Fit As A Fiddle

What is the spirit? If you want a TED Talk-like chat about this topic, search no further. Russell Hanks, our guest today, explores the idea of the spirit and what it could mean. This conversation not only addresses this very abstract concept, but also applies it to very practical and actionable ways that both clinicians and patients can harness the power of the spirit to optimize how they deliver or receive care respectively. 

Russell graduated from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center with a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy in 1995. He is certified by the International Academy of Orthopedic Medicine (IAOM) – US for orthopedic manual therapy in the spine and the extremities. He is also a Fellow with the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapists. He is the Clinical Director for the Advanced Physical Therapy practice.

Whether you are a weekend warrior or an elite athlete, it is always important to understand your body, how to maintain and improve performance, and how to train appropriately. The first step to achieving this, is to set your goals. Why do you play your preferred sport? Is it to stay fit for the summer or to win a championship? Knowing this will help guide you through your athletic journey with less injuries and improved performance. 

Dr. Asad Siddiqi, a physiatrist and sports medicine physician in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, joins us to discuss health literacy in young athletes. He discusses how important it is for him to understand his athlete in order to provide proper patient-centered care. He dives into the issue of attrition in the sports world and how changing behavior of the athlete also requires proper training of coaches, trainers, and parents. 

Dr. Siddiqi is head team physician for The City College of New York and provides medical oversight for a number of high schools, youth sport clubs, and performing arts organizations. His clinical and research interests are in the areas of health literacy, physical activity promotion, and injury prevention in youth athletes.

Book an appointment with Dr. Siddiqi HERE

The title of this episode was initially intended to be “Why Women Outlive Men.” But with an exceptionally well-versed guest like Dr. Marianne Legato, our conversation took a turn that went above and beyond what I’d hoped to dive into. Today we have a very special episode where we discuss how Dr. Legato helped shift the very nature of medicine from being dominated by the male biology to include that of women. She then discusses the current shifts in medicine intended to break down the enigma of gender fluidity and create a word of medicine that includes nonbinary bodies. 

Dr. Marianne J. Legato is a pioneer in the field of gender-specific medicine. She led the effort to establish sex and gender as important variables in the way we think not just about the experience and treatment of disease, but also health and lifestyle. She began her work in gender-specific medicine by authoring the first book on women and heart disease, The Female Heart: The Truth About Women and Coronary Artery Disease, which won the Blakeslee Award of the American Heart Association in 1992. Because of this research, the cardiovascular community began to include women in clinical trials affirming the fact that the risk factors, symptoms, and treatment of the same disease can be significantly different between the sexes. Her latest academic textbook, The Plasticity of Sex, on which this book is based, won a 2021 PROSE Award in the category of biomedicine. She maintains one of the only gender-specific private practices in New York City, and she has consistently been named one of the “Top Doctors in New York for several decades. Who’s Who has just cited her for a lifetime achievement award.  

Connect with her at www.gendermed.org

Are you overworked, over-giving, overdoing, always fixing problems, and just terribly exhausted most of the time? Today I hope your life transforms the way mine has over the last few weeks! Not a lot of people get to interview one of their role models in life. I’m thrilled to chat with Terri Cole, a licensed psychotherapist, global relationship and empowerment expert, and the author of Boundary Boss-The Essential Guide to Talk True, Be Seen and (Finally) Live Free. 

After binge-reading the book in between my patients in just days, the way I view myself and the world has completely transformed. Terri chats with us on how she evolved from a “boundary disaster” to a “boundary boss” through years of therapy, working with her own patients, and consistently speaking her truth every single day. 

Exclusively for Fit As A Fiddle listeners, visit https://boundaryboss.me/fit for a FREE video and downloadable guide to starting your Boundary Boss Journey. Visit www.boundarybossbook.com to get your copy of the book.

