Sports Walking Sticks

A walking cane or sports walking stick is a particular device that aids in walking. It offers postural stability, support and assists in maintaining a good posture. Today these sticks are mainly used in sporting or athletic activities like hiking. However, some designs also work as a fashion accessory or are used for self-defence. These sticks come in different sizes and shapes.

Historically the walking sticks have been known to be an offensive and defensive weapon. Sometimes it may conceal a sword or knife (swordstick). Today they have also become collector’s items. With changing preferences and uses these sticks adopted new names. Hence, we also know them as pilgrim’s staff, trekking poles hiking sticks or poles. With the variety in constructions and names, these sticks have diverse uses. Some use them to part away thick bushes or grass obscuring while hiking, while others use them for support to go uphill or as a brake while coming down. Let’s explore what benefits these sticks can bring to the users and why they are an important part of many lives.

Medically proven benefits of sports walking sticks

Today, walking canes or sticks are widely used for mobility. These sticks help to deal with avoidable injuries during walking (specifically on uneven tracks). In the meanwhile, they are ideally helpful for the elderly and those with lesser stamina to walk on their own. Moving far from how it was perceived in the past, these sticks are now all about maintaining balance and helping in relieving pressure on the joints.  Therapists and health care providers recommend walking poles for people with conditions that affect their muscle, bones, and balance capacities. Here are ways how these sticks can help such people in staying fit and healthy.

Nordic walking sticks for seniors

Many studies suggest the role and importance of walking poles as people age. These sticks help in improving dynamic balance and maintaining stability while moving at later ages. According to many types of research, this Nordic walking helps in improving the flexibility of the lower body better than regular walking. Whereas, it offers better upper body flexibility as compared to any other resistance training. At the time when we can see many elders enjoying walking with poles. They have a positive impact on almost all components of physical fitness for seniors, including better strength, flexibility and cardiovascular state, better self-esteem and walking confidence in elders.

Increased exercise intensity with fitness walking poles

According to the American Heart Association, CDC and many others, at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week reduce health risks. Unfortunately, many people can’t walk fast enough to raise heart rates pushing it to the moderate-intensity zone. Likewise, many are not able to tolerate running. Trekking poles help to build the intensity of exercise at a constant speed gradually. This is why medical expert recommends fitness poles for people with chronic heart failure, osteoarthritis of the keens, coronary artery disease or extreme obesity. They can gradually achieve walking speed without overdoing things by maintaining a healthy amount of exercise.

Parkinson’s Disease and walking sticks

Physical activity and maintained mobility are of core importance for people with Parkinson’s disease. A fitness walking stick once again had proven benefits. The Nordic poles are ideally helpful with proven effectiveness for activities like hydrotherapy, robotic gait training and dancing. Additionally, these poles help Parkinson’s patients to gain confidence in walking and enjoy improved postural stability. However, it is always important to consult your therapist before you head to buy Nordic walking sticks for sale. But if you are an average person and need support to build your stamina, you can consider any model of healthy athletic walking sticks to support your posture and body while walking.

Sports walking sticks for Cancer and PAD patients

For those suffering from PAD (Peripheral arterial disease) or who have gone through breast cancer surgery, particular sports walking sticks are here to help. As in PAD people find themselves limited to walking for short distances. Meanwhile, breast cancer survivor finds extreme pressure on their upper body when they walk after surgery. Here, the upper body is an integral part of rehabilitation, and so do is the cardiovascular exercise during treatment. Studies found that walking with poles improves shoulder mobility as well as upper body muscular endurance for such patients. However, for PAD patients, there are specialised courses with these sticks that can help the patients to improve stamina gradually.