Episode #54: Arthritis 00;00;00;02 - 00;00;12;15 Trina Filan Thank you for joining us for this episode of Talking Health in the 406, where we are one community under the big sky. I'm Trina Filan a public health evaluator for diabetes and cardiovascular health. 00;00;12;17 - 00;00;16;10 Margaret Mullins And I'm Margaret Mullins, the social determinants of health program manager. 00;00;16;12 - 00;00;43;13 Trina Filan Today we're going to learn about some great programs available across the state to help Montanans manage arthritis. We have some lively guests with us today, including Erin Bley, who is the health education specialist for the Montana Disability and Health and Arthritis and Falls prevention programs. Molly Blair, the adult sports and lifetime wellness specialist at Missoula Parks and Rec. 00;00;43;16 - 00;01;00;12 Trina Filan And Terri Bellefeuille, who retired to Montana from Florida and has participated in one of the programs we're going to talk about today. 00;01;00;14 - 00;01;02;02 Trina Filan Welcome, everybody. 00;01;02;04 - 00;01;13;14 Margaret Mullins Well, before we get into our conversation, I'd be nice if you could each tell us just a little bit about yourselves. How bout Terri? 00;01;13;16 - 00;01;38;07 Terri Bellefeuille Well, I'm retired from, the finance department of PGA of America. That was eight years ago, and I just moved to Montana one year ago. I have two children that live in Missoula, and most recently, a new little grandson. And I'm just, acclimating to my new life here. 00;01;38;10 - 00;01;39;02 Margaret Mullins Wonderful. 00;01;39;02 - 00;01;40;01 Trina Filan Welcome to Montana. 00;01;40;02 - 00;01;44;15 Margaret Mullins Glad you're here. How about you, Molly? 00;01;44;17 - 00;02;12;08 Molly Blair I am Molly Blair, and I came out to Missoula, Montana in 1997 to play tennis for the University of Montana and have never left. Had the, ability to work for the university for 20 years. And a capacity of serving people with disabilities and chronic conditions. And now on a new role with Parks and Rec leading their adult sports and lifetime wellness programs. 00;02;12;10 - 00;02;37;19 Molly Blair So I say that I am in charge of planning fun for aging adults is my is my official job title, I say. I have two boys, Mason and Andrew, 16 and 18. Both are big hockey players. Actually, one is playing for the Helena Bighorns, so we spend a lot of time over there and, I love doing anything outside skiing, biking, hiking, just enjoying time with my family. 00;02;37;22 - 00;02;41;25 Margaret Mullins Wonderful. Awesome. Yes. And Erin. 00;02;41;28 - 00;03;08;26 Erin Bley Hi. I'm Erin, and I am the health education specialist for the Montana Disability and Health Program, as well as the Montana Arthritis and Falls Prevention programs. I am a master trainer with the stay active and Independent for life program, also referred to as the SAIL Program, and also am a certified leader in the Tai Chi for Arthritis and Falls program. 00;03;08;28 - 00;03;14;16 Margaret Mullins Great. Thanks, Erin. Trina and I are lucky enough to work around the corner from Erin. 00;03;14;18 - 00;03;16;04 Trina Filan Yes. 00;03;16;07 - 00;03;41;05 Margaret Mullins All right. So before we go too much further in the conversation, I would sort of like to set the stage with a few facts about arthritis. I know a lot of people are familiar with it, but arthritis is an umbrella term that comes from the Greek Arthur meaning joint and itis meaning inflammation. So inflammation of the joint arthritis affects people of all ages, races and genders. 00;03;41;10 - 00;04;07;14 Margaret Mullins And there are about 100 types of this chronic disease. And it's the second most commonly experienced chronic condition after hypertension. And we also know that arthritis is the leading cause of disability. And that Montana has a higher prevalence of arthritis than people nationally. So 28% for Montanans, compared with 25% of the national population. So, Aaron, this is a kind of a good place to start with you. 00;04;07;17 - 00;04;12;07 Margaret Mullins Why is arthritis more prevalent in Montana? 00;04;12;09 - 00;04;34;06 Erin Bley Well, more than 1 in 3 adults in rural areas in Montana, which is mostly rural, have arthritis. This could be due to less access to health care, just giving the rural nature, as well as types of jobs such as more physically demanding jobs like farming and ranching, for example. 00;04;34;08 - 00;05;01;29 Trina Filan So I do want to know. I'm a little curious. This is important stuff. When the weather changes. I can feel it in this finger. Is that something that people might commonly say when they think they might be experiencing arthritis? Is that, what are some of the symptoms? 