The Joint Effort Podcast

Meet The Pennsylvania Team Behind Stronger Joints: Dr. Noelle DiGioia Guthrie and Physician Assistant, Tiffany Belculfine

• Dr. Noelle DiGioia Guthrie & Tiffany Belculfine, PA

Share episode

Meet the Hosts: Dr. Noelle DiGioia Guthrie and Physician Assistant, Tiffany Belculfine

Your knees sound like bubble wrap and your hips protest when you put on socks—so where do you start? We bring two sides of musculoskeletal care to the same table: a hip and knee reconstruction surgeon who handles complex cases and a physician assistant who leads prevention, education, and lifestyle support through a wellness center. Together, we map a clear path from early aches to confident movement, showing how smart choices now can slow arthritis and reduce the need for surgery later.

We unpack the roles that operative and non-surgical care play across the life of joint disease, from targeted injections and joint replacements to strength training, mobility work, and bone health screening. You’ll hear why bone and joint health deserves the same priority as heart health, how to spot the right time for an evaluation, and what options exist before pain rules your day. We also talk candidly about community outreach, the power of word of mouth, and how social media helps busy people access trustworthy advice.

Beyond clinic walls, we share the personal routines that keep us moving—parenting, sport, and creative outlets—and how those lived realities shape practical guidance. If you’re navigating knee pain, hip stiffness, osteoarthritis, or osteoporosis risk, this conversation offers a straightforward framework: start early, build strength, stay consistent, and choose interventions that match your goals. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s avoiding stairs, and leave a review with your top question for our upcoming FAQ episode.

To learn more about The Bone and Joint Center at Magee-Womens Hospital visit: https://www.pghbjc.com
Dr. Noelle DiGioia Guthrie
300 Halket St.
Pittsburgh, PA, 15213
412-683-7272

To learn more about The Wellness Center for Bone and Joint Health visit: https://www.boneandjointhealth.org
Tiffany Belculfine
300 Halket St., Suite 1601
Pittsburgh, PA, 15213
412-641-8594

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to the Joint Effort Podcast, where mobility meets reality and your future self says thank you. Your hosts, Dr. Noel DeJoya Guthrie of the Bone and Joint Center at McKee Women's Hospital, and Tiffany Belkefai, Physician Assistant at the Wellness Center for Bone and Joint Health, serving adults across western Pennsylvania. If your knees sound like bubble wrap, your hips argue with putting on socks, or your side-eyeing stares, you're in the right place. From arthritis and osteoporosis to everyday aches, they'll break it down and build you back up with a personalized plan for real life. This show is informational and not a substitute for talking with your clinician. Now, let's get you moving. Here are Dr. Noelle and Tiffany.

SPEAKER_01:

Welcome everyone. I'm Lila Carter, co-host and producer here in the studio with Dr. Noelle DeJoya Guthrie of the Bone and Joint Center at McGee Women's Hospital, and Tiffany Belcofine, physician assistant at the Wellness Center for Bone and Joint Health. Noelle and Tiffany, how's it going today? We're doing great. Thank you so much for having us. We're so happy that you're here. And over the years, we've noticed that you've grown a remarkable following. However, some listeners might not be familiar with your full journey. So let's take it from the top here. Could you share a little about your background, about your companies and what you do?

SPEAKER_02:

I'm Tiffany. I am the physician assistant in the Wellness Center for Bone and Joint Health. As we said, I have been a PA since 2007. I wanted to go into medicine with the main goal of being able to help people in as many ways as I possibly could. And in the Wellness Center, I'm able to do that on a lot of different spectrums. We're able to connect with people for appointments. We're able to connect with people out in the community. And we're really just able to bring a lot of awareness and education to people's bone health if they aren't previously aware that they should be paying attention. So it's really nice to help.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. So my name is Dr. Noel DeJoya Guthrie. I'm an orthopedic surgeon at McGee Women's Hospital at the Bone and Joint Center. Definitely work closely with Tiffany, but you know, my side of things are more operative and interventional. I tr I'm originally from Pittsburgh. I trained as a I went to medical school in Philadelphia and then trained as an orthopedic surgeon in Philadelphia as well. I did my one-year specialty fellowship in adult reconstruction here at McGee. And then I started practice a few years ago as an attending. And I do mostly hip and knee replacements, but also treat otherwise general orthopedics as well. And you know, I like to work closely with Tiffany because we like to um spread knowledge and education about bone and joint health, particularly within our local communities in western Pennsylvania.

SPEAKER_01:

I love that synergy between the two of you. So we all know that marketing is the key to any business. How do you currently market your businesses?

