The Pelvic Health Podcast

Physiotherapy: Profession, Pathways, and Avoiding Burnout with OAM Sue Croft

Pelvic floor physiotherapist, and recently awarded Order of Australia Medal, Sue Croft is joining us today to talk about longevity in physiotherapy profession. Given her extensive experience and contribution in this field for over 30 years, who better to talk to about avoiding burnout from our clinical and educational loads.
Sue then turns the mic on me (Lori) to discuss my chosen professional pathway of a PhD, which leads to some great conversations.
Hope you enjoy our chat and below are some resources we discuss:
Sue's books: Pelvic Floor Recovery: Physiotherapy for Gynaecological Repair Surgery, Pelvic Floor Essentials 
Sue's blog: a must read!
WHTA courses
The Physiotherapy Clinic Education - which will be changing names soon
The brilliant Nat McConachie
APA course for pelvic health

Evidence for increased tone or overactivity of pelvic floor muscles in pelvic health conditions: A systematic review with physio Dr Rachel Worman

Join us for the fantastic insight into Dr. Rachel Worman's work trying to disentangle the great web of confusion around pelvic floor muscle tone. 
Rachel has taken a deep dive into all the research looking into high tone/overactive/hypertonic pelvic floor muscles and its relationship with symptoms, and produced for us all a systematic review. She has been working with the team at the University of Queensland, including Ryan Stafford and Paul Hodges, and recently produced this epic piece of brilliance:"Evidence for pelvic floor muscle increased tone/overactivity in pelvic health conditions?: a systematic review”
 
Rachel is a fellow MSK and pelvic health clinician and researcher. She too has been trying to understand the difference in “types of tone” in the pelvic floor muscles and how this relates to symptoms. 
 
Rachel has a Bachelor or Science, Biopsychology, Masters in Physical Therapy, Doctorate in Physical Therapist and current PhD Candidate at the University of Queensland. 
 
We hope this episode helps you get some clarity around pelvic floor muscle activity and tone and how we can better describe, measure, and treat those with issues surrounding greater or increased tone.
 
Thanks for listening. 
 
Lori, Tam and Jo

Vulvability Special Holiday Episode

This is our special holiday episode on vulnerability. One of our fav podcasts, The Imperfects @theimperfectspodcast, do a great segment called “Vulnerabili-tea” and we jumped on this and decided to call ours “Vulva-bility”.
Jo, Tam, and I take you on a vulnerability episode where we answer the following questions:
If you could tell your younger self some advice, what would it be?What do you want to give, create, be, feel, or share?What things in your past have shaped the way you see things now or go about your life?
We also share our own issues with our pelvic floor and how it has shaped some of our clinical work.
I loved this episode. It was fun and insightful and lovely to share.
Please note, they’re a couple swear words so warning before you listen with your kids.
Links:
Lori's online intro transperineal ultrasound course is here
Brisbane transperineal ultrasound workshops here (with Lori)
Sydney transperineal ultrasound workshops here (with The Physiotherapy Clinic)
Put the date in your calendar: Oct 27, 2023 for the PB Endo conference in Brisbane

Impact of heavy resistance training on pregnancy and postpartum health outcomes

Pelvic floor physiotherapist, National level weightlifter, and PhD candidate, Christina Prevett, is here to discuss her recently published journal article titled "Impact of heavy resistance training on pregnancy and postpartum health outcomes", authored by Christina Prevet, Miranda L. Kimber, Lori Forner, Marlize de Vivo, and Margie H. Davenport.
LINK TO READ PAPER HERE: https://rdcu.be/cY0e2
This episode she dives into the paper, heavy weightlifting during pregnancy, what is and should be a "valsalva" for weightlifting, and much more. 
Join us for a great conversation on a much needed topic.
For more on Christina:
https://thebarbellmamas.com/
https://www.staveoff.ca/about/
https://twitter.com/c_prevett?lang=en
https://www.instagram.com/christina_prevett/?hl=en
 
 
 

Olympic athletes can train during pregnancy and return to sport as a mother with Eloise Wellings

We are incredibly honoured and privileged to have had the opportunity to chat with Eloise Wellings, who generously shares her incredible story of triumphs and set-backs. Eloise’s story has examples of all health issues facing female athletes, from eating disorders, menstrual dysfunction and RED-s, to pregnancy and exercise and returning to sport post partum.
 
