New Urban Poling Project Showcases Collaboration of Family Doctors, Physiotherapists and Industry in Nova Scotia

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 [email protected] or [email protected].

Media Contact:
Urban Poling Inc
1-877-499-7999
[email protected]

SOURCE Urban Poling Inc.