For over two decades, Terri has worked with a diverse group of clients that includes everyone from stay-at-home moms to celebrities and Fortune 500 CEOs. She has a gift for making complex psychological concepts accessible and actionable so that clients and students achieve sustainable change. She inspires over 250,000 people weekly through her blog, social media platform, signature courses, and her popular podcast, The Terri Cole Show. For more, see terricole.com

Often women get pinned with, “drink a glass of wine because it’s really all in your head” when discussing sexual issues. Many people won’t even get to the place where they feel comfortable to discuss problems regarding their intimacy in the first place. Still others will get slapped with a cream or lubricant and told to “chill out.” Today, I have a very special guest, Dr. Bat Sheva Marcus, who has dedicated years of study in the academic world to understanding female sexual dysfunction. 

Her book Sex Points: Reclaim Your Sex Life with the Revolutionary Point System discusses the unique challenges that women face with their sexual health, particularly after a long long time of living in a male dominated medical field. In the show, she helps people understand that there truly is one or more root medical causes to these issues and revolutionizes the way we look at women’s sexual dysfunction. She discusses topics that are not always in mainstream knowledge like how testosterone is an essential hormone in the female body as well!

Dr. Bat Sheva Marcus is a certified sex therapist and the Clinical Director of Maze Women’s Sexual Health, the largest independent sexual health center in the country. She wrote her dissertation on women and vibrator use while earning her Doctor of Philosophy in human sexuality from the Institute of Advanced Study of Human Sexuality. She also has a Master’s in public health from the same institution. She is a licensed social worker with a Master’s degree from Columbia University. Dr. Marcus has worked as the executive director of not-for-profit institutions and corporations, medical practices and laboratories. In addition to being featured in a NY Times article, she is a frequent guest on radio, podcasts and has lectured both nationally and overseas on a wide variety of women’s issues.

Connect with her at www.drbatsheva.com

From the beginning of human history, parents have held and worn their babies for various reasons. Adriane Stare, a NYC-Based Babywearing Expert, Postpartum Doula, Lactation Educator and Mom to two boys, joins us today to talk about babywearing. We discuss the unique implications of carrying babies particularly in the first few months of life. Adriane delves into the misconceptions that surround babywearing and touches on the societal influences that impact how families view the topic.

After the birth of her first son, Adriane fell in love with babywearing - the most critical skill that she learned as a new parent. She founded Caribou Baby and Wild Was Mama in 2011, Brooklyn’s wildly popular Natural Baby and Maternity shops and educational class spaces. For more than a decade, she’s helped thousands of families find their confident, joyful groove in parenting by teaching them how to develop real skills and strategies, instead of just buying stuff and quick solutions. Her babywearing work and parenting approach has been featured widely on news and parenting platforms, including Good Morning America, The New York Times, Mother.ly and Crain’s New York. 

Connect with her at www.adrianestare.com

You might have heard someone say, “My knee hurts - must be the arthritis kicking in.” While osteoarthritis is a very common phenomenon, there are several misconceptions around it. Today, Dr. Karen Litzy, a licensed physical therapist, joins us to discuss the latest research on osteoarthritis (OA) and its medical management. We dive into the different structures affected, the diagnostic criteria, the differences between OA and Rheumatoid Arthritis, and ways to prevent progression of OA. Karen highlights that while surgery is an option, there is so much that can be done with exercise and weight loss that the literature clearly depicts as effective means of symptom management. She also gives us the latest updates on the use of robotics in joint replacement surgeries, which can dramatically improve outcomes. 

Karen is an international speaker and owner of Karen Litzy Physical Therapy, PLLC. Through her work as a physical therapist she has helped thousands of people, including Fortune 500 CEOs, royalty and celebrities, overcome painful conditions, recover from surgery, and feel stronger than ever before. As the host Healthy Wealthy & Smart, of a top 200 podcast, on Apple Podcasts, she has interviewed influencers in the worlds of health, medicine and entrepreneurship. As a keynote and featured speaker, Dr. Karen has presented to thousands at national and international events including Columbia University in New York City, University of Colorado in Denver, and the International Olympic Committee World Conference on on Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport in Monaco. 

