Times Observer photo by Lorri Drumm Barbara Frances gets a demonstration of a self-care device called the Backjoy from Lewis Murray, respiratory therapist with SMP Pharmacy & Home Medical.

Parking spots were at a premium outside the Allegheny Community Center on Friday morning. Inside, the upstairs dining room was just as packed as the downstairs level referred to as the garage.

The 2019 Eldercare Senior Expo was Friday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the center located at 42 Clark Street in Warren. The event included nearly 90 vendors and services such as evaluations of balance, strength, and vision and flu shots. Admission was free.

Visitors filled bags with information, got advice from experts in a variety of fields including health care and finance and some enjoyed food served in the upstairs dining room. Many chatted and even exchanged hugs as they bumped into old friends and acquaintances.

Barbara Frances had to inquire about a device she saw demonstrated. “It looked so crazy, I had to ask what it was,” she said.

Lewis Murray, a respiratory therapist with SMP Pharmacy & Home Medical, held a curved device called the Backjoy. Murray showed Frances how the device allows the user to target muscle aches and pains in many hard-to-reach areas.

Frances said that most of the time when she “feels achey” she just repositions herself and goes back to sleep but she could imagine using the device to “help with serious pain.”

“In any event, I learned something,” she said.