Well Wisconsin Radio

Interviewer:

Hello and welcome to Well Wisconsin Radio, a podcast discussing health and well-being topics with experts from all around the state of Wisconsin. I’m your host, Jennifer Schmidt, and today my guest is Molly Gill. Originally from Seymour, Wisconsin, Molly Gill attended UW La Crosse for her undergraduate degree. She moved to Manchester, New Hampshire, where she attended Franklin Pierce University, for her doctorate in physical therapy. Molly has a special interest in women’s pelvic health, an area she feels is often overlooked, but deeply impactful. Molly is dedicated to addressing conditions such as pelvic pain, incontinence, and postpartum recovery. She finds immense fulfillment in helping women regain confidence and improving their quality of life. By building strong relationships with her patients and truly understanding their goals Molly creates personalized treatment plans that address both physical and emotional well-being. Outside the clinic, Molly enjoys spending time with her husband, Sam, and their two children, Lila and George. She loves walking with her dogs, reading, and trying new recipes in the kitchen. Molly is thrilled to bring her expertise and compassionate care to the local community, helping women navigate every stage of their pelvic health journey.

Molly, thank you so much for joining us today. Today, we’re diving into a crucial topic, how physical movement can play a key role in managing and even improving chronic health conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and more.

Guest:

Well, thanks for having me, Jen. I’m excited to be here today. I was looking forward to it.

Interviewer:

I’m excited for this conversation. As an LPN who formerly worked in primary care, I’ve seen how often mobility and movement are often sometimes overlooked when managing chronic health conditions. While doctors and other providers discuss important education and treatment, the role of physical activity often doesn’t receive the attention it deserves. Movement, I think, is essential for managing symptoms, improving function and enhancing overall well-being. So, let’s dive in. From a physical therapy perspective, how does physical movement play a role in managing and improving chronic health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, or the various other conditions people are living with out there?

Guest:

Absolutely. So, as physical therapists, we tend to call ourselves the movement experts. We have conversations about if you have heart issues, you see a cardiologist. If you have, um, uh, arthritis issues, you go to a rheumatologist. But what about movement, mobility, strength, joints? And that’s where we come in. So, my job is very, very fun. And in my current setting, I get to see a nice variety of patients, outpatient orthopedic kind of conditions, whether that’s from a sprained ankle to chronic back pain or my specialty in pelvic health, which is about 50 percent of my caseload. Um, but as far as chronic health conditions, like you mentioned, movement is fantastic for improving our circulation, our blood flow, uh, working on overall joint mobility, improving cardiac health, endurance. Then there’s some of the other things that people don’t always think about where movement, exercise, whatever you want to call it, can help decrease brain fog, improve your concentration, decrease your fatigue, and help manage general aches and pains. Uh, specifically with chronic conditions, movement can also be really fantastic with managing weight, blood sugar, overall mobility. Um, I think when you piece all those things together, it really targets, Improving your overall quality of life.

Interviewer:

It certainly sounds like it, um, is a great benefit to people, um, facing or living with those chronic conditions today.

Guest:

Yeah.

Interviewer:

What do you think are some of the long-term benefits that people experience or patients that you see, um, from, you know, consistently engaging in movement, um, and are having a lot of mobility issues?

Guest:

Right, I was excited for this question because it brings up one of my favorite facts that I think is just really impactful to hear. So, if you didn’t know you can lose up to 3 to 8 percent of your overall muscle mass every decade starting in your 30’s. From 30 to 40, you can lose 3 to 8 percent of your muscle mass, 40 to 50, another 3 to 8%.

