By Erica DeMarch
The podcast currently has 23 episodes available.
Dr. Blueweiss recently delivered a compelling TEDx talk, *"Your Socks May Hold the Key to Aging Better."* In our interview, we dive deeper into the themes of her talk—exploring what she would have shared if given more than 10 minutes—and discuss the importance of body awareness in balance training. We’ll also explore methods like the Feldenkrais Method as powerful tools for improving balance and preventing falls.
Many of us assume that the risk of falling is an inevitable part of growing older. Carole Blueweiss, a doctor of physical therapy, explains why aging and frailty are not synonymous. She challenges us all to work on our balance now, so the last years of our lives don't have to be the worst. Dr. Carole Blueweiss is redefining aging by challenging some of its traditional views. With over 25 years of experience in Physical Therapy and as a certified geriatric specialist, she believes there are simple lifestyle choices that anyone can make, which have a strong impact on aging. Carole embraces holistic methods, like the Feldenkrais Method and ABM Neuromovement, that focus on mind-body interconnection and the importance of awareness to one’s movement to combat the common misconception falling is just a byproduct of getting older. Through storytelling on her podcast, Wisdom Shared, Carole explores themes with her guests about having ‘ability’ versus ‘dis-ability.’ While aging may predispose us to lose some abilities that require balance, we have more control over this progression than we realize.
Check out her TEDx talk here.
Wisdom Shared podcast
Resources mentioned in the episode:
- https://feldenkrais.com/
- https://feldenkraisproject.com/
- https://www.anatbanielmethod.com/
Effects of the Feldenkrais Method as a Physiotherapy Tool: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials - PubMed nlm.nih.gov
The Empowering Effect of Embodied Awareness Practice on Body Structural Map and Sensorimotor Activity: The Case of Feldenkrais Method - PubMed nlm.nih.gov
Effects of Feldenkrais exercises on balance, mobility, balance confidence, and gait performance in community-dwelling adults age 65 and older - PubMed nlm.nih.gov
In this interview, the incredible Gail Wetzler, PT, DPT, EBO, BI-D and I will be exploring the fascinating connections between the pelvic floor and foot engagement—a topic we’ve delved into while treating a mutual patient.
One of our shared clients with significant neuropathy needed help with his ankle strategy and keeping his toes down during sit-to-stand movements. This journey of discovery began when Gail asked, "Have you cued his pelvic floor?" That simple question unlocked a wealth of new insights.
Join us as we dive into how it’s all interconnected—from anatomy to brain function—and uncover the best ways to analyze and cue these movements.
Gail Wetzler, PT, DPT, EBO, BI-D currently owns an integrative physical therapy practice in Denver, Colorado, where they treat orthopedic, fascial/muscular/soft tissue, neurologic, pain,respiratory, digestive, mTBI and women's and men's health issues. After receiving her initial degree in physical therapy, she pursued her first experience in acute orthopedic care at Hoag Hospital, Newport Beach California. Within 1 year, she became the outpatient clinical supervisor and thus began her journey and desire for continuing education in the science and art of human movement and function. She studied with Travell and Simons, Mennell, Kaltenborn, Maitland, McKenzie, Mitchell, Jones and Greenman in the earlier years of manual therapy education. Inspired by these methods of treatment, she became an assistant teacher to Dr. Janet Travell and later an instructor with the Institute of Physical Art (IPA) developed by Gregg Johnson and Vicky Saliba Johnson.
In a few years, she developed her own private practice, at which time she received a large number of head, neck and TMJ pain patients. This became a driver to learn more about cranial osteopathy, craniosacral therapy and how the fields of physical therapy and dentistry could collaborate to help these patients. As she pursued continuing education classes with Dr. John Upledger, he inspired her to learn more about the different systems in the body and how they all integrated for function. During one of her earlier speaking engagements for the Upledger Institute ( Beyond the Dura), she met Jean Pierre Barral DO, who inspired the importance of anatomy, the ability to listen to the body and the specificity of tissue dialogue in manual therapy techniques. She has listened and followed his mentoring into understanding the body's deeper fascial relationship of the viscera, vascular, neurological and manual articular systems since 1989. Gail has been an instructor for the Barral Institute (BI) since 1991 and became the BI Curriculum Director in 2001.