Eloise Wellings is one of Australia’s most inspiring female athletes. She has been running since she was 10 years old, followed her dreams and competed for Australia in 2 Olympic Games in middle distance running. Eloise has also competed in multiple Commonwealth Games, most recently placing 4th in the marathon in Birmingham. You can learn more about Eloise on her website https://www.eloisewellings.com.au
 
Eloise has also become a sound mentor for younger runners, and as part of helping them thrive has teamed up with mental skills coach Rory Darkins in their very own podcast “Whats right within” - we highly recommend the episode on How to Optimise Stress and Recovery. 
 
To impress you even more, and keep everything in perspective,  Eloise is co-founder of the Love Mercy Foundation. The foundation exists to empower communities in Northern Uganda to overcome poverty. 
 
We hope you enjoy listening to this podcast as much as we did interviewing Eloise. 
 
For those who would like more information on the modules the AIS have produced to help women understand RED-s, and much much more, Here is the link 
https://www.ais.gov.au/fphi/education

Effect of pelvic floor symptoms on exercise participation in females

You will love listening to Jodie Dakic, an amazing physiotherapy clinician and researcher. Her clinical experience in elite sport is inspiring, not to mention she has almost finished her PHD investigating pelvic floor symptoms, sport and exercise. 
Jodie lectures at Monash University in the department of physiotherapy, she co-directs the curriculum of physiotherapy program and women's and men's pelvic health stream.
 
Jodie spent 14 years with Women’s Tennis Association, travelling around the world with the elite athletes, currently they are lucky to have her as a research consultant. Jodie has also worked with Australian junior softball team and the Victoria softball teams. Jodie now works clinically fusing her sports and pelvic health knowledge.
 
Jodie has combined her extensive clinical experience in elite female sport  and pelvic health physiotherapy, to devise her research questions regarding the impact of pelvic health conditions on women participating in sport and exercise.
 
Jodie shares her insights from her extensive research in this area. Statistics we all need to know! Jodie is on a mission to solve the pelvic health problems limiting females exercising. 
 
Links to research 
 
https://www.jospt.org/doi/full/10.2519/jospt.2021.10200
 
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S144024402100147X

Endometriosis: research on self-management strategies

Amelia "Millie" Mardon is a full time PHD student at The University of South Australia working to improve our understanding of persistent pelvic pain. Millie and her amazing colleagues have published a systematic review of the efficacy of self management strategies for females with endometriosis, and more recently a systematic review on the treatment recommendations for the management of persistent pelvic pain. She shares with us the insights she has learnt from her research, and how we can benefit from these as clinicians. She has a vision to write an “Explain Pain” style book for women with persistent pelvic pain - which we wait for excitedly. We loved talking to Millie and we hope you enjoy the show. 
Jo, Tam, and Lori
 
Other links:
"The accessibility of physiotherapy for adolescents with persistent pelvic pain: a qualitative study", Mardon et al PDF
"Persistent pelvic pain – what do the guidelines recommend?" Blog with Millie Mardon and Hayley Leake (who should know who she is if you live in Australia 🤣)
Pain Adelaide - link not working for 2022 yet! So this one is 2019
 
Thanks to our episode sponsor, the lovely team at
Empowered Motherhood Program
 

Elite athletes: the latest research on pregnancy and postpartum

Dr Margie Davenport is an Associate Professor at The University of Alberta where her areas of research including investigating the maternal-fetal transmission of chronic disease and exploring the role of exercise in pregnancy as a preventative strategy in the development of chronic disease. Margie and her team are sure shaking up our thoughts on type and intensity of exercise in pregnancy and reframing our mindset from "can exercise in pregnancy be harmful?" to - "Not participating in exercise in pregnancy IS harmful".
Todays’ episode, she joins us to discuss the new exercises guidelines in pregnancy and how they were developed. In addition, Margie shares with us the findings of her new qualitative research on the experiences of pregnancy and motherhood for Elite Female Athletes.
 
We had a great time talking to Margie and we hope you enjoy the episode. 
 