00;05;02;02 - 00;05;27;18 Erin Bley You are correct. Trina. Yes, that is an indication. So some of the most common symptoms of arthritis is pain, that swelling and stiffness and maybe even that decreased range of motion in or around one or more joints. Now arthritis symptoms are not the same for everyone. It is best to work with a health care provider in regards to those symptoms that you might be experiencing. 00;05;27;20 - 00;05;46;12 Trina Filan Erin, do people who are experiencing symptoms, do they need to go to a specialist or can they go to a primary care provider? Is it something that can be diagnosed readily, or are there particular tests. 00;05;46;14 - 00;06;04;09 Erin Bley I would recommend? Probably just having a conversation with your primary care provider. Once you start recognizing those symptoms that you're experiencing, and they'll be able to guide you with the best format for you. What the best protocol would be. 00;06;04;11 - 00;06;32;24 Margaret Mullins Okay, so this really is for everybody because I think it's a it's a large question. So a person talks to their provider, things are aligning. It appears they they know they have arthritis. Let's say they beat the diagnosed. And the next question really is what's the best way to deal with it? So someone comes to you and you can each take this individually, but what what would you suggest? 00;06;32;26 - 00;07;13;24 Erin Bley Recommendation is again, talking to your primary care provider also is recommended to be physically active. So we always say in the arthritis world movement is medicine. We want to be able to maintain that healthy weight for us in order to protect those joints. Molly Blair And this is Molly. I'll, I'll second with Erin. You know, if I have a participant in a program who, you know, has talks about pain or thinks maybe they have arthritis, as Erin stated, it's really important for them to get in to see their primary care provider. 00;07;13;25 - 00;07;26;17 Molly Blair If they've already done that and have, a current arthritis diagnosis. As we know, the research says movement is is best. Keeping our joints mobile, 00;07;26;19 - 00;07;26;29 Molly Blair You know. 00;07;26;29 - 00;07;54;28 Molly Blair Keeping a healthy weight, a healthy diet. But staying active, I think is, is really, really important. But staying within in your comfort and your, your abilities, because sometimes over exercising, overactivity can cause inflammation and cause more, more troubles with arthritis. So I think it's really important that somebody knows what their limitations are and their abilities. 00;07;55;01 - 00;08;30;27 Trina Filan So there are lots of ways you can learn how to exercise. Right. And there are probably a lot of exercises. In fact, we're going to be talking about that pretty soon. That are very particular to people who are, to who have arthritis. Where can people begin to learn the right kinds of movements, the right number of repetitions, the right intensity so that they can manage their arthritis and not exacerbate things that might be happening in their bodies? 00;08;31;00 - 00;09;00;03 Molly Blair I think it's important for somebody to work with a certified personal trainer or a certified exercise specialist. Like Erin and myself are with, the staying active and independent for life or the Tai Chi for arthritis. Somebody who has a baseline knowledge of how to prescribe activity for an individual who is, you know, experiencing this arthritis diagnosis. 00;09;00;06 - 00;09;28;03 Molly Blair Because in my previous work, I always would tell people who had come in who had not been active. You know, you really you really need to start slow, give your body time, to, to learn the movements so you don't get scared away. So you don't, you know, in two days you're like, gung ho. My doctor says I need exercise, and you show up to the gym, and you do all this activity, and then three days later, you can't even walk to the mailbox or go take your trash out. 00;09;28;03 - 00;09;52;01 Molly Blair And that's that's definitely not what we want to see. We want to really help people progress slowly. Erin Bley I agree with that. And the old slogan of no pain, no gain is not the slogan that we want to use for individuals with arthritis. So they usually go by the two hour pain rule. So a little bit of soreness is okay when you're working out. 00;09;52;01 - 00;10;13;14 Erin Bley We want to feel like we did something. But if you're still experiencing that pain two or more hours after, then that's a sign that you've probably done too much for your body. As Molly mentioned, just being able to do what your body can do and not over exceed that limit. 