In her career, she has been invited to speak at multiple professional conferences including National and State levels for the APTA, USC Head, Neck and Facial Pain Clinic, University of California, Irvine (UCI), Beyond the Dura Research Conferences, "Hope" Head Injury Organization, and was the keynote speaker in Italy for the Fascial Manipulation Research Conference presented by Antonio, Carla and Luigi Stecco. She is the Past Director of Physical Therapy for the Integrative Medicine Center at UCI. She is currently part of the Research Team for the Upledger Foundation for their recent studies on Post Concussion Recovery She currently teaches for the Women's Health Section of the APTA "Gynecological Visceral Manipulation".
Gail earned her Diplomate from the Barral Institute in 2005. She earned her Equine Diplomate in Osteopathy from Vluggen Institute of Equine Osteopathy in 2009 and she earned her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Rosalind Franklin University, Chicago, in 2013.
Gail serves on the Women's Health Task Force for the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC).
Resources: APTA Academy of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy (aptapelvichealth.org)
Join us in this podcast episode where we explore the realms of balance and oncology rehab with specialist Derly Munoz. Get inspired by Derly’s unwavering commitment and discover valuable insights on initiating specialized oncology rehab programs. Gain empowerment through educational tips for both patients and clinicians seeking optimal care.
Articles and Resources:
Taking Charge of My Cancer on Apple Podcasts: Hosted by Derly Munoz and empathetic experts and individuals who have triumphed over cancer themselves, this show is a beacon of hope, inspiration, and tangible solutions for you while navigating the twists and turns after your cancer diagnosis.
exercise-guidelines-cancer-infographic.pdf (acsm.org)
Neurological Outcomes of Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy in Patients With Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Outpatient Oncology Fall Risk: A Quality Improvement Project.
Optimal outcome measures for assessing exercise and rehabilitation in chemotherapy-induced peripheral-neurotoxicity: Systematic review and consensus expert opinion - PMC (nih.gov)
A systematic review of behavioural and exercise interventions for the prevention and management of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy symptoms - PubMed (nih.gov)
Become a Board-Certified Oncology Specialist in Physical Therapy | APTA Specialist Certification - Governed by ABPTS
About - PORi - Oncology Rehabilitation Courses
Derly Munoz received her bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from the Rosario University in Bogota, Colombia in 1990. She moved to the United States in 1993 and completed a postgraduate Certification in Manual Therapy in 1995. In 2012, she became the team leader for the oncology rehab program at UF Health in Gainesville, Florida, and became a Certified Lymphedema Therapist. The Cancer Rehab program as more than doubled its size concerning clinic space, patients served, and therapists on the team since she has been the team leader. She also received her Certification in Cranio-Mandibular Disorders from Mariano Rocabado in 2016.
Oncology being her main passion led to the opportunity to work with Dr. Singhal, with whom she developed a lymphedema surveillance program for the vascular lymph node transplant patients, as well as a lymphedema surveillance program beginning at pre-op for the breast cancer patients. Through this work, she has been a co-author of publications on the surveillance with the transplant patients and received The Breast Journal Award in 2015.
Derly became APTA board certify oncologist specialist in 2020.
She started her own podcast for cancer survivors and their families a few months ago call taking charge of my cancer and has been giving a lot of tools in education on her social media.
I am excited for this next interview with Susan Frikken to discuss her program Ballroom Basics for Balance, as it combines 2 of my favorite things balance and dancing.