Connect with her at karenlitzy.com

What happens when a postpartum exercise specialist and a pelvic floor physical therapist dive into the topic of postpartum physical recovery? Join us on this episode as Charlotte Blake Kaplan and I have an honest, unedited conversation on what movement and healing means. We talk about the expectations created by the medical field, social media, and the people we interact with daily and how this shapes your journey throughout your postpartum years. Charlotte denounces the use of toxic timelines and how practitioners should have empathy towards their pregnant and postpartum clients.

Charlotte Blake Kaplan, PCES, is a postnatal corrective exercise specialist, Mama, postnatal Pilates instructor and the owner of Charlotte Blake Pilates, a boutique one-on-one studio in the heart of Greenwich Village, NYC. Charlotte is dedicated to positively disrupting the way people think of and engage in recovery, exercise, and healing after giving birth. She is an advocate for postnatal people to begin their recovery process immediately after birth and simultaneously recognizes that it’s never too late to begin a recovery process, no matter how long ago a person gave birth. Charlotte is a sought-out instructor for her postnatal Pilates one-on-one consultations and postnatal programs because she leads each and every session with compassion and empathy. With over a decade of experience working with prenatal and postnatal people, she has a wealth of knowledge to share. Charlotte also leads postnatal Pilates group programs and her signature MamaWell intensive both online and in-person. In addition to working with postnatal people, Charlotte has created and teaches a comprehensive workshop for movement instructors. She is dedicated to changing the way in which movement certifications teach (or more commonly, fail to teach) how to support prenatal and postpartum people. You can work with Charlotte online or in person at her studio in Greenwich Village or her studio near Woodstock, NY.

Connect with her:

@charlotteblakekaplan
charlotteblakepilates.com/charlotte

How can we optimize mental healthcare for women and their loved ones? How can we support women through their reproductive lifespan and the course of preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum? We answer these questions and more with Dr. Lucy Hutner, an internationally recognized expert in women’s mental health. Dr. Hutner covers the role of reproductive psychiatry and how she diagnoses and treats a variety of conditions experienced by women and LGBTQ birthing parents. We discuss the transformations that come with parents undergoing IVF treatment and dive into myths surrounding medications for the pregnant woman. 

Dr. Hutner received her MD from the University of California, San Francisco. She completed psychiatry residency training at Harvard (MGH/McLean), where she was one of the chief residents, followed by fellowship training at Columbia. Dr. Hutner is a leader in the emerging medical specialty of reproductive psychiatry, which focuses on the mental health needs of women throughout the reproductive life span, including preconception, pregnancy and postpartum. Dr. Hutner was the Associate Director of the Women’s Program at Columbia, is on the leadership team of the National Task Force for the first standardized digital curriculum in reproductive psychiatry, and she is the co-editor of the first textbook in reproductive psychiatry, to be published by the American Psychiatric Association in 2021.

In today’s show, listeners tune into two topics with our multifaceted guest, Dr. Farah Hameed. We begin our conversation around the COVID recovery unit that Columbia & Cornell began in conjunction with New York Presbytarian Hospital. Dr. Hameed dives into the interdisciplinary team that was required to help screen and treat the thousands of people in New York City who survived COVID in 2020. Two of the biggest side effects after recovering were shortness of breath and body fatigue. Clinicians administered tests and measures to identify patients’ problem areas and scheduled virtual visits with physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language therapists, neuropsychologists, psychiatrists, and more. 

The second part of the show revolves around musculoskeletal complaints of pregnant and postpartum people. While many times, obstetricians and other clinicians might be looking out for the safety of the mother and baby, sometimes, quality of life issues like lower back pain and pelvic girdle pain can go unaddressed. Dr. Hameed specialize in identifying and treating people and referring to the correct providers, such as pelvic floor physical therapists, and holistic treatments like acupuncture.

Dr. Farah Hameed attended medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch, where she was awarded her Medical Degree. She completed her internship in Internal Medicine at the Boston University Medical Center, and she completed her residency at Harvard Medical School/Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. She completed her fellowship in Spine and Sports Medicine at Northwestern University through the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago where she won the Baskin Award for excellence in Research. She is board certified in both Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine.

Book an appointment with her at Columbia University midtown office on 51 W 51st St.