00;10;13;16 - 00;10;58;25 Trina Filan Thank you. That's very useful. And hopefully folks will take that to heart as they listen to this episode of our podcast. But now I would like to really dig in to some of the classes and programs that are on offer across the state. And we're going to specifically be talking about Missoula. But, when we post this podcast in the show notes, we'll make sure to put in a link for our Community Programs webpage, which has all of these classes and where they're located across the state, so people can go find one that's available to them close by. 00;10;58;27 - 00;11;26;11 Trina Filan We know that Montana has a bunch of different programs to help people deal with arthritis. We talked about SAIL, which we're going to repeat what SAIL is when we talk to Erin and, Molly and Terri again, we have, a program called Strong People, which I think is more geared toward falls prevention but coincides with Erin's work in her programs. 00;11;26;13 - 00;12;13;20 Trina Filan There's Tai chia and there's also Walk with Ease, among others, I believe so, so we've got a lot of different offerings, and they're offered in a lot of different settings, right? We've got the Missoula Parks and Rec and we have some health departments. We have a bunch of different locations where these classes can be offered. So all of that leads up to can anybody who is among our guest today tell us a little bit more about these different classes, what they do and how they can help people sort of learn to slowly incorporate better movement and exercise into their arthritis. 00;12;13;20 - 00;12;15;16 Trina Filan Management. 00;12;15;18 - 00;12;44;26 Erin Bley Some of these classes or programs that you mentioned are arthritis approved, evidence based programs, and they've been shown to help treat and manage arthritis. So they've been designed and gone through rigorous testing to help with those related conditions and symptoms that your participants might be seeing. Participants that attend the Arthritis Exercise and Self-Management programs have shown improvement in reducing their arthritis symptoms, such as pain. 00;12;44;29 - 00;13;09;23 Molly Blair So in Missoula, when I started, they said, you're going to get trained in the, SAIL program, which I had heard about for my my previous work. And then right after that, oh, then you're going to get trained in the Tai chi and, you know, the staying active and independent for life, program. Initially to me, I was like, oh, man, I didn't really know what to think about it. 00;13;09;25 - 00;13;34;04 Molly Blair And then when I offered it and had Terri and a few other folks in the class, it really made sense to me. It, it just brought everything down to to basics. It was easy to understand. It was a really great program to follow. The, you know, the the repetitiveness I think is so important, especially in the aging population. 00;13;34;06 - 00;14;10;20 Molly Blair To just have that, that muscle memory, abilities, class after class, you're doing the same thing. You know what to expect. You know, when I went to the Taichi training, I, I still laugh because I'm a I'm a very active person. Everything I do is fast and hard and go, go go go go. And when I told my family I was taking the tai Chi training, they they laughed at me and after going through it, I was like, oh man, I don't know how this is going to go, but I have absolutely loved it and I have seen it help so many individuals. 00;14;10;20 - 00;14;39;16 Molly Blair The stories that people have brought back and a woman who had some arthritis in her, I think her knees. And she went back to visit her kiddo back east. And they lived in an old historic home, had really steep staircase. And she was like, for years I had to, like, maneuver down the stairs in a different way. And she was like, after taking the Tai Chi class, she was like, I noticed a big difference in how I could get up and down the stairs. 00;14;39;16 - 00;14;58;08 Molly Blair And same thing with Tai Chi is scale. I think it's a really, you know, it's very repetitive. It's very, you know, slow, purposeful movements, which I think is really important for us, particularly as we age, to really focus on our bodies. 00;14;58;10 - 00;15;10;07 Margaret Mullins So could you just tell us a little bit about how a typical class would go? Is it was an hour long. And what sort of activities do you do? 00;15;10;10 - 00;15;34;24 Molly Blair You know, a SAIL a basic, education component to it, you know, a short blurb about, you know, having your, you know, your feet checked or, you know, make sure that you don't have any rugs that are, you know, trip hazards, just kind of some really basic, thoughts that, you know, could be really, really helpful for individuals, who want to continue to live independently at home. 00;16;02;09 - 00;16;20;02 Molly Blair You do the same thing every day. I mean, there's there is some variety, but you have that consistency and people have the expectations when they come into class. And I don't know if Terri, you have anything you want to share with her. The experience of the SAIL class? 