The State of Health Care Podcast

The State of Healthcare podcast is back and we are excited about the theme for season 3: "We've Never Really Studied the Female Body." This season, we will be exploring in depth the issues that challenge most women, and some which are considered taboo, while also offering support, resources, and breaking down misconceptions and myths surrounding the female body.  

Today, we are talking with @kimberlyndang, a fellow physical therapist who specializes in pelvic floor health for women and sports medicine. Kimberly is passionate about empowering women in their health, and champions why it is so critical to care about pelvic floor health.

Highlights from our first episode include discussing pelvic floor symptoms, managing flareups and treatment options, addressing challenges faced by women of all ages, and the incredible benefits of breath-work. 

Take a listen and please share with friends and family! 

Disclaimer: The information shared on this podcast is not a substitute for any form of professional physical health care or medical care. Listening does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship with Tracy Karas, DPT. The information provided is for inspirational and educational purposes only.

It's the final episode of season 2 and today we are chatting about my journey with chronic pain and how each path to healing is individual. In truth, healing is so much more than simply treating the physical state of the body.

Joining me as host for today is my friend and yoga instructor, @kristalane66. In this final episode, I speak to my experience with chronic pain, a neck injury that was sustained from a serious car accident almost 20 years ago. This resulted in frequent and debilitating migraines and headaches. At the same time of the accident, I was just beginning Physical Therapy school and every 2 weeks I wasn't able to function, due to this injury. 

In the more traditional route, I was first prescribed a lot of medications and injections, which created their own set of serious problems, coupled with concerns about the birth control I was on at the time. I quickly realized this wasn't the healing path for me and had to look for alternative options of therapy.

I provide insight on how I manage this ongoing chronic condition. Posture, ergonomics, sleeping position and pillows, managing my stress level, self-care, and more, have allowed me to live the life I wish to create. All things aerial are a passion of mine and while initially you would believe that a neck injury would prohibit participation in aerial activities,  when I went looking for additional (proper) strength training to help in my aerial classes, my neck actually began to improve.

Finally, we touch on the fact that your healing journey can't just be about physical treatment, but your mental and emotional states have to be considered as well. If you are constantly angry, upset, and disparaging of your body, the healing process will slow. You have to give yourself hope, gratitude, and love for what your body can do, and what it is still capable of.

Thank you so much for listening to another season of The State of Health Care podcast! I appreciate each and every one of you and am looking forward to Season 3, launching this fall 2024. Stay tuned and take care of yourselves! 

Disclaimer: The information shared on this podcast is not a substitute for any form of professional physical health care or medical care. Listening does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship with Tracy Karas, DPT. The information provided is for inspirational and educational purposes only.

It's all about sciatica in today's episode and we hope you gain some valuable information from Audrey who has been dealing with this chronic issue for the last 5 years. Extremely active, Audrey has had to change her approach to workouts, performances, and therapy to accommodate living with sciatica, but in a way that didn't diminish her dreams, hopes, or goals.

It has been through this path of managing a chronic issue that she has come to really trust her body, with a heightened sense of awareness about what works for her or doesn't - as well as understanding how to handle any self-limiting beliefs that might crop up.

Some great advice is to filter out all the noise you hear, both about how you should or shouldn't manage your pain or health challenges, progress over perfection, and not waiting if something doesn't feel right within your body. 

We also touch on the high of performing and being in workshops and showcases, and how to best show up for ourselves, even when feeling vulnerable.

Only one more episode left in Season 2, we hope you can join us!

Disclaimer: The information shared on this podcast is not a substitute for any form of professional physical health care or medical care. Listening does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship with Tracy Karas, DPT. The information provided is for inspirational and educational purposes only.

For this next episode, we are delighted to welcome Julie back to the show, this time from the patient side! If you remember from season 1, Julie spent much of her career as a nurse before becoming self-employed as a yoga instructor, astrologer, and tarot reader. It's exciting to have Julie back as she offers both the perspective of someone who used to work in the health care system, and as a patient.