Susan Frikken, DPT, LMT
Susan Frikken is physical therapist in private practice in Madison, Wisconsin, the co-founder and an instructor for Ballroom Basics for Balance and founding member of the Madison Area Wellness Collective [now Be Well Madison], making health and wellness choices easier through connecting practitioners and community.
She is a graduate of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2013 and now serves as an adjunct faculty and guest lecturer at UW for the DPT program. She has been a massage therapist since 1993. Areas of special interest are restoring optimal posture and function, conservative scoliosis management, soft tissue work (massage), and – of course! – balance and falls prevention! She is certified leader of Stepping On, an evidence-based falls reduction program. Proudly, Most recenty I became a PK Silver Coaching Specialist and hold parkour classes with seniors.
Originally from metro Detroit, Susan lives in Madison with her wife and animals. Quote from Susan: “My goal is to incorporate arts and nature into therapeutic practice, helping to change the way of health and wellness care in our country. I love to dance, bicycle, be outside, and play at just about anything, so I try to stay healthy and able in case I’m invited to join in!
Resources:
Highlights
A core document summarizing the key elements of the curriculum.
Home practice video.
Flickr page from the years (photos and videos)
A pilot study of their class.
I am very excited to share this next podcast episode, Ask the Parkinson Expert- Take 6 for PD. On this episode, I asked the same 2 questions to all the Parkinson experts I interviewed in April. When I meet with many of my clients with PD, they ask me what can I do to decrease the progression of the disease? I was curious how others would answer this question. So, I asked Dr. Melissa McConaghy, Josepha Domingos , John Dean, Dr. Eric Rhoden, Dr. Becky Farley, Betsy Vierck, and Catherine Ross the same question. It was fun to hear everyone’s perspectives and definitely made me think differently.
I am also impressed with all the new emerging research on Pd, but it can be overwhelming. So, my 2nd question to everyone was what research are they following and what they would recommend others to follow that they feel can make a difference in people’s lives?
Throughout the conversations we had some overlapping themes, as well as new and different perspectives.
Question 1:
12 Tips to slow the progression of the disease from PD experts!
Here is a great article and webinar discussing if there is a way to slow Parkinson’s progression: ‘Can We Put the Brakes on Parkinson’s Progression? | Parkinson's Foundation’.
Question 2:
What new research do PD experts recommend following? Various topics on research were discussed and we added some articles on each topic. (Please see all articles and resources here: Take6forPD to increase PD awareness – Step and Connect
In this episode we have two special guests, Betsy Vierck and Catherine Ross and we discuss their new blog, Parkinson's from the Inside. They share through their writing to increase awareness of the lived experience of Parkinson's Disease. They dive deeper into what they want health care professionals to know, new standards of care, creativity in PD and besides a cure, their dreams for the future.
Parkinson's From the Inside (parkinsonsfromtheinside.com)
Elizabeth (Betsy) Vierck writes frequently on a wide range of topics including aging, health delivery, health education, health spending, demographics, inflammation, arthritis, and pain. She is the author of Chronic Pain for Dummies, The Idiot’s Guide to Inflammation, The Heart Disease Handbook, Growing Old in America, and Aging America (AARP). Betsy was a long-time staff member of the US Senate Special Committee on Aging in Washington DC. Betsy began having symptoms of Parkinson's disease in 2000 and she was diagnosed in 2008.
Catherine L. Ross is a retired speech-language pathologist. Her career spanned educational, medical, clinical, and university settings. She divides her time between Wyoming and Florida and volunteers for Parkinson’s organizations. Cathy was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2018.
Resources/Articles:
Evidence for Early and Regular Physical Therapy and Exercise in Parkinson’s Disease - PMC (nih.gov)
(PDF) Why would Parkinson’s disease lead to sudden changes in creativity, motivation, or style with visual art?: A review of case evidence and new neurobiological, contextual, and genetic hypotheses (researchgate.net)
More Than Movement: Exploring Motor Simulation, Creativity, and Function in Co-developed Dance for Parkinson’s - PMC (nih.gov)
Time for a new image of Parkinson’s? | Special Reports | Parkinson’s Life (parkinsonslife.eu)
In this episode, Dr. Becky Farley discusses how she created a comprehensive PD-specific approach that begins with the building blocks of function called PWR!Moves®. Learn more about PWR moves and how you can incorporate motor learning principles into your sessions to optimize movement.