00;16;20;04 - 00;16;48;04 Terri Bellefeuille Well, no expert on any of these programs, but having taken part in one, I it certainly benefited me and taught me that stairs. I come from Florida where there are no stairs, and I. I was amazed that at first just going to the local library, I would hold on to the railing and I just was so insecure. 00;16;48;06 - 00;17;02;26 Terri Bellefeuille And after after doing the SAIL program one day, I was at the library and noticed that I was just bobbing up and down the stairs like I used to many years ago, and it really has benefited me. 00;17;02;28 - 00;17;12;12 Molly Blair And she has not stopped bopping said. She is on every hike that we do, every adventure and she is lovely. 00;17;12;13 - 00;17;13;04 Margaret Mullins Love to hear, that. 00;17;13;07 - 00;17;20;14 Molly Blair Youthful and ready to rock and roll every day, which has been so fun to see the change. 00;17;20;17 - 00;17;25;00 Margaret Mullins So maybe, needless to say, Terri, you would take the class again? 00;17;25;03 - 00;17;54;24 Terri Bellefeuille Well, I don't know. I think I've gone beyond it in so many ways. And, but what it did was it inspired me to to do more and to keep, keep getting stronger and taking exercise classes and doing all these other activities and it's just been such since Covid. I just became a vegetable. I didn't even realize how much I had lost and this has been amazing for me and I. 00;17;54;24 - 00;18;07;17 Terri Bellefeuille I was in terrible pain last year when I moved here. I have osteoarthritis of the spine and it's constant pain. I don't remember the last time I took a Tylenol. 00;18;07;20 - 00;18;08;22 Margaret Mullins That's amazing. 00;18;08;25 - 00;18;13;19 Terri Bellefeuille It is. It's not. And mentally it's amazing. 00;18;13;21 - 00;18;17;11 Margaret Mullins How did you even find out about this program? 00;18;17;14 - 00;18;23;14 Terri Bellefeuille I heard about it from the program at the library. What's it called? The pain. 00;18;23;16 - 00;18;26;04 Erin Bley The pain savvy program. 00;18;26;06 - 00;18;28;17 Terri Bellefeuille Inside of a. Yes, ma'am. 00;18;28;20 - 00;18;31;15 Margaret Mullins Can you explain that, Aaron, a little bit? 00;18;31;17 - 00;18;51;24 Erin Bley It is a program offered in Missoula at the library, and, it's called Pain Savvy. And we do have an upcoming training for the Tai Chi program. And that individual that runs pain savvy will be taking that training with us as well. And then offering. 00;18;51;27 - 00;18;53;28 Margaret Mullins Excellent offering that class. 00;18;54;00 - 00;18;54;10 Molly Blair Yeah. 00;18;54;17 - 00;18;57;02 Margaret Mullins Yes. That's great. That is good information. 00;18;57;05 - 00;19;16;15 Trina Filan Thank you very much. All of you for that excellent information. And Terri, it's really good to get insight into how much the experience in SAIL has improved your life. Were you expecting it to have that profound impact on you when you took it? 00;19;16;18 - 00;19;50;04 Terri Bellefeuille No, no, I wasn't, I think little Molly was talking about the repetitiveness of it and the and the variety of things. So the balance just stepping over things and the walks. And part of the course is, the walk and 20 minute walk. I think. And, no, I didn't expect it to make such a difference. I was hoping that it would help me, but it did make a big difference. 00;19;50;06 - 00;20;28;17 Trina Filan And you also mentioned that you had been pretty impacted by Covid. One of the things that a lot of folks have talked about in relationship to Covid was not being able to hang out with people, not having a lot of social contact. Was that one of the things at all that you experienced in SAIL were, a chance to meet new people, a chance to get connected, in a new community. 00;20;28;19 - 00;21;05;11 Terri Bellefeuille That turned out to be a very big part of it, because I had just moved to a new town when Covid hit. I didn't know anyone, so I wasn't just isolated from my friends. I didn't even have friends nearby. And, it was true isolation. And it did a job on me mentally. So, even though I didn't take the SAIL course for social aspect of it, it turned out I met people and progressed from there to meet more people and do more things. 00;21;05;11 - 00;21;11;02 Terri Bellefeuille And yeah, was a big influence. 