The Parkinson's Vitality Project Podcast

In this episode, I speak with Anne Muskopf. Anne is the Director of the Charlotte & Richard Okonow Parkinson's Family Support Program at the Jewish Family and Children Services in Waltham, MA. We discuss the value that community programs bring to people with PD as well as discuss the value of support groups. You can find out more information about the Charlotte & Richard Okonow Parkinson's Family Support Program here: https://www.jfcsboston.org/Our-Services/Older-Adults/Parkinsons-Family-Support To find local information about support groups you can go to he American Parkinson's Disease Association, Parkinson's Foundation, Davis Phinney, or Michael J. Fox Foundation websites American Parkinson's Disease Association: www.apda.org Parkinson Foundation: www.parkinson.org Michael J. Fox Foundation: www.michaeljfox.org Davis Phinney Foundation: www.davisphinneyfoundation.org

As we move from Women's History Month to Parkinson's Disease Awareness month, I felt it was important to take some time and talk about the impact of Parkinson's Disease on Women. Women are not diagnosed with PD as frequently as men and experience different symptoms of Parkinson's that will impact their lives differently than their male counterparts. In this episode, I discuss how women with PD experience different interactions between women and healthcare professionals and different symptoms compared with men. We also discuss why women are under-represented in research about PD and how this impacts our understanding of what women experience with PD. Finally, we talk about how women experience more social challenges than men overall which complicates their ability to care for themselves. I hope this episode highlights some of the challenges that women with PD face and offers some space to open up discussions about how we can better support women to ensure they have the best quality care and lives possible.

This week on the podcast I talk about pain. Pain is an under-recognized and under-reported symptom of Parkinson's Disease. Because of this, it is inadequately treated despite being one of the most bothersome symptoms of PD at any stage of the disease. In this episode, we talk about the different types of pain that are experienced by people with Parkinson's, and some of the ways that people can help to manage their pain.

Orthostatic Hypotension affects up to 1/3 of all people with Parkinson's and can have devastating consequences. In this episode, Anne discusses what Orthostatic Hypotension is, how it is diagnosed, and strategies for how to manage it in your daily life.

In this episode of the Parkinson's Vitality Project Podcast the tables are turned! Dr. Caroline Morris is interviewing me about my newest program helping people to improve their life through small individualized changes that will heave impacts on their overall health through coaching. We talk about what coaching is and how it can help people by focusing on the individual and allowing for open safe space to figure out how to achieve optimal wellness. If you are interested in finding out more about my coaching programs or are interested in scheduling a free discovery call to see if coaching is right for you, you can visit my website at: www.envisionptw.com You can also follow me at: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/envisionptwell/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/envisionptwell/?show_switched_toast=1&show_switched_tooltip=0&show_podcast_settings=0

I am back from my hiatus and excited to interview Dr. Caroline Morris, physical therapist and health coach who specializes in working with people who have cardiac conditions. We discuss some of the common cardiac issues that people with Parkinson's have and what people can do to help manage these lesser talked about issues in PD.  If you want to know more about Dr. Caroline, you can find her at: https://carolinemorris.com/ You can follow Dr. Caroline on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-morris-pt-dpt-b9300769/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/carolinehmorr YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVDxqM9x7om1Ihc6vHpO4yw/about

On this episode I talk with Melody McLaughlin, the Senior Community Program Manager from the New England Chapter of the Parkinson's Foundation. We talk about the resources on the Foundation's website as well as the programs that the Foundation runs to help educate and support people with Parkinson's as well as friends and family members who want to understand more about the disease and learn about how they can support their loved one. If you want more information about the resources we discuss in this episode, you can visit:  Website: Parkinson.org Parkinson's Foundation Helpline 1.800.4PD.INFO (1-800-473-4636) Parkinson.org/NewlyDiagnosed PDConversations.org Parkinson.org/PDLibrary Parkinson.org/AwareInCare Parkinson.org/Events MovingDayWalk.org

This week is the 2nd episode on the podcast where I speak with Stephanie Smith Goodman who is the creator of the Parkinson's Art of Expression (PARTE) program. In this episode we talk about how she became interested in working with people with PD and how she came to be involved at the Parkinson's Exercise and Wellness Center in Overland Park, KS. Stephanie describes some of the activities that are included in a PARTE classes and she even has me participate in one of the activities. Stephanie is working on increasing access to PARTE for people around the country through training more coaches to lead these programs. Her next training is April 10-11, 2021 at GroupHab Physical Therapy and Wellness in Simpsonville, SC. If you are interested in finding more about this training date you can contact Dr. Patrice Hazan at [email protected] or by calling (864) 525-2654. For more information about the Parkinson's Exercise and Wellness center you can visit their website: https://www.thepewc.org/ , email [email protected], or call (913) 276-4665.

This week is the 1st of 2 episodes on the podcast where I speak with Stephanie Smith Goodman who is the creator of the Parkinson's Art of Expression (PARTE) program. In this episode we talk about how she became interested in working with people with PD and how she came to be involved at the Parkinson's Exercise and Wellness Center in Overland Park, KS. Stephanie describes some of the activities that are included in a PARTE classes and she even has me participate in one of the activities. Stephanie is working on increasing access to PARTE for people around the country through training more coaches to lead these programs. Her next training is April 10-11, 2021 at GroupHab Physical Therapy and Wellness in Simpsonville, SC. If you are interested in finding more about this training date you can contact Dr. Patrice Hazan at [email protected] or by calling (864) 525-2654. For more information about the Parkinson's Exercise and Wellness center you can visit their website: https://www.thepewc.org/ , email [email protected], or call (913) 276-4665.

This week on the podcast I am speaking with Amanda Bouchard, a Certified Therapeutic Recreational Specalist with Northeast Passage. Northeast Passage is an organization in New Hampshire that organizes adaptive recreational and sports programs for people with disabling conditions. Their mission is to empower people living with disabling conditions, both visible and invisible, to define, pursue and achieve whole life health, community engagement and fulfillment through the purposeful use of sports and recreation; to develop and promote best practices in the fields of Therapeutic Recreation and Adaptive Sports.  Amanda and I speak about how Northeast Passage began and some of the programs they offer. We also talk about some of the adaptations that can help people who have mobility struggles to participate in the activities they love, including cycling, golf and archery.  If you want to find out more about the programs provided by Northeast Passage, you can find them at https://www.nepassage.org/ or call 603.862.0070 If you are not in the New Hampshire area and would like to find an adaptive sports and/or recreation program near you, you can check out Move United at https://www.moveunitedsport.org/chapters/location-map/