Becky G. Farley, PhD, MSPT, PT, Chief Scientific Officer & Founder,
Parkinson Wellness Recovery | PWR!
Dr. Becky Farley received a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Arizona, a Master of Science in Physical Therapy from the University of North Carolina, and a Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy from the University of Oklahoma. During her postdoc, she co-created the LSVT® BIG therapy program and completed the initial NIH research on its’ short-term benefits. She has now created a more comprehensive PD-specific approach that begins with the building blocks of function called PWR!Moves®. The deterioration of these skills leads to functional decline and interferes with all physical activity. Dr. Farley has trained over 7000 physical and occupational therapists and exercise professionals to work together on shared PD-specific functional training goals to optimize functional mobility and fitness. In 2010, she launched the PWR!Gym in Tucson, AZ – a model community facility for implementing ongoing access to cutting-edge rehabilitation, group exercise and wellness programming.
Resources:
https://www.exerciseforbrainchange.org/category/research-update/
Parkinson Wellness Recovery | PWR! – Implementing research-based Parkinson specific exercise programs. PWR!Moves GET BETTER and STAY BETTER with Exercise. (pwr4life.org)
A physical therapy decision-making tool for stratifying persons with Parkinson's disease into community exercise classes - PubMed (nih.gov)
https://www.pwr4life.org/pwr-updates-and-news/ (Making function exercise, training PwP like an athlete, strength and agility research updates)
Workshops overview page
https://www.pwr4life.org/pwr-workshops/
Find a PWR! Professional Directory
https://www.pwr4life.org/professional-directory/
Our Wellness Series on the third Wednesday of the month is open to anyone and we save the recordings for viewing later.
https://www.exerciseforbrainchange.org/join-us-for-a-wellness-series/
In this episode we will dive deeper into deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's, the role of the health team, patient self-advocacy and the importance of effective communication. Dr. Eric Rhoden's unique experience and expertise brings us new perspectives and ideas.
Dr Eric. Rhoden was born and raised in San Diego, California, making Austin, Texas his home in 2016. Dr. Rhoden has always thrived on competition and learning new skills. After dabbling in many sports over the years, soccer became his primary focus. Just before playing soccer at the collegiate level, he sustained a knee injury, removing him from the sport and solidifying his desire to pursue a career in physical therapy. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with his bachelor’s in Kinesiology from California State University, San Marcos and received his Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Loma Linda University.
Following his academic accomplishments, Dr. Rhoden has served in various institutions and corporations as an advisor for health-related products, policies, and research projects. He has over 10 years experience in wellness coaching, nutrition, and personal training. During the past 6 years, Dr. Rhoden has been a movement disorder specialist with a local neurology practice. During the height of the pandemic, he co-founded a remote COVID-19 testing company to support the community. In addition, Dr. Rhoden has also spent time providing continuing education courses throughout the US on comprehensive Parkinson’s care and enjoys presenting to local groups throughout the Austin area.
References:
Comparison of Globus Pallidus Interna and Subthalamic Nucleus in Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson Disease: An Institutional Experience and Review
Update on Current Technologies for Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson’s Disease - PMC (nih.gov)
(PDF) Is there a role for physiotherapy during deep brain stimulation surgery in patients with Parkinson's disease? (researchgate.net)
Physical therapy and deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's Disease: protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial - PubMed (nih.gov)
Effects of deep brain stimulation on balance and gait in patients with Parkinson's disease: A systematic neurophysiological review - PubMed (nih.gov)
In this episode, physiotherapist Josefa Domingos MSc and PhD Candidate and speech language pathologist John Dean MA CCC-SLP discuss dual task training for Parkinsons and how you can implement dual task training to address cognitive domains: attention, executive function, working memory and visual spatial. They discuss the programs they developed both in person and online, including the Lisbon Falls Trampoline Training program.