00;21;11;04 - 00;21;34;28 Margaret Mullins Erin and Molly, I have to imagine that is one of the absolute best parts of doing what you do. It's one thing to teach the class, and you certainly hope that people will have benefit and gain from it, but that social aspect, of bringing people together is, a really beautiful thing. And it's wonderful when it happens and when people connect in that way. 00;21;35;01 - 00;21;57;17 Margaret Mullins I'm involved with a lot of work that involves the community and community programing and partnerships. And so really my my next question is, I'm wondering, you know, organizations like Parks and Rec and local libraries, why are those good places for these programs to take root? 00;21;57;20 - 00;22;33;04 Molly Blair That's a really great question. I've always, in my years of of programing, I've always had the mindset of Montana is, as Erin stated earlier, it's rural, right? It's small, we don't have a ton of resources, and I've always found that it's really, really important to do the best that you can at partnering, collaborating, working with other groups, other associations, working with the state, utilizing the resources that you have and trying not to reinvent the wheel. 00;22;33;06 - 00;22;56;16 Molly Blair Because it can be challenging, especially we're lucky here in Missoula. We've got a very robust Parks and Rec program. My director, Meg Witcher, who is our youth program person, she has really created an amazing, robust youth program. And my dream one day is to have an adult program just like that, which I think we can have here in Missoula. 00;22;56;16 - 00;23;23;01 Molly Blair But we're very fortunate for that. But I think in these smaller communities, you know, in rural Montana, you have to do a really good job of, meeting people where they're at. Finding them, supporting them where they are and trying to, you know, program around that, piggybacking on what you said about the social connection, that's often what I say about all of my programs. 00;23;23;01 - 00;23;50;13 Molly Blair It's the exercise is secondary. It's the social aspect. It's that social connection. It's the friendship building. It's a support network that I, I see on a on a weekly basis and the programs that we run, and yes, they're getting, you know, they're getting their 3 or 4 miles of walking in. But that's secondary to the, the positive benefits of that community connection. 00;23;50;15 - 00;23;53;07 Margaret Mullins Absolutely. Erin, do you have anything to add? 00;23;53;10 - 00;24;26;26 Erin Bley Yeah. That's so true, Molly. That physical activity is so important for not only our muscles and our bones, but it ends up improving our overall mood and our quality of life, which affects some of those inflammation markers as well. If we're not feeling well about life, then sometimes typically end up feeling in more pain, or not wanting to do things or having that gusto to get out and go do things. 00;24;26;29 - 00;24;39;17 Margaret Mullins Yeah, I think we were just talking about, you know, locations for these types of programs and you know, why they are good for them being successful. 00;24;39;20 - 00;25;11;05 Erin Bley Yeah. Location, location, location. As we've all mentioned, Montana's so small and through our programs here at the state, we do try that collaboration, that connection, and try to see where in that community would be a good match for these programs to be offered, or who might be a good match to become a leader, maybe get trained in one of these programs, become a leader and start offering that in their community. 00;25;11;08 - 00;25;37;13 Erin Bley Maybe they've gone through the program like Terri, and they're like, you know what? I could see myself maybe being a leader of this program and maybe starting to offer it at a different location or that kind of thing. So it's so important, we try to reach health care facilities, we try to reach aging centers, maybe even existing parks and rec programs. 00;25;37;13 - 00;25;56;15 Erin Bley We're starting to partner with a few more around the state of Montana. Maybe that it's a fitness facility that they might offer programing, that they might not have thought about programing for diverse populations, that they might be able to offer their. 