Thank you to our episode sponsor: Empowered Motherhood Program
 
You can learn more about Margie and links we discuss:
The Get Active Questionnaire for Pregnancy https://csep.ca/2021/05/27/get-active-questionnaire-for-pregnancy/  - (For fellow nerds, this is how it was developed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35442812/)
 
Margie's research (Google scholar link)
Website: www.exerciseandpregnancy.caFacebook: Program for Pregnancy and Postpartum Health Twitter: @ExercisePregInstagram: @exerciseandpregnancyYouTube: Program for Pregnancy and Postpartum Health
 
 

Women in Sport Congress with Dr. Rachel Harris

Dr Rachel Harris is a Sport & Medicine Physician, Chief Medical Officer for the Australian Paralympic Team for the Tokyo games, and Chief Medical Officer for the Australian Water Polo Team. She is also the Project Lead for the AIS Female athlete performance and health, menstrual cycle and hormonal contraception project. Oh and an Olympian.
Today's episode she joins Jo, Tam and I to discuss the upcoming Women In Sport Congress in Melbourne at the MCG on Aug 17-19, 2022 - a conference not to be missed, with free childcare, sponsored by Brukner & Khan (yep, THE Brukner and Khan from Clinical Sports Medicine. The book that got us all through ;) Rachel shares her background, details about the conference, details about the AIS female pelvic health initiative, and some more cool projects on the way. For those of you who can get to the MCG, be there.
Rachel's Twitter Account
 

The New Pelvic Health Podcast Gang

Yes it's still me, Lori, and yes it's still The Pelvic Health Podcast but I have new friends to hang out with and interview with and chat with and we will have so much more fun to come. Listen up, enjoy the fresh voices, and laugh with us while you get to know a little bit more about us all ❤️

Postpartum Exercise Adherence Research with Steph Paplinskie

Steph Paplinskie is a prenatal and postpartum fitness specialist, strength and conditioning coach, PhD candidate in the Exercise and Pregnancy Lab at Western University and international lecturer. Her research investigates the effects of physical activity and exercise training interventions on pregnant and postpartum women. She also runs her own business StrongHer Fitness and is passionate about sharing the science of pregnancy with moms around the world through Precision Pregnancy.
 
Please fill out (if you are eligible) and share this link for her current study "Postpartum Physical Activity, Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, and Depressive Symptoms (PADDS) Study" https://uwo.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4GZaX8iDAQKkN81
 
Enjoy our chat about her research on exercise adherence in postpartum mothers.
 
And a big thank you to this episode's sponsor (and my favourite resource for pregnant and postnatal/postpartum patients): 
The Empowered Motherhood Program 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Pelvic pain and Graded Motor Imagery-ish

Today’s episode for is for all you pelvic pain nerds out there. I bring you a brilliant discussion I had with pelvic floor physio, Katie Kelly, on the concepts of graded motor imagery for pelvic pain. 
Katie Kelly is a pelvic floor physiotherapist from New Brunswick, Canada. She graduated from the MSc PT program at Dalhousie University in 2010 and has been working with pelvic floor patients for over a decade. She opened her private physiotherapy practice in 2017, and co-opened ReConnect Health Centre, a women’s focused multidisciplinary health clinic in June 2020.  Katie is a guest lecturer at Dalhousie University’s School of Physiotherapy where she lectures on the topics of pregnancy and pelvic floor physiotherapy. Katie is an active contributing author to the Canadian Physiotherapy Association’s Women’s Health Division Newsletter. She has a passion for Cesarean section rehabilitation education, recently presented on this topic for the Canadian Physiotherapy Association and teaches a professional course on the subject. Katie has developed a relationship with Mount Allison University’s Sexual Health Lab where she contributes to research involving genital pain conditions. Recently, Katie has launched The Vulvar Image Collection; a resource of vulvar images used in research and education. You can find Katie in the community supporting the role of physiotherapy in pelvic health conditions, or on social media advocating for pelvic floor physiotherapy awareness.
Website: www.katiekellypt.ca, www.reconnecthealth.ca
Facebook: Katie Kelly Physiotherapy
Instagram: @ptkatiekelly
Tiktok: @katiekellypt
Website for The Vulva Image Collection:  https://embodiaapp.com/courses/1211-resource-package-the-vulvar-image-collection-katie-kelly-pt
Promo code: pelvichealthpodcast25 Good until August 1, 2022
GMI http://www.gradedmotorimagery.com

