164-Hiking with a disability

Show notes

Most hikers will have an injury or two that they have collected over their lifetimes but when this goes beyond being just a minor issue and becomes a permanent disability the ability to continue hiking can be greatly impacted, or in some cases not even an option.  In this week’s episode we interview hiker Jenny Woodhouse who talks about hiking whilst managing permanent spinal disability.

Podcast overview

In this episode we talk about managing hiking with a permanent disability:

  • Podcast introduction
  • Introduction to Jenny Woodhouse
    • Hiking background (time index 00:02:49)
    • Health Background (time index 00:07:07)
      • Multiple spinal operations
        • Lot of hardware, screws and rods, spinal cord neurostimulator
        • Having to earn to move again
        • High pain level
          • Chronic pain level effecting speech, balance, and sleep
        • Dealing with the normal hiker injuries on top of disability (time index 00:13:32)
          • Feet issues due to not being able to feel so stress fractures are an issue
          • Detecting blisters when you can feel your feet
          • Injury considerations
    • Hiking Syle (time index 00:19:35)
      • Solo hiking
        • Supported
        • Solo hiking allows Jenny to focus on what she is doing and end up being safer
        • Daily distances (time index 00:28:46)
    • Preparation and planning (time index 00:28:46)
    • Gear (time index 00:37:42)
      • Caters for ‘just in cases’
    • Pain management (time index 00:44:56)
      • Active recovery days
      • On the trail
      • Pain management tips
      • Mental preparation
    • Key takeaways for other hikers (time index 00:57:59)
    • Where to next? (time index 00:59:36)
  • Tim and Gill’s final thoughts (time index 01:01:19)

Close (time index 01:13:12)

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Jennys Sponsorship/being a Brand Ambassador

Jenny is supported by Karls Kool RV and is a brand ambassador so if you’re ready to up your caravanning comfort, access authentic hiking adventures in supportive comfort level, and camp off grid in true Australian wilderness visit karlskoolrv.com

As a bonus for our Podcast listeners Karls Kool RV is offering a 15% discount for any of their Caravan Accessory products. Just go to their online store karlskoolrv.com and at the checkout enter: 50s.hikingaustalia

 

Follow Jenny

You can follow Jenny on social media on her Instagram account

Jenny at the summit of Bluff Knoll, WA

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