00;25;56;17 - 00;26;22;27 Margaret Mullins Yes. And I think you are exactly right. People that take the class and they find such great benefit. I think sometimes that is where you find your very best instructors because they are living examples of of what the benefits are of a of a program like that. And we know the other benefit of providing these in so many different places is that libraries we know libraries are not just for books, and parks are not just for kids. 00;26;22;27 - 00;26;31;25 Margaret Mullins And it really creates a lot more community involvement, and participation. So it opens doors in just a number of ways. 00;26;31;27 - 00;26;55;22 Trina Filan And I like the idea that, it sounds like anyone who is interested can become a coach for some programs. You need to have a particular degree. Right. But, do you need to have any specialized degrees or training to become a coach, or can you do it because you want to offer it? 00;26;55;25 - 00;27;27;07 Erin Bley These programs can all be offered by anyone. All that is required is a willingness to learn the material. You do have to stand up, usually in front of a class, to provide the workshops. So you have to be willing to be in front of people and just do that. They do require a CPR certificate, but all of these programs and our trainings can be done by anyone. 00;27;27;09 - 00;27;55;29 Erin Bley The trainings in themselves are a little bit different. So each one has a little bit different requirement, but it's nothing that can't be achieved by anyone. Molly did mention that for an example, the Stay Active an independent for life program, the SAIL program, it's repetitive, so you don't need that background as an exercise instructor to design these crazy workouts and do all these things. 00;27;56;03 - 00;28;21;06 Erin Bley Most of the class is scripted, and so it makes it nice for individuals in the community to come to these trainings and then take it back to their community. Many of these leaders often wear multiple hats, so since it is scripted, they don't have to spend that time creating class content. It can just be something that they show up and then lead their participants through. 00;28;21;09 - 00;28;41;02 Trina Filan And Erin, do you find that it's easy to find people who want to lead these classes? Is there enough, of an offering around the state in places that a need it to, to to, meet the demand of people who want it? 00;28;41;05 - 00;29;23;01 Erin Bley Yeah, we get that question a lot. Like, is this class too saturated for this area? And we always say, no, because everybody brings different life experiences with them and might have different connections in different parts of the communities that they live in or that they recreate in, or that they maybe commute to those kind of things. Leaders come from all over around Montana, and it's just it's so fun to see where all the leaders come from and why they want to take class, and why they want to go back to their communities and provide these classes. 00;29;23;04 - 00;29;40;01 Trina Filan Thank you. We will make sure to put any registration links for any upcoming trainings into the show notes as well, so that people who are interested in learning more about these programs and becoming facilitators can do so. Thank you. 00;29;40;03 - 00;30;09;16 Erin Bley Yes. And based on the time that this airing happens, please just always reach out. We always have training offerings. Some of the workshops can be offered virtually, and so that might be an option as well for some of those locations that are a little bit more rural or can't drive all the way across the state of Montana to get to those trainings based on other obligations that they might have. 00;30;09;18 - 00;30;35;04 Margaret Mullins I love that you brought up the telehealth option. I think, more and more, that is a route that those very rural and frontier communities are using, and we can't underestimate the benefit of doing. We know there's a lot of things on YouTube, of course, but exercising in your living room, when you don't have access, transportation perhaps, or just distance as a limiting factor, telehealth and tele learning are great options. 00;30;35;07 - 00;30;52;11 Margaret Mullins Have they talked you into being a coach Terri? That was pretty good. That's a lots of incentive. There. I, I do wonder, what would you tell someone who's sort of wavering about taking a SAIL class or any of these classes really? 00;30;52;14 - 00;30;54;27 Terri Bellefeuille What would I personally tell them? 00;30;54;29 - 00;30;56;25 Margaret Mullins Yes, what would you tell them? 00;30;56;27 - 00;31;30;03 Terri Bellefeuille I recently heard someone say that the baby boomers are redefining old age. And, I think more and more people are interested in being more active and, you know, just having a better quality of life. And so I know I am I'm almost 80 years old and so hopefully the message would, would reach the baby boomers, of which I'm one of the oldest. 