SPEAKER_02:

One of the things that we pride ourselves on is having a really good social media presence. We are able to share information to a lot of people who maybe don't see us out in the community or can't come for appointments for whatever reason. So we're able to reach them with our social media resources through Facebook, through Instagram, through LinkedIn, and we're able to let them know that we exist and what our message is so that they can find us and reach out for whatever their needs are.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. And then along with that, I mean, on the from our practice side, like our clinical practice, I mean, at the Bone and Joint Center, we have a lot of patients because there's actually five orthopedic surgeons here. Um, so within that patient population, word of mouth is huge for us. Um just patients talking about their good experience that they've had here, um, getting their hip or knee done and talking within their communities. That's a huge, actually more presence as a marketing tool than you would think. Um, and you know, a lot of those patients also connect with us on social media, which is great. Um yeah. So I think, you know, on the clinical side, that's huge for us.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. And that level of trust, whenever you hear from a friend or a family member, hey, this person cares. This is where you should go. So when you're not busy running your businesses, what do you both do for fun?

SPEAKER_02:

So I am a mom of a teenage boy, so I chase him around a lot. Um, but I also do a lot of reading. I love to read. I will read anything, anytime, anywhere. And I also am a very active community theater performer. So I've been singing, dancing, and acting since I was a very little kid, and I still do it as a grown-up. And it's really fun to have an outlet. I also really enjoy photography, so I love doing that too.

SPEAKER_03:

You're going tonight to um and then I'm I'm not theatrical, unfortunately. I I never played musical instruments, but um I'm also a mom like Tiffany is. Um I have three little ones. Uh Gabrielle is five. She just turned five. My middle one's named is Anthony, and he's three. And then my youngest is Henry, and he's one and a half year old. So they definitely keep me running around then too, a little different from a teenage boy, but um they keep me busy and keep things exciting. Um, otherwise, I I've always been an athlete at heart. I played lacrosse in college and lots of other sports growing up. Um, I haven't done more competitive sports in a while, but I've gotten more into tennis, which is really keeping me active and exercising, which is good. And, you know, being with family and friends, going for walks and stuff like that, I really enjoy and you know, exploring the Pittsburgh area. It's nice to come back to Pittsburgh. You know, I was away in Philadelphia for a while, so it's nice to come back and kind of explore your city in a different way and how it's changed.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. Wow, Noelle and Tiffany, you're very busy people. So, in your own words, why are you doing this?

SPEAKER_02:

I think there's just such an audience of people that we want to reach. People don't often have the best awareness of their bone and joint health, and we really want to let them know why that's important. We want them to know that it is just as important to worry about their bones and their risks for osteoporosis and their joint problems as it is to worry about their heart. You know, those are things that we really want to bring awareness to people about and really let them know that there are ways to help and there are people who care about them and that there's many, many options that they can consider, that they don't have to feel like it's all or nothing of, oh, I have surgery or there's nothing else I can do. There's plenty of things we can offer. And it's really nice to be able to bring that message to people who might not otherwise know about it.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, definitely going off of what Tiffany said. I mean, we're both healthcare providers at heart. And like Tiffany said, the reason why we went into this is to help people. Um, and you know, I see a lot of people in in clinic when they're at that point where their arthritis has gotten so bad that they can hardly walk without pain. So I think a big part of doing a podcast and reaching out to people is showing them that there can be preventative things that you can do to address your pain and kind of slow the progression of arthritis. Um, and a lot of people don't think that or don't think that they should come for evaluation at the early point of their, you know, pain stages, which I think um, you know, part of this and what we do in the communities with the wellness center is getting out there and just telling people that there's options for them, even if you're not ready to have surgery, um, showing them things that they can do in the prevention um side of things.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I love that so much. It's certainly a holistic approach. Well, Noelle and Tiffany, we'll catch you in the next episode where we'll dive into some frequently asked questions. I hope you have a fantastic rest of your day.

SPEAKER_03:

Thank you. Thank you. Good to see you.

SPEAKER_00:

That's today's dose of strength, balance, and better movement from the Joint Effort Podcast. Ready for care that fits your life and gets you moving? To schedule an appointment with Dr. Noel for your surgical and injection needs, call 412-683-7272. Or visit pghbjc.com. Or if you are looking for lifestyle changes that are non-surgical, contact Tiffany Belcavefine. Call 412-641-8594 or visit boneandjointhealth.org. Healthy bones and happy joints make every day better. Until next time, keep moving, stay steady, and take care of yourself.