CONTACT:
Tom Rutlin
Exerstrider Products Inc.
Phone: (608) 223-9321
Email:
www.walkingpoles.com
Exerstrider fitness walking poles “re-activate” former users of walkers and canes!
Madison, WI, 1/26/07 - While canes and walkers remain the most often prescribed assistive devices for those needing to take weight and stress off of the joints of the hips, knees and feet, as well as for those in need of balance aids, many are discovering that a pair of specially designed walking poles can provide an even more effective assist.
Walking poles were introduced as a year-round means of turning walking into a total body exercise similar in both appearance and benefits to cross-country skiing.
While walking pole users are enthusiastic regardless of age or ability, among the most enthusiastic users may be those who have traded in their canes and walkers for a pair of these sporty looking poles. Peggy Buchanan, who did a walking pole pilot project at Vista Del Monte retirement community in Santa Barbara, CA says, “People with canes and walkers tend to see themselves as ‘invalids’, but the same people with walking poles more often feel like ‘athletes’”. For eight weeks, 13 seniors at Vista Del Monte averaging 86 years of age traded in their canes and walkers for Exerstrider walking poles.
“Those who traded in walkers immediately began walking with a more upright posture and their gate pattern went from the ‘walker shuffle’ to a more normal walking gait – and the psychological benefits may have been as important as the physical benefits. Participants walked with greater confidence and a smile of satisfaction on their faces”, according to Buchanan. Those who traded their canes for a pair of the poles immediately felt the benefit of an addition point in contact with the ground and using the poles quickly began to correct the leaning that generally comes with cane use.
One 92 year old resident joined the group only after she saw the pole walkers in action. “My breathing is better, my posture is better, and my stride is better. I can get around the campus on these. I don’t need a walker.”
At Wesley Willows retirement community in Rockford, Illinois, more than 60 seniors showed up last spring to hear walking pole pioneer Tom Rutlin explain how walking poles work and to get some hands-on instruction. According to Rutlin, not only do walking poles aid in providing balance, confidence and relief for painful joints, they also help build upper body muscles. After seeing the initial group in action and hearing users praise the walking poles, the walking pole community at Wesley Willows has grown to more than 100 people in just a few months.
Reducing joint pain and falls and improving posture might provide more than enough reasons to try walking with poles. Add to that maintaining upper body muscle tone and the protection against bone loss that poles may offer as one makes walking a total body weight bearing activity, and it’s no wonder those who have already traded in their canes and walkers for Exerstrider fitness walking poles say they’ve put those old fashioned assistive devices away for good. Best of all, many agree that using the poles has made walking fun again.
