By Eric Requa, DO, Sports Medicine Primary Care Physician, Virtua Sports Medicine

Daily walks are a popular way to exercise, especially when trying to meet common step challenges, like hitting 10,000 steps a day. Walking is also a great way to get out of the house, de-stress, and get a low-impact workout.

But a sudden increase in your walking time, days, or distance can also increase your aches and pains—and even your risk for some injuries.

Be aware of the common risks and know when to seek treatment.

What are the most common walking injuries?

Hamstring pain

Source: The hamstring tendons connect the muscles on the back of your thigh to the pelvis, knee, and lower legs.

What to look out for: Overuse or overexercise, especially without a proper warm-up, can inflame the hamstrings. Symptoms can include pain behind the thigh or knee, stiffness or pain after walking, and swelling.

Treatment: The best way to treat sore hamstrings is with RICE—rest, ice, compression, and elevation.

It’s also important to stretch AFTER your muscles are warm. Here's the simplest way to stretch your hamstrings:

• Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you.
• Extend your arms, bend at the waist, and reach as far forward over your legs as possible until you feel tension, but not pain.
• Hold the stretch for 15 to 30 seconds.

IT band soreness

Source: The iliotibial (IT) band is a connective tissue that runs down the side of the thigh, extending from your pelvic bone to the shinbone. IT band soreness most often affects runners but can also occur if you walk long distances.

If the IT band gets too tight, it can lead to swelling and pain around your knee or hip. You might also feel clicking or popping on the outside of your knee or pain up and down your leg.

What to look out for: Be mindful of which side of the road you’re walking on. Most streets are sloped on either side to allow water to run off. While this helps prevent flooding, it also creates an uneven surface that changes how your feet land—putting more strain on one side versus the other.

Where it’s safe, I’d recommend walking half the time on one side of the road and half on the other. You could also walk half of your set distance, turn around, and walk home on the same side of the road.

Treatment: IT band soreness is usually treated with rest and over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medicine. You can also use a foam roller on the outside of your leg to loosen the tissue.

To prevent further IT band injury, it’s important to stretch all your leg muscles after you’ve warmed up. This includes your hamstrings, quadriceps, calves, and hip flexors.

Knee pain

Source: Your knees take a lot of wear and tear every day. So, if you’ve started taking daily walks, it could trigger a flare-up of knee arthritis you didn’t even know you had.

What to look out for: Knee arthritis happens as the cartilage that cushions the joint wears away with age. If you have it, you may feel knee pain, stiffness, swelling, and a clicking or popping.

Joints are meant to move, so activity can help ease arthritis pain. However, too much activity can aggravate the issue.

Treatment: First, you can space out your walks, walking every other day instead of every day. You can also use ice, anti-inflammatories, or acetaminophen to treat the pain.

I also recommend checking your sneakers for wear and tear, such as cracks in the sole or tread loss. Treat your sneakers like tires on a car and replace them when they’re worn out (usually every 6 months or 300-400 miles). A good walking sneaker or cross-trainer provides a flexible sole, a well-cushioned insole, and good arch support.

Achilles pain

Source: The Achilles tendon connects the back of your calf muscle to your heel. When walking, it helps your foot push off the ground to propel you forward.

What to look out for: A sudden increase in walking frequency or distance can inflame the tendon, causing pain or tenderness at the back of your heel.

Treatment: Like the others, rest, ice, elevation, and anti-inflammatories can help ease the pain. I also recommend warming up and stretching all your leg muscles, but add a wall stretch for your Achilles tendon as well.

To do this stretch:

• Stand in front of a wall and flex one foot up.
• Place the ball of your foot against the wall.
• Lean forward slightly until you feel tension but not pain.

To prevent Achilles pain, wear a sneaker that provides a well-cushioned heel or add an insert that elevates the heel to take the tension off the tendon.

How to prevent walking injuries

Boost your recovery after walking with these tips:

• Slow your walking pace gradually to cool down at the end of your walk.
• Don’t forget to stretch.
• Hydrate with water or a sugar-free electrolyte drink.
• Fuel your muscles with protein.
• Rest to help your body recover.
• Remove your shoes to let your feet breathe.

Virtua sports medicine specialists are here for all your aches and pains

If today’s walk left you feeling sore, take a break and focus on recovery. If the pain persists, schedule an appointment with a sports medicine specialist.