At 13, Julie broke both her tibia and fibula and was almost instantly diagnosed with arthritis. At this time in the mid 1970s, there wasn't much support for physical therapy or treatment. More recently, in 2010, Julie was also diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), which was discovered during bloodwork. 

If you live with or are curious about RA, this episode is for you. Julie speaks passionately about managing her RA without medications or western medicine influence. Rather, she strives for a holistic life of movement, eating well, resting, and intuitively listening to her body. She offers advice on gaining a larger perspective on how to live with RA: managing it, living with flares, paying attention to your body, and not fearing the disease. 

Listen in and share with your friends and family who might benefit from an incredibly insightful conversation.

Disclaimer: The information shared on this podcast is not a substitute for any form of professional physical health care or medical care. Listening does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship with Tracy Karas, DPT. The information provided is for inspirational and educational purposes only.

Today we are chatting with Dusty, who was diagnosed with cervical cancer, stage 2B, in 2016. In this episode, we hear about Dusty's journey and the critical importance of advocating and trusting yourself when things don't feel right. Dusty had to change doctors a few times before her diagnosis was confirmed, which started with fairly severe symptoms that prompted her to reach out for help. 

Join us to hear one of the most informative episodes of the entire show! We talk about how "common is not the same as normal" when Dusty was chatting with doctors about what was happening and how some brushed off her concerns. 

We discuss how Covid and vaccinations have been shown to impact periods and menstrual cycles, which could potentially hide some symptoms of cervical cancer. We also discuss the chemo journey for cervical cancer and the importance of regular PAP and HPV testing -- which don't necessarily catch everything but is currently the best way to monitor for potential issues. We also dive into what "peer to peer" means when your insurance might deny paying for services, and how you can go back to your doctor for assistance. 

The most important take-away point that Dusty makes in this episode is when something feels off, trust yourself to speak up about it.  Don't be afraid to find a provider that believes in what you are saying and will have your back.

Join us and share with family and friends who might benefit from hearing Dusty's story.

Disclaimer: The information shared on this podcast is not a substitute for any form of professional physical health care or medical care. Listening does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship with Tracy Karas, DPT. The information provided is for inspirational and educational purposes only.

It's something a huge percentage of folks suffer from: chronic back pain, and it's affecting more and more of us on a daily basis. In today's episode, I'm chatting with Trista, who has been managing chronic back pain since her youth, with various intense and debilitating flare-ups. 

While a lot of us may choose to ignore the warning signs that signal there might be an issue, this is counter productive in terms of long term health, wellness, functionality, and mobility. Trista takes us through her experiences of living with chronic back pain, and both what aggravates it, and what has proven to be helpful. 

Daily movement, purposeful functional movement, self-care, massage, proper form in exercising, and systemic routines of caring for her back have all allowed Trista a greater range of what she is able to do with her body. 

A great episode for anyone who is dealing with chronic back pain, and might be looking for new and alternative treatment options for managing pain!

Disclaimer: The information shared on this podcast is not a substitute for any form of professional physical health care or medical care. Listening does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship with Tracy Karas, DPT. The information provided is for inspirational and educational purposes only.

Can a breast cancer diagnosis be considered good news? For today's podcast guest Maureen, the answer is yes. Diagnosed with breast cancer, it was the health scare that got her motivated to take charge of her health and advocate for herself.

Maureen's story is unique in that she has no markers for breast cancer, or cancers of any kind, nor any family traits that would suggest she is more susceptible than others to receive a cancer diagnosis. Unsure of the exact reason, Maureen tells us her story and how she believes that the "perfect storm" occurred in her body: by receiving testosterone pellets, hormone growth therapy, and 15 years without a menstrual cycle. 

Listen in for a courageous and honest conversation about Maureen's journey as a breast cancer survivor and her post cancer path as well. One of the biggest realizations for Maureen was recognizing that attitude impacts everything and you have to advocate for yourself while listening to what you need and fighting for it. 

Share with your friends and everyone who might need to hear this story!

