ZELIENOPLE — The class in the fitness center at the Abundant Life Center of Lutheran SeniorLife’s Passavant Retirement Center, 105 Burgess Drive, intently follow the instructor’s commands.

“Lean forward and backward; feel the stretch,” coaxes physical therapist assistant Nancy Thenthongkham. “Open out your arms and close them. Push forward and back.”

The Passavant residents gamely follow her instructions. Of course, it helps that they’ve got walking sticks to help them keep their balance.

Lutheran SeniorLife, through a grant from the mission endowment fund approved late last year, has purchased more than 100 pairs of walking poles, including 20 used at the Abundant Life Center, to help residents and patients undergoing rehabilitation remain safe as they walk and work to strengthen their overall health.

Urban poling, also known as Nordic walking or fitness walking, is a low-impact, full-body workout. The exercises require two specialized walking poles similar to the poles cross-country skiers use to train during the off-season.

Thenthongkham, who recently became a certified instructor, recognized how the poles could benefit residents and patients seeking outpatient therapy.

Thenthongkham said the poles give older exercisers an advantage by giving them two extra points of stability. Use of the poles is good for posture and strengthening the body’s core.

Physical therapist and geriatrics specialist Nicole Corsi said, “Using the poles increases your heart rate quicker and helps turn walking into a whole-body exercise rather than just using your legs.”

Corsi added, “It helps improve posture and the normal gait mechanics.” Thenthongkham added using a walker or a cane throws out a person’s normal gait: With a cane, users tend to lean to one side; with a walker, they lean forward.

Use of the poles also helps those suffering from Parkinson’s disease, Thenthongkham said. Those with Parkinson’s, a disease of the central nervous system, can have stiffness of their limbs and trunk and impaired balance and coordination which can lead to falls.

Using the sticks, she said, can allow Parkinson’s patients to move more upright, allow them to breath better and improve their balance.

Corsi said, “I work with a lot of patients using walkers and have seen them go to the poles. It helps them.”

The benefits of the walking poles not only led Passavant to order 20 sets for use by its residents, but it also set up two classes a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, to instruct residents in the proper use of the poles.

The classes have been going on for a month, and Corsi said, “I can see the result right away. It was initially for therapy patients. But we’ve had a lot of interest from a lot of people.

“People have tended to become more sedentary, and it’s a way to get people more active,” she said.

Class exercises

Under the guidance of Thenthongkham, who took an accelerated pole instruction course, the class starts out sitting on chairs leaning forward and backward, tapping first one leg then the other out in front of them using the poles for support.

They also bring the poles into the middle for an exercise Thenthongkham called “stirring the pot.” Using the poles as a paddle they make circles in front of their chairs.

Other exercises with the poles include seated jumping jacks, rotating the poles from side to side in what Thenthongkham called “the kayak.”

After a warm up, the class participants stand up and begin marching in place and then alternating heel taps using the poles for balance.

Eventually they begin to walk around the room using the poles under her instruction. Arms are kept at a 90-degree angle from the body. When walking, one arm holding the pole goes forward followed by the opposite leg. It takes a moment for the class to get into the rhythm, but soon they are striding in circles about the room and then down the hall and back.

Thenthongkham said, “One nice thing about these poles, they were designed by an occupational therapist. There’s a little ledge to use for standing exercises.”

The ledge really helps, said Corsi. “It keeps the wrist in a neutral position. You don’t need a lot of grip strength to push it down.”

“I like it,” said Thenthongkham of the poles. “I want to keep everybody moving. There’s a lot of benefit to this. This is going to prevent you from using a walker.”

Joan Gill, 99, was taking her third class. She liked the poles so much she bought her own pair.

“I had COVID, and part of my getting better was learning how to do this,” said Gill. “I like the idea of the whole body and every part being exercised.”

Jack Herklotz, a Passavant Retirement Center resident, was taking his first class.

“My wife encouraged me. She’s been to two of these classes. Anything I can do to exercise,” he said. “It’s the stability; that’s the first thing I noticed. I can feel the effect in my arms and my shoulders. I’m thinking about getting the poles.”

Evelyn Porter was taking her first class. She was looking to recover from knee replacement surgery.

“I want to be able to go out for a walk. I want to exercise. Walking’s the best exercise,” said Porter. She said working with the poles was different but she liked them.

According to Christine Namey, rehab director of outpatient and home health at Lutheran SeniorLife, the poles will be made available at all Lutheran SeniorLife facilities including the LIFE programs in butler, Armstrong, Beaver and Lawrence counties.

“We actually use them in physical therapy and occupational therapy in our outpatient, skilled nursing, home health and life programs. In addition. we were lucky enough to receive grant funding to have staff trained and receive the equipment,” said Namey.