By the time you reach 60 and older, that number only increases. So, this specific term we call sarcopenia, it’s the involuntary loss of muscle mass over a long period of time. Now aging is the dominant factor. We can do things to fight against this which we’ll talk about more in our conversation today. But the other top contributors along with aging is being sedentary, being obese, and chronic diseases. So, it fit perfectly with our conversation today. So, knowing that losing muscle mass if you do nothing about it, it’s going to happen, but there’s so much we can do to work against that. So, um, you talked about some of the long-term benefits. One, we can maintain that muscle mass, right? And by doing that, we can maintain our strength. Um, improve joint health, circulation. Think about someone with diabetes. It can help improve their A1c. Make sure that their blood sugar levels are really stable. A person with arthritis, they might know, oh gosh, it runs in my family, or I’ve got a bad knee. But by staying active, they can avoid that joint replacement at 45. And, I mean, they can avoid it altogether. So, I feel like the big thing is not underestimating the power that movement has on your overall mobility, but your mental health, too.

Interviewer:

Certainly. I think that’s a great point, uh, to bring up and make people more aware of because I think it’s something that can often or easily be, uh, missed, and then people end up, you know, over time, just losing that important factor of, you know, maintaining that muscle mass.

Um, with that, are there any specific types of movement or exercises you typically recommend for individuals, you know, that you’re worried, um, might be going down that route with, you know, losing muscle mass or, you know, they’re living with a chronic condition. Um, and you can see it’s interfering with, uh, mobility greatly.

Guest:

Absolutely! So, oftentimes I feel like in physical therapy we say, “It depends,” and of course we understand like it does it does depend but generally speaking strength training can be a really advantageous form of exercise. It doesn’t mean that we all need to go to the gym and start deadlifting That’s not appropriate for everyone.

So, when I say strength training thinking about even using our body in a way that we are we are weight bearing and we are putting, you know, appropriate strain on our muscles to make them stronger. So that could be things like body weight, squats, using light dumbbells, etc. Um, so fantastic to maintain strength, mobility, in our arms, legs, core, etc.

Ultimately, if you’re looking to do exercise, you’re going to do what you enjoy. If that’s strength training, great. If you like walking, fantastic. If you’ve gotten into pickleball, that’s becoming really popular. I love it! I just want you to move.

Interviewer:

Yeah, that’s a good point. And just, um, I think it’s important to note to do things that you love and enjoy, um, because often I think people do, uh, think that sometimes in order to build strength, um, you know, work on weight loss, that they have to have to go to the gym. Um, but they can partake in things like pickleball. I do think that is a very popular sport here in Wisconsin, Um, that is a lot of fun.

Guest:

Yes

Interviewer:

But for kind of building off of what we were just discussing, um, for someone just starting their journey, um, who, you know, isn’t ready to go to a gym, um, might be having some difficulty with movement, where should they start when incorporating movement into their daily routine?

Guest:

So if we tie it back into more chronic conditions, I think it’s a good point in that you want to touch base with your healthcare provider, um, to see if they have any restrictions or things that you need to be mindful of, right? Just because you have type 2 diabetes or chronic back pain. Like no two people are exactly the same. So, making sure you’re just at a good spot to do that. You know, if your doctor needs to make any recommendations, please do that first. But where to start? Uh, start small. And that might be that you set aside five minutes of intentional movement. Once again, like I said before, finding something that you like to do. Uh, you know, take five minutes and do it. Great. Then you’re going to do it again the next day, and then the next day, and the day after that. And you’re going to build in consistency. Uh, you know, it can take, gosh, I’ve heard it can take 21 days to build a habit. And once it’s a habit, it starts to become part of your, your routine and becomes a bit more second nature. Uh, so I guess overall where to start is to start small and find something that you enjoy. Keep it simple.

Interviewer:

Great points. Um, and that’s a good reminder to everybody that when we’re working towards building those new habits, um, to, to start very small, um, and then eventually with time, you’ll notice that you are improving and things that when you started were not so, not so difficult, um, as they once were when you first started their journey.

Guest:

Right, right. You got to look back to where you started and see how you’re progressing and know that that change isn’t going to happen in a few days, a few weeks. Like we’re thinking long term, but you start with day one, right?