Disclaimer: The information shared on this podcast is not a substitute for any form of professional physical health care or medical care. Listening does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship with Tracy Karas, DPT. The information provided is for inspirational and educational purposes only.

We are back for episode 2! Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Gaby who chats with us about both overcoming an injury that has forever changed the way she is able to move and function -- and overcoming the mental and emotional hurdles when something is no longer in your control.

Gaby is no stranger to working out and pushing herself, used to participating in intense workouts and HIIT classes, even during pregnancy. However, during one particular workout, she suffered from severe knee pain that simply wouldn't go away and plagued her continuously. It was discovered that she had a loss of cartilage in her patella, a more common diagnosis than one would think.

Listen along with us as we discuss her road to recovery from injury, physical therapy training, the importance of proper form and functional movement, and learning how to listen to her body. 

Gaby's performance is now forever altered given her knee, and her biggest challenge has been the loss, knowing she can no longer participate in all the workouts she used to do, in the same fashion. While there has been much frustration and learning, she is now better able to handle the flare-ups, while understanding how critical it is to stretch, rest, and move in ways that allow her to live pain-free, well into her older years - a great lesson for us all.

Thanks for listening in, and make sure to share with your friends and family! 

Disclaimer: The information shared on this podcast is not a substitute for any form of professional physical health care or medical care. Listening does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship with Tracy Karas, DPT. The information provided is for inspirational and educational purposes only.

The State of Health Care Podcast is back for Season 2, and we are so excited for you to hear from our amazing line up of guests! While season 1 focused primarily on the health care provider perspective, this season we are speaking with folks from the patient perspective, those who have struggled with short-term or long-term illness, disease, or health care challenges.

In today's first episode, we are speaking with Anna, who has been dealing with the challenges of long-haul Covid since 2019. Specifically, Anna tells her story of many years later, still not having a full sense of taste or smell, medically known as anomsia, as well as parosmia, which is a distorted sense of smell.

In a vulnerable and honest conversation, Anna tells us what life has been like for the last several years. There is the physical impact of parosmia and anomsia, which can mean attempting to eat foods that often will taste terrible, and not like their true taste, and things smelling like cigarettes or hot garbage. And then there is the emotional and psychological toll as well, because everything feels different and a little unsafe. 

But Anna also provides great inspiration, and offers insight into the various healing modalities she has tried, including therapy, acupuncture, chiropractics, oxygenation of the blood - and more. For her, living with these symptoms has relied heavily on her state of mind being calm, and the ability to manage what she actually can smell. 

Listen in for a moving conversation and overcoming obstacles, when you are still unclear as to what the end result may be, and the power of the mind. 

Disclaimer: The information shared on this podcast is not a substitute for any form of professional physical health care or medical care. Listening does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship with Tracy Karas, DPT. The information provided is for inspirational and educational purposes only.

It's hard to believe it, but we are at the final episode of Season 1! I want to thank everyone who has listened in, and to all of our amazing guest experts. I have loved every minute of creating this podcast and am excited to announce Season 2 will launch in January, 2024! 

In the meantime, tune in for this season finale where I'm chatting solo! In today's episode, I dive a little deeper into my "why" of starting this podcast, which really centers around sparking change and raising awareness. We need to be both informed about the state of our healthcare, and how as patients, we can be empowered in our health care choices. It's my genuine love and passion for  this job which has me wanting to positively impact the lives of my patients, while also raising the rallying cry to fight back. Fight back against the system that isn't really here to serve you. Fight back against passive providers. Fight back and demand more. 

Together, patients and clinicians alike - we can demand more, expect more, and hold people and companies accountable. 

Tune in for a fiery (I admit), epsiode and thanks again for being here! Can't wait to see you in January for a brand new season, where we will be speaking from the patient side of things! 

Disclaimer: The information shared on this podcast is not a substitute for any form of professional physical health care or medical care. Listening does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship with Tracy Karas, DPT. The information provided is for inspirational and educational purposes only.