HALIFAX,
Nova Scotia, Oct. 18,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Urban Poling Inc is
excited to announce the launch of a ground-breaking program, Get Up
& GO Nova Scotia!, aimed at strengthening the collaboration
between family doctors, physiotherapists and industry partners
including retailers to improve patient care and health outcomes.
The Get Up & GO NS! initiative supports the "Exercise is
Medicine" prescription by promoting a highly accessible form of
fitness and rehabilitation known as urban poling (aka Nordic
walking) to patients of varying ages and need states.
"Urban Poling, also known as pole
walking, is a growing and evidence-based form of fitness and
rehabilitation which allows for a full-body engagement of muscles,
supporting off-loading from load bearing joints, and improving
posture, in addition to metabolic benefits including greater
caloric burn and glucose management, versus walking alone," said
Diana Oliver, CEO of Urban Poling
Inc. "We were honoured to have been asked by Dr. AJ to participate
in this pilot program & look forward to continued success as we
move ahead and support improved health and mobility for all."
Dr. Ajantha Jayabarathan, CCFP, FCFP, (known as Dr. AJ to her
patients and peers), Family Doctor and Director of Coral
Shared-Care Health Center led the project team, which was assembled
upon receipt of a grant awarded to her by the Family Doctor Council
of Doctors Nova Scotia. This pilot
program ran from April to September
2024 and involved family doctors 'prescribing' free
specialized walking poles and collaborating with a local
physiotherapy team to provide assessment, training and guidance for
their use.
Over the six-month period, seven family physicians referred 30
patients to a physical therapy team of four led by Laura Lundquist, PT, owner of Zoomer's
Physiotherapy, and were prescribed Activator® or Urban Poles depending on their health condition.
Patients ranged from 50 – 84 years of age with a variety of
referral reasons, including Parkinson's, total hip replacement,
fall prevention, weight management, postural
strengthening/osteoporosis, and hip/knee/lumbar spine
osteoarthritis.
The success of the pilot is being followed by the official
launch of a province wide program offering opportunity for other
family doctors and primary care providers including Nurse
practitioners, Physiotherapists and Primary care Pharmacists to
participate.
The program will be launched at the College of Family Physicians
of Nova Scotia's 2024 Family
Medicine Conference on October 18th,
2024, being held at Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier
21 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This
conference gathers doctors from across the province both in person
and through virtual access and supports collaboration, professional
development, and networking. The Get Up & GO NS! project has
the potential to impact & benefits thousands of people in
Nova Scotia and has the potential
to scale up and include other provinces and countries. The Get Up
& GO NS! program is uniquely designed to enhance collaboration
among health sectors, bridge the gap between healthcare providers
and local organizations, and bring holistic care for the wellbeing
of citizens.
"This program is a vital step toward a more integrated
healthcare system," said Dr. AJ. "By collaborating with community
organizations, we can address the broader factors that impact
health and create a supportive network for our patients. I
learned about the benefits of Nordic Walking using Urban poles from
a patient in my practice, who used them daily. As he aged, I
observed that his posture, balance & mobility was better than
his peers. Despite an acute knee injury, he completed an arduous
walking pilgrimage with the poles!"
Dr. Jayabarathan continues, "I researched the evidence about
their effectiveness and started to recommend them to my patients.
Urban poles assist with core activation, bone health and weight
loss. Activator® poles have assisted patients with
health conditions like diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's
disease, cardiovascular disease and kyphosis. This
inspired the Get up and GO! project in Nova Scotia. The grant from the Family Doctor
Council of Doctors NS brought together Zoomers Physiotherapy &
Health Solutions, Urban Poling and
my clinic Coral Shared-Care Health Center to make this venture
possible."
"As a physiotherapist, I believe my role is to be a resource for
clients to build comfort, confidence and competence in movement;
this allows them to be able to continue enjoying the activities
they love," said Laura Lundquist.
"Quite quickly after opening Zoomers, we were being inundated with
questions about walking poles. Realizing this was a gap in my
knowledge, I was keen to learn more about the options available.
When I came across the training content about the poles available
from Urban Poling, I knew I had
found tools that many of my clients would find beneficial. Many
clients have benefitted from training with the Nordic-Style poles
to increase the fitness benefits of their walking programs. The
Activator® poles have also given so many of our clients more
independence, ability and comfort."
About Dr. Ajantha Jayabarathan: With over 30 years of
dedicated service, Dr. AJ has profoundly impacted both the medical
community as well as her patients. She is a passionate advocate for
the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's triple aim—enhancing the
patient experience, improving population health, and reducing
healthcare costs. In recognition of her many valuable
contributions, Dr. AJ was awarded the 2024 Nova Scotia College of
Family Physicians' Family Physician of the Year Award and received
the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award from DoctorsNS.
About Urban Poling, Inc:
(www.urbanpoling.com) Urban Poling is proud to be an awarding
winning and 100% women-owned and operated Canadian company.
Incorporated in 2005, it was one of the first companies to bring
Urban Poling/Nordic walking to
Canada! Our high performance Urban
and Activator® poles can be found in retailers nationwide,
including Lawtons, Pharmasave, Wellwise by Shoppers Drug Mart, IDA
Guardian and many more, as well as through online retailers
including Amazon.
About Coral Shared-Care Health Center:
(https://coralsharedhealthcare.ca/home.php) Coral presently offers
on-site comprehensive family medicine, mental health &
addictions counselling, physiotherapy, acupuncture, reiki, and
bio-field healing approaches to wellness and recovery.
About Zoomers Physiotherapy:
(https://www.zoomershealth.ca) Both Zoomers and
Spring Physiotherapy clinics are staffed by a team of allied
health professionals who believe in a holistic approach to
optimizing their clients' comfort and quality of
life.
For more information about the Get Up & GO! Nova Scotia program or to get
involved: please visit
https://urbanpoling.com/get-up-and-go-nova-scotia/ or contact
ajantha.jayabarathan@coralhealthcenter.org or
lisa.limper@urbanpoling.com.
Media Contact:
Urban Poling Inc
1-877-499-7999
385048@email4pr.com
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SOURCE Urban Poling Inc.