00;31;30;05 - 00;31;43;04 Margaret Mullins Yeah, it's a big audience. You are correct. Molly, are there any upcoming classes that you have that people should look into? 00;31;43;06 - 00;32;09;01 Molly Blair Yes, all the time. We are currently offering the the Tai chi for Arthritis and Fall Prevention. We are doing it as, kind of a drop in, so people are not feeling like they have to commit. To the eight weeks. We did it multiple times with the eight weeks program and just thought we'd try a little bit of a different style so we could maybe reach more people and get more interest. 00;32;09;01 - 00;32;31;04 Molly Blair They can try it once and then, continue to come back. So we are doing that. That's ongoing. Through May. Once the weather turns nice, we move that outside and we meet in the native gardens at the fairgrounds, which is a really beautiful setting. So it just kind of brings it all full circle together. 00;32;31;07 - 00;32;38;26 Margaret Mullins Do you have any other programs that you actually teach, aside from the SAIL and tia chi walk with these? Do you have some other programs that you offer? 00;32;38;29 - 00;33;03;14 Molly Blair So we do a lot, for the adult sports and lifetime Wellness, we have a big, robust, summer programing that's coming out. But currently we do a walking group on Mondays. We call our Monday movers, and it's been a ongoing program in Missoula for many years now. And it's a group of aging adults and they walk anywhere between. 00;33;03;14 - 00;33;29;16 Molly Blair It's more of a timed deal. So about 50 minutes out and about 45 to 50 minutes back. And then we go and get coffee at a local coffee place and just have that social connection piece. We have a variety of, of levels, we try and pick trails throughout Missoula that can cater to the, the easy all the way up to a little bit harder, more challenging trails. 00;33;29;16 - 00;34;05;00 Molly Blair We so we we label those every week. We've started, movers plus so every other Wednesday and then we do, we do a drop in pickleball class every Tuesday, which we cater to 55 and older. So drop in, come hang out and play pickleball for a couple hours. Very noncompetitive. Very easy for people to just come in and learn we are also offering a, crafting social hour. 00;34;05;02 - 00;34;34;14 Molly Blair That's a two hour once a week and a drop in style program where we have a retired kindergarten teacher who has crafts scheduled, weekly, where she supplies all the the supplies. And it's more of that social engagement we offer. Tea. We've really found that that's a really fun intergenerational connection. So we've had old and young come together, and they really have enjoyed spending that time together. 00;34;34;16 - 00;34;56;15 Molly Blair And then in the summer, I say, we live in Montana for a reason. And just because we're we're aging, we still want to have fun and still enjoy, why we live here. And so we're offering some some fun adventures. We're going to go up to Glacier and do an adventure up there. We are going to ride the Hiawatha Trail. 00;34;56;18 - 00;35;22;15 Molly Blair this summer we are going to float the Albertine Gorge twice. And then we're going to do some just evening, floats in town, and all catering to we say our programs are open to 18 years and older, but we, we advertise that we are catering to that 55 and older. So people know there are pace potentially will be different. 00;35;22;18 - 00;35;30;15 Molly Blair You know, we want to work with individuals, but just helping people get out and engage in their community. 00;35;30;18 - 00;35;37;24 Margaret Mullins I feel so inspired. What great diversity of programing. That's wonderful. 00;35;37;26 - 00;36;17;22 Trina Filan I understand that May is Arthritis Awareness Month, and let's just touch on that for a minute. Is there anything in particular that folks can do to, acknowledge that months are there recommendations that, either you have Molly or you have Erin for ways people can really, who especially if they have arthritis, or care for somebody who has some arthritis problems, like what can you do to kind of engage with that month? 00;36;17;25 - 00;36;18;09 Molly Blair I think it's. 00;36;18;09 - 00;36;19;21 Trina Filan Important to. 00;36;19;21 - 00;36;50;11 Molly Blair Encourage people to take that first step, take that leap. You know, put yourself out there if you're, you know, as, as Terri talked about her, her suffering, you know, just due to the physical pain and just social isolation, I think really encourage people to make that first step, supporting them. As I stated earlier, I find it really important to just try and meet people where they're at, and help support them on their journey. 