Early Sunday morning, a handful of people met at the Glendale Galleria food court dressed in sweats and sneakers. But they aren’t there to go shopping.
About 15 members of Glendale Adventist Medical Center’s Joint Replacement Mall Walkers Group gather each week to walk around the mall and start their day with exercise.
The walkers, most of whom have had recent joint replacement surgery at the medical center, came to take part in the walk.
“The whole goal is to show them that that the best way to exercise their joints is to walk,” Anupam Malik, director of orthopedics at Glendale Adventist Medical Center and coordinator of the Joint Replacement Mall Walkers Group, said. “This is for people who have had any kind of replacement surgery.”
Before they started to walk, participants spent a short time stretching and warming up.
Glendale resident Margie DeBey, 84, lifted her arms in the air to stretch. She stretched her hamstrings and calf muscles as well.
DeBey, who had surgery on both knees, decided to participate in the walking program after her doctor’s recommendation, she said.
“I’m proud of myself,” DeBey said, about participating. “I feel fine and I don’t exert myself.”
Marianne Franco also had knee replacement surgery in June and after she found out that she had to exercise her joints, she decided to keep active.
“The first four weeks is the hardest in terms of pain,” the 63-year-old Glendale resident said of her surgery. “I continue with my physical therapy exercises and you have to do what they tell you because if you don’t, your leg gets frozen.”
On Sunday, Franco had decided to play golf but instead she stayed indoors because of the rain. She started walking in the mall to exercise her knee.
Participants walked for about 45 minutes. Starting at the center of the Galleria’s ground level they set off toward Target and, upon reaching it, turned and walked to Macy’s.
Norman Kilgore underwent knee replacement surgery at Glendale Adventist. When he started riding his bike and walking regularly, he noticed an improvement in his balance.
It was the first time he was taking part in the mall walkers program, he said.
“I ride my bike and I keep physically active,” Glendale resident Kilgore, 69, said. “I do maintenance work around the house.”