Interviewer:

Yep. What advice would you give to individuals, especially those with, like, physical limitations, I think of, um, who might feel overwhelmed by the idea of starting an exercise routine? What, um, what are, you know, some key pieces of advice you would offer?

Guest:

I think one of the biggest things is to remember that as we’re talking about, like, movement, know that that looks so different for each individual, and to not compare yourself. Once again, if you have chronic low back pain and you have a buddy that has chronic low back pain, you’re probably gonna be in very different situations and your movement and your skills and your ability might look very different. So, don’t get caught up in comparison, especially in today’s society of technology and social media. It’s so easy to do that. So not getting caught up in comparing and trying to find ways to incorporate it into your day. That is really key to help like build that consistency, like I said, whether it’s a short walk after lunch every day, like I find when you build it into your day, and it becomes part of your routine. It’s not like, oh, where did that 15 minutes go? Well, now it’s 9 o’clock at night and I’m going to bed. But if you say, no, just after lunch I take a walk, that’s just part of your routine. Uh, or if you like to watch a show in the evening, okay, during a commercial break, stand up, do a few chair squats. Get a little bit of movement in. So, I think that’s great. Um, and then, you know, thinking about, you can have help, right? Whether that be a friend, a personal trainer, physical therapist, developing that team of helpers and support.

Interviewer:

That’s a great point, Molly, and I’m glad you said at the end, um, kind of, you know, almost like building your village of people to kind of help you, um, overcome any of those challenges.

Guest:

Right. And there’s a lot of resources as well in communities, you know, to talk to, okay, you need your consistency, you need your motivation, your support group, but even looking for resources too, just because you want to move, doesn’t mean you have to go to a gym. Right, if you like swimming, then sure find a gym that has a pool, but what about maybe your Medicare age or you’re 65? You can join silver sneakers for free or maybe you have a friend or a sibling that likes to go on walks and you can go for a daily walk together. I think it’s about being a little creative and looking at what like resources you have available

Interviewer:

Yeah, great point. Um, I think it’s a good opportunity to kind of explore your community and, you know, maybe find a new resource that you can connect with and maybe get to know some new people along the way.

Interviewer:

And now we’ll just take a quick break to hear about some Well Wisconsin program offerings.

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Interviewer:

And now we’ll head back to the Well, Wisconsin radio interview.

Interviewer:

Are there any specific precautions, um, that people living with, you know, certain chronic health conditions like arthritis, um, or diabetes that they should be aware of?

Guest:

Yes. So once again, talking with your primary care physician to see if you have any certain restrictions. When I think of, like, diabetes specifically, I think of, you know, are you managing your type 2 diabetes or type 1 diabetes well? Um, for type 2, are you insulin dependent or are you just on medication? And knowing, uh, what kind of monitoring you may need to do before, during, and after exercise. If you have had a history of you had a heart attack or you have cardiac disease, maybe you’ve done some cardiac therapy and you need to be monitoring your blood pressure. Once again, like your doctor would be a great resource to help guide you in that arena. Um, but in general, like I said, movement, strength training, low impact, like it’s a great way to start that you know, it’s going to be kinder to your body. There’s no need to jump in and start doing high impact agility plyometric exercises, if that’s not what your body is used to.

So, thinking walking, swimming, yoga, tai chi, that kind of stuff.

Interviewer:

Yeah, it’s good to be mindful of that. And then having that conversation with your health care provider as well. It’s really important, especially if you are facing a chronic condition that maybe isn’t quite at the best managed state and needs some additional support.

Guest:

Absolutely.

Interviewer:

Um, Are there any common barriers that you see frequently, um, you know, at work, uh, that, you know, people come in with, that they’re facing, um, you know, when living with a chronic condition, um, and are there any strategies that you can suggest to overcome, you know, those, those challenges or barriers?