Physiotherapist Josefa Domingos MSc and PhD Candidate and speech language pathologist John Dean MA CCC-SLP are clinicians specializing in Parkinson’s and related disorders. Since 2011, the duo has been collaborating on their approach to Dual Task Exercise for Parkinson’s, combining movement, voice, and cognition, with multiple publications on their approach, training programs for clinicians in the EU and the US, and countless hours of classes and clinical work, both online and in-person. Currently, they can be found online with the Inova Parkinson and Movement Disorders Center, The Parkinson’s Foundation of Western Pennsylvania and the Parkinson Association of the Rockies, among others. They also volunteer with a number of US and international organizations, including the International Parkinson’s and Movement Disorder Society, the World Parkinson’s Coalition, The Davis Phinney Foundation, and Parkinson’s Europe.
Resources:
Dual Task for Parkinsons
Parkinson's Europe ExerciseCast
Virtual Classes:
Dual Task for Parkinson’s: Exercise to improve movement, voice & cognition:
Every Monday and Wednesday from 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Zumba Gold for PD: Every Tuesday and Thursday at 1:00 pm (EST).
RECENTLY DIAGNOSED BOOT CAMP: 3RD TUESDAY OF EACH MONTH FROM 2:3O – 4:00 PM (EST)
8-part “Exercise Pizza” Series: Week 8 – Thursday, April 27: “Speech Recognition Challenge” (12:30-1:30 MST)
Articles:
Community Exercise: A New Tool for Personalized Parkinson’s Care or Just an Addition to Formal Care? - PMC (nih.gov)
A Novel Boot Camp Program to Help Guide Personalized Exercise in People with Parkinson Disease - PMC (nih.gov)
An Online Dual-Task Cognitive and Motor Exercise Program for Individuals With Parkinson Disease (PD3 Move Program): Acceptability Study - PMC (nih.gov)
Lisbon Intensive Falls Trampoline Training (LIFTT) Program for people with Parkinson’s for balance, gait, and falls: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial - PMC (nih.gov)
Is Being Physically Active Enough or Do People with Parkinson’s Disease Need Structured Supervised Exercise? Lessons Learned from COVID-19 - PMC (nih.gov)
In this episode we discuss specialized Parkinson's programs and the journey to get them started to help thousands of people. Melissa McConaghy, the founder and a visionary leader, shares with us what is PD Warrior and the Insight into PD conference.
Resources:
Exercise Based Parkinson’s Treatment – Live Brave - PD Warrior
Research articles - PD Warrior
Online Global Conference – INSIGHT 2023 - PD Warrior
Dr. Melissa McConaghy is a Fellow of the Australian College of Physiotherapists, Specialist Neurological Physiotherapist and holds a Master of Health Science (Neurological Physiotherapy). She has been working with Parkinson’s patients for 19 years and was recently awarded Australian Physiotherapist of the Year. As an educator, clinician and author, Melissa is a strong believer in exercise and its importance in the Spemanagement of progressive conditions. In addition to founding and curating the largest ONLINE global Parkinson’s Conference, INSIGHT into PD in 2018, she has authored the Amazon best seller The New Parkinson’s Treatment: Exercise is Medicine and founded PD Warrior, an early intervention approach for treating Parkinson’s disease. PD Warrior has now been taught to thousands of health professionals world-wide and is currently under license in nine countries. She currently sits on the NSW Branch Council of the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA), is recipient of the ‘Contribution to the Profession Award’ as awarded by the NSW Branch Council and is the past Chair and National Representative of the NSW Neurology Group for the APA.
The podcast currently has 23 episodes available.