Photo Courtesy of James Emery via Flickr
A few months ago, RadioShack® asked me if I would like to review two of their pedometers. Of course, I accepted since I’ve found pedometers to be a good way to motivate people to exercise more. They shipped them out promptly and I quickly put them to the test. At first, I tested the pedometers on the trail near my house. But then, during the trial, I had an epiphany. I am the Director of Rehabilitation at a skilled nursing facility. So, why not use the pedometers there to promote increased activity and improved health for our patients?
Walking Is Life!™ (WIL)
From that inspiration, I designed a pedometer program where the therapists would track how many steps their patients took during their treatment sessions and use that information to devise a walking program prior to their patient’s return home. The program, which we named “Walking Is Life™” (WIL), is an individualized walking program that challenges the patient with gradually increasing goals that the patient can pursue either by themselves or with assistance depending on their situation. The overall goal of the program is to head off the usual decline in activity that patients experience after returning home and replace that with continuing improvement. That way they can improve both their quality of life and their ability to live safely in their own homes.
After designing the program, I thanked RadioShack for the review unit that they sent me, told them about the idea that it sparked and asked them if there was someone I could contact to get a discount on a bulk purchase of their units. I was both surprised and delighted when they volunteered to give us enough pedometers to launch the pilot version of our program, which we are now implementing at my facility.
What are the benefits of walking in the elderly population?
Walking is a great aerobic activity that has numerous health benefits in this population. Not only is it a low impact, aerobic activity, that is less likely to cause injuries, but it has also been shown to improve cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, improve mental health, improve circulation, reduce stress, reduce risk of type 2 diabetes, manage weight and help keep muscles toned and in shape.
What are the benefits of using a pedometer with this patient population?
As therapists, we have noticed that when many of our patients go home, they restrict their activity level to their house and walk less than they did during their rehabilitation. This negatively affects their quality of life. Often, the patients are not even aware that they have reduced their activity level.
That is where the pedometer comes in. With very little effort, the pedometer allows the patient to monitor their daily activity level and see if they are starting to decline in aerobic capacity. They can take that information as a cue to do more or, if necessary, to inform their physician that something is negatively impacting their health before it becomes a more serious issue. Also, giving the patient a program with periodic goals to accomplish and a means to track those goals helps to motivate the patient to continue working to improve their health.
The bottom line:
As therapists we are always looking for ways to empower our patients to be healthier and more active and the Walking Is Life™ pedometer program designed by us at BeingHealthy.TV does just that. The program allows therapy professionals to design an individualized, evidence based program that improves their patients’ progress both in the facility during their rehabilitation and in their home environment after they return home. Plus, giving the patient a pedometer and exercise goals to take home with them, empowers and motivates them to improve their own health.
We want to once again thank RadioShack® Corporation for sponsoring our Walking Is Life!™ Pedometer Program by giving us pedometers to improve the health of our patients. We would also like to commend RadioShack for its involvement with the Livestrong Foundation, supporting their mission with fundraising, awareness building and advocacy facilitation. We are honored that RadioShack has taken an active interest in bettering the lives of our patients as well. Thank you!