Guest:

Yes. So, in my world of physical therapy and outpatient patients are coming to me. So, they’ve at least crossed that barrier of, getting to me. When we talk about movement, I mean, we only have so much time in each session to address it. I feel like, uh, they had taught motivation or staying consistent is a really big barrier. So that’s when I go back to that conversation of starting small. When I give a home exercise program, I’m telling them, it will take you 5-10 minutes and then you do it once or twice a day. It is very reasonable. Sometimes I have to have the conversation of breaking it down of, think about your day. When can we do this? And working with them to figure out a very specific plan of when they’re going to get this done in a day. A lot of people will say, okay, I want to move. That sounds great. I love walking. So, we talk about, can you go to a large store like Walmart or Fleet Farm, walk around? Can you go to the mall? Um, if that’s not possible, what are other types of movement that we can do? Sometimes we have to get really creative. Um, let’s see, other barriers. So, I feel like getting there, having the motivation, finding a time to do it. And then sometimes people will bring up access. You know, oh, I don’t have weights. I don’t have this. Once again, I will modify. I have all sorts of tricks up my sleeve.

Interviewer:

Yeah, no, that’s, that’s great to hear. And there’s plenty of modifications, uh, out there so that people don’t have to go, you know, spending money on equipment. Um, and it’s just using our creativity to, you know, figure out how can we utilize something that maybe they have at home.

Guest:

Yes. Yes.

Interviewer:

Um, so going off of that, can you share any success stories while following all privacy laws of individuals who have, you know, made significant improvements in managing their chronic health condition through, you know, physical activity, um, and other health, uh, healthy lifestyle changes, that you’ve seen?

Guest:

Yes. Absolutely. So, when I was thinking back of patients I’ve seen, there are two individuals that I thought of, and they both have a condition called EDS, which is Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. And it is a genetic condition that affects your body’s connective tissue. Now there’s different variables to this condition, there’s different levels, different types, you know, within that subset of diagnosis. But in general, these, when you think connective tissue, you think skin, ligaments, tendons, fascia, etc. So, they tend to be very hyper mobile. Lots and lots of mobility. And it can make them very prone to injury because their body doesn’t have the stability. Their shoulders aren’t super stable. Their hips, their knees, etc. So, it tends to leave people with a lot of what, as a therapist, I would call a myofascial restriction, meaning your muscles, your joints, they ache, they hurt, you have knots. They tend to have not awesome posture and their body is really good at compensating to get the job done, but in doing so can create other impairments.

So, I have seen patients fall into, I feel like their chronic condition is controlling their life. But these two individuals, I can think about, they just took the bull by the horns and they put so much work into making sure that, that they had control over their life. Yes, they live with this condition that they can’t control. They can’t, excuse me. They do have control. They can’t change it, but they’re going to, they’re going to be in the driver’s seat. So, they had a team. They had their primary care physician. They might have their rheumatologist. They have an orthopedic doctor they went to, massage therapist, physical therapist, personal trainer. It’s a lot. They weren’t necessarily seeing all of those people all the time, but it might be, hey, you see your doctor once a year, you check in with your rheumatologist twice a year. You do PT for a few months, hey, you’re in a good spot, and then maybe something happens down the road, you come back. And I think they did a great job of creating the support system, so that they could be successful, um, and had really fantastic mindset and motivation.

Interviewer:

Well, uh, I’m glad that you shared those, you know, examples and think that that’s, um, a lot of good, helpful advice, um, or information for people out there, um, that, again, it’s important to kind of have your village available to you to reach out when needed or to just keep, um, in touch with them throughout the year.

Guest:

Right.

Interviewer:

Um, and then also just.

Guest:

One thing, I don’t think we have touched base on it yet, but going off of that village is flare-ups, right? With chronic conditions, there’s going to be flare-ups. You can do all the things to have your body move, right? You can do the exercise, you can eat well, but what are you gonna do when you have a flare up? It’s gonna happen. Even without a chronic condition, like we have good days and bad days, right?

