does the job of loosening up your tight muscles so that you're ready for the next post hike recovery tip for general hiking soreness:

• Weleda Arnica Muscle Soak in your bathtub.

Weleda is a well known name in the natural product industry, and for good reason: it uses top ingredients with an eye toward good business practices.

• You'll be soaking in only good things for your body: plant extracts, essential oils, and natural fragrances.

Adjust the water temperature to your preferred level of heat, pour a few capfuls of this muscle soak into the tub, and enjoy the sensation of tight muscles loosening up while you daydream about your next hike.

• And why not sip one of my favorite, and a bit unusual, teas with the healing power of holy basil: organic Tulsi Sweet Rose, naturally caffeine free.
  

Hands on relief for
specific sore spots

Post hike recovery tips should include basic self care like focused massage.

Here's one of the most straightforward and effective ways to relieve those deeply sore spots (called trigger points) on your shoulders, arms, legs and neck:

• BackJoy trigger point massager

What about sore places on your back that you can't quite reach?

• Ask your trail companion to use it on your back.
• Or lie down with the tool positioned in the right spot and create ever increasing amounts of pressure with your body weight until you feel the spot let go.
• Ahhh!
  

Post hike recovery support products

I wouldn't take these things hiking or camping because of their odors or weight, but you might want to try them at home!

Tiger Balm

We've talked about cayenne pepper (capsicum) being employed as a topical vasodilator to encourage blood flow to your tight, sore muscle groups.

This product is THE BEST at creating a sensation of warmth in a specific area (I've been using it since the 1990's).

• For fast relief, or as a pre-emptive strike against sore hiking muscles, rub this cream in completely and be amazed at how quickly things heat up!

However, it has a strong odor: not unpleasant, just noticeably menthol and camphor.

NOTE: You don't want to get this product in any area of mucous membranes: eyes, mouth, nose, genitals.

Ditto for broken skin, burns, or other types of wounds.

If you're breast feeding, be very careful to wash your hands and nipple areas to avoid transfer of the cayenne.

And to play it safe in terms of possible skin reactions, test this on a small spot first.

So after all of those warnings, you might be hesitant to try Tiger Balm. Don't be! It's one of my tried and true approaches to post hike recovery.

Pressure point massager

This feels so good on large muscle soreness!! It's one of my favorite post hike recovery tips to share when someone asks for sore muscle solutions.

And because you control the pressure and duration of the massage, you can tailor your self care session to differences in pain and soreness levels.

• Your dominant leg might have much more soreness because you lead off with it, or shift your weight to it when you're resting in a standing position with a full backpack, for example.
  

Off trail tip:

Use this massager after a workout at the gym, a yoga session, or when you're kept off the trail and feel lots of stiffness from sitting at a desk or on a plane for endless hours.

Foam rollers

Here's a more gentle, but still plenty helpful, approach to getting rid of that soreness you feel after a tough hike.

You want a foam roller that won't fall apart or start flaking into small chunks when you use it.

Not sure what to do with a foam roller? It's simple to use as an aid to gentle stretches, putting pressure on sore spots, and can also be used in a conditioning program.

Post hike recovery tips:
nutrients

If you've been reading about antioxidants and muscle recovery products, you might have heard these plants and foods mentioned:

• tart cherries
• turmeric
• Gogi berries
• blueberries

This product pulls them together for post hike recovery.

Or on a hike!

• The blackberry lemonade flavor tastes mighty good in a water bottle, and delivers fast fuel in the form of simple carbohydrates (organic cane sugar) along with B vitamins and magnesium for muscle repair.

Something tasty in your water bottle might induce you to drink more often, which is a good policy for hikers.

Talk with your trusted medical care providers to see if this approach will work for you.

What about magnesium
for post hike recovery?

Glad you asked!

Magnesium is involved in biochemical reactions in your cells, and it loves to work with other minerals to get big jobs done, like muscle contractions (including cardiac muscle).

Which you just did a lot of, right?

Work on post hike recovery
as you hike!

Yup, it's true: there are some things you can make it a habit to do to skip a lot of your post hike soreness.

For example, investigate the usefulness of compression hiking socks.

• Here are all the details you need to do that.

Secret post hike recovery tip for you

What you eat the day before, and during, your hike makes a big difference.

So does starting a hike well hydrated, and remaining that way throughout your hike.

Think of it as digging a less deep hole you'll need to climb out of afterwards.

These Hiking For Her tips will help you!

• Eating for energy
• Hiking hydration
  

Yoga poses to help you
recover from a hike

You don't have to be a devoted practitioner of yoga to reap some benefits from restorative yoga poses.

Here's one of the most simple, because it looks exactly like it sounds, and it helps relax sore and stiff back and leg muscles: Legs Up The Wall (Viparita Karani).

If you think about it, in this pose you're putting your legs in the opposite position they were in during your hike: inverting them by using a solid wall for support, rather than standing and walking on them against gravity.

• Lymph fluid in swollen ankles and feet is encouraged to return to your bloodstream.
• Tired ankles and knees will relax.
• Circulation to your lower extremities can improve because you're using gravity to relieve congestion.

Here's the gist of the pose:

• Find an uncluttered wall you can lay down in front of with - you guessed it, your legs going up it and your pelvis elevated and supported by pillows or folded blankets.

For details on how to get into this position safely, visit one of the myriad yoga websites for step by step photos.

Then give it a try for up to fifteen minutes.

Devote those fleeting minutes to simply breathing, relaxing, and enjoying the supported feeling as you recover from your soreness.

Post hike recovery tips:
that's all she wrote!
(for now)

None of these products will break the bank, plus, your comfort is worth it!

Hiking For Her will be reviewing some of these products in depth, featuring them in giveaways, and adding more post hike recovery tips, so bookmark this page and check back often.

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You'd like more hiking self care tips?

• Coming right up!

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Best Post Hike Recovery Tips