00;36;50;11 - 00;37;39;02 Molly Blair I think it's really important to encourage somebody to, you know, develop a relationship with a provider if they haven't already done that, somebody that they can trust and somebody that they can communicate with that will help them on their journey as well. Erin Bley Those are such great ideas, Molly. And through the arthritis program here offered at the state, we do try to offer messaging through some of our social media channels on the health in the 406 messaging, we usually try to offer education bits, or maybe resources that are available that they can click on and see what might be available in their community. 00;37;39;08 - 00;37;49;07 Erin Bley We also partner with the Arthritis Foundation, and they have some great support groups as well as just education and resources. 00;37;49;09 - 00;37;50;11 Erin Bley Through. 00;37;50;13 - 00;38;21;20 Erin Bley Their website and programing as well, such as walk with the ease. There is an arthritis Foundation helpline as well through the Arthritis Foundation that people can call in if they have. Maybe those questions Molly mentioned. Even in the summer, a lot of people in Montana like to garden. They have some great resources and tools that are available for individuals with arthritis that still allow them to get out and enjoy those activities without being in pain. 00;38;21;22 - 00;38;33;15 Trina Filan So SAIL can be either, standing or seated. Can you talk a little more about that, please? Erin. 00;38;33;17 - 00;39;04;14 Erin Bley So one of the requirements of the program is that each participant is provided a chair, a chair with no rollers. And that's by their I call it a station. So that participant can come in. And we mentioned this before, but we try to meet that participant where they're at. So whether they use an assistive device or they walk in to class, then we can have the class just from wherever they are. 00;39;04;16 - 00;39;25;01 Erin Bley They can either sit in the chair, they can stand up. I've had participants that some days just don't feel up to it and just say, hey, you know, today I kind of feel like I'm just going to sit today to do the exercises, but I wanted to be here and keep up my strength or keep up the movement. 00;39;25;03 - 00;39;48;25 Trina Filan Thank you. That is really great. That the class is adaptive. It really speaks to how these kinds of courses or programs, or they can be made to meet anybody who wants to engage with them. I love that. 00;39;48;28 - 00;40;10;24 Molly Blair I'll add to that just a little bit. I think there's there's so many great levels of, of the programs. So finding one that kind of meets meets your needs at that point in your life, you know, whether it's the more basic program or one that maybe gives you a little bit, you know, more of a challenge. There's a huge spectrum of levels of program. 00;40;10;24 - 00;40;27;06 Molly Blair So I think it's it's really we're lucky to have that, and it's nice. I, at least at Missoula, were trying to offer a couple more. But I think having those variety of levels is really nice to meet people where they're at. 00;40;27;09 - 00;40;33;19 Trina Filan As we are winding down here, is there anything else you'd like to add or discuss? 00;40;33;21 - 00;40;51;18 Molly Blair It's been really fun chatting with you all today. Really appreciate you having us. I just I would encourage people to, get up and get moving, find a reason to enjoy where you are, connect with people and yeah, get healthy. 00;40;51;21 - 00;40;59;15 Terri Bellefeuille And I want to thank you and Molly and all of you for doing what you do. I think it's great. Very helpful. 00;40;59;17 - 00;41;04;02 Trina Filan It sounds like you are one incredible participant, Teri 00;41;04;05 - 00;41;33;23 Erin Bley This is just been such a great conversation and just brings the importance of different programing that might be available, whether you're trying to improve your balance or your mobility or your leg strength, or just trying to move to help the joints, helps us keep independent. As Terri said, keep building that strength and agility as we continue to age. 00;41;33;26 - 00;42;05;08 Margaret Mullins Yes. And that great social outlet too. So, so much, so much available. So thank you all for sharing. Thank you so much to our podcast listeners. On behalf of Trina and myself and the crew behind the scenes, thank you especially to our fabulous guests for sharing their time and expertise with all of us. If you'd like more information on what we discussed today, visit our website at Talking Health in the 406.mt.gov, where there will be links to the information discussed. 00;42;05;10 - 00;42;13;02 Margaret Mullins And if you haven't already, please remember to rate, review and subscribe to our podcast. And until next time, be healthy and be well.