Interviewer:

Mm hmm.

Guest:

So, I think that having that village is really great in supporting you. And then being mindful of when you have those flare ups, what, what do you, what do you need? Do you need, do you need rest? Please rest. But what does rest look like? Do I need a day where I’m gonna curl up on the couch all day and eat junky food? Or does rest mean that I’m going to sit and rest, but I’m going to focus on staying really well hydrated instead. Um, you know, we all need our moments to feel our emotions and be upset or angry or grieve, but we can’t get stuck there. So once again, I mean I work through that with patients quite often. Like I’m gonna see them. They come to me because they’re in pain. They don’t feel good. So, we have those conversations and work through that a lot. Help get them past that flare up.

Interviewer:

Yeah, no, that’s great that you brought that up. Um, because yeah, anybody living with a chronic condition can certainly go through periods of, you know, remission and then flares and that can, you know, be really, um, difficult, you know, to overcome. Um, can you provide or recommend any helpful resources, such as like books, websites, or apps, um, that, you know, can support individuals living with a variety of, you know, chronic conditions, um, and staying informed and motivated.

Guest:

Yes, my first thought with this was a support group and that could be with a simple Google search for your area, to be, you know, how specific you want if you need a, uh, support group for EDS or you need a support group for, you know, arthritis or people who’ve had total knee replacements. There’s going to be people out there. So looking online for support groups, whether it is a group that you are, uh, it’s a chat group and you’re online, or it’s a group that you’re actually meeting in person and there’s different education and different topics you can talk through. I think that would be fantastic.

Uh, other books, kind of websites, resources, let’s see. If you are looking like how can I kind of track my mobility a little bit better, take a look at your phone and see like what you have on your health app. Otherwise, you can always download like MyFitnessPal and that can help track anything from your steps, to your water, to the food that you’re taking in. If you have specific goals that you want to track that.

Um, four different books, I know Jen, you had brought up, um, The Arthritis Foundation’s Guide to Good Living with Osteoarthritis. So, great book for helpful tips on managing arthritis and staying active.

Interviewer:

I also think of a book that I just did for Well Wisconsin Book Club, um, by B.J. Fogg, uh, called Tiny Habits, uh, where he, um, discusses really how to evaluate your life and, you know, work on your goal setting, but also how you know, how important it is to really, um, break, um, our routines down, um, to very minute, you know, small pieces of our days, um, to form in work towards, you know, building in new habits, um, and, uh, It was a great, uh, perspective, um, to consider, uh, when trying to, you know, work with people, with living with chronic health conditions, and then also just trying to, you know, build in a healthier, fulfilling life.

Guest:

I like that. Did the book do a nice job of breaking it down on how to actually go about doing those things?

Interviewer:

Yes, I think that he, uh, does a great job at, you know, breaking things down, um, down to just sitting up in the morning and putting your feet on the floor and just saying today is going to be a good day. Um, just to start immediately after we wake up in the morning, um, on a good note.

In this episode of Well Wisconsin Radio physical therapist Molly Gill explains how movement can help manage and improve chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and chronic pain. We dive into the physical benefits of regular activity, including reduced inflammation, improved joint mobility, and better overall function. Molly offers practical advice on safely incorporating movement into daily routines and overcoming common barriers, highlighting the long-term advantages of staying active for managing chronic health conditions.

The information in this podcast does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. It should not be used as a substitution for healthcare from a licensed healthcare professional. Consult with your healthcare provider for individualized treatment or before beginning any new program.

Resources:

Talk to a health coach individually or sign up for group coaching today by calling 800-821-6591.

Move For A Million Challenge-Get started today by logging into your Well Wisconsin account at www.webmdhealth.com/wellwisconsin and clicking get moving now on the move for a million card.

MyFitness Pal App.

Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by B.J Fogg PhD.

The Arthritis Foundation’s Guide to Good Living with Osteoarthritis by The Arthritis Foundation.