Paving the best way forward for the female athlete Upcoming Conference

Joelene Murdoch, who is a MSK and women’s health physiotherapist and one of the directors of The Physiotherapy Clinic, joins the podcast to talk about an upcoming conference you are all invited to called Paving the Best way Forward for the Female Athlete taking place in Sydney on May 13, 2022. This conference is for anyone interested in in female athletes, sports physicians, physios, S&C coaches, AEPs, coaches and more. There is the potential for online access at a later date - listen up and stay tuned. Hope to see you there!
Details HERE
 

A story about perimenopause

Emma Brockwell is a pelvic health physiotherapist, an advocate, an educator, a runner, a podcast host, a mum, and an author. She is brilliant and up to date with evidence around the pelvic floor, yet she still struggled at first to find answers to unexplained symptoms...of perimenopause.
In today's episode, Emma so kindly shares her journey of early onset perimenopause, what she discovered in the research, and what has helped her.
Web: https://www.physiomum.co.uk
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/physiomumuk/
"Why Did No One Tell Me?" Book https://www.physiomum.co.uk/my-book
Runnung Guidelines https://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2019/05/20/ready-steadygo-ensuring-postnatal-women-are-run-ready/
At Your Cervix Podcast https://www.physiomum.co.uk/podcast
PelvicRoar
Active Pregnancy Foundation
Preparing for the perimenopause and menopause 
Balance app https://www.balanceapp.com

Movers & Mentors with Tim Reynolds, Julie Wiebe, Sandy Hilton and Biljana Kennaway

Welcome to this international party episode of The Pelvic Health Podcast. 
Movers & Mentors is a new book by physiotherapists Tim Reynolds and Bryan Guzski featuring the thoughts and advice from leaders in physiotherapy and movement science - a book in which I was asked to contribute to along with absolutely brilliant names, including both Julie Wiebe and Sandy Hilton. 
Tim Reynolds asked to interview me about some of my answers to very cool questions in this book and I thought it would be more fun to have Julie and Sandy join, and decided to make it even more international and exciting by inviting another brilliant physio representing the Pelvic Obstetric & Gynaecological Physiotherapy group - Biljana Kennaway.
I hope you all enjoy!!!!
Find the book HERE
Bios via link on the names above :)
Bios:
Bryan Guzski PT, DPT, OCS, MBA, CSCS (couldn't party with us for this episode) is an outpatient orthopaedic physical therapist practicing in Rochester, NY working primarily with patients with spine related issues and persistent pain. Bryan earned his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Ithaca College in 2014, completed an orthopaedic residency program through Cayuga Medical Center in 2015 and received his Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist certification, and earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Simon Business School at the University of Rochester in 2021. 
 
Tim Reynolds PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Anatomy & Physiology at Ithaca College and a part-time physical therapist practicing at Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca, NY where he predominately treats patients with spine or lower extremity impairments. Tim earned his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Ithaca College in 2014 and completed both his orthopaedic residency and spine fellowship through Cayuga Medical Center, and currently helps mentor and teach in both of these programs as well. 
 
 

Empowered Motherhood Program with Lyz Evans and Kimmy Smith

I reached out to Lyz Evans and Kimmy Smith to to tell me about the Empowered Motherhood Program because I have watched them work tirelessly to create such a comprehensive and brilliant program and I think everyone needs to know about it. And a side note, this is NOT a paid advertisement. I just believe in this and wish I had their collective brains :).
Lyz Evans is a co-founder of the Empowered Motherhood Program, an APA titled Womens and Pelvic Health Physiotherapist, with over 17 years experience in both the public and private sector. She is the founder of Women in Focus Physiotherapy in Sydney, and spent over 10 years working at the Royal Hospital for Women in Sydney in Maternity, Oncology and Gynaecology. 
Lyz completed her Womens Health Masters through Curtin University in 2017, and as apart of her Masters has published clinical research in the International Urogynecology Journal reporting on the multifaceted longer term impacts to a woman of sustaining an Obstetric Anal Sphincter injury. 
She is also a busy mum to three young children and has an unwavering passion for armouring women with quality information to enable them to make better choices for their health. 
Kimmy Smith is the co-founder of the Empowered Motherhood Program. She is a pregnancy and postnatal exercise specialist, maternal health advocate and a proud Mum to three little girls. Kimmy was a former professional athlete and corporate lawyer. She played at the elite level for over 10 years, representing the NSW Swifts and was a member of the Australia Diamonds Squad. Drawing from her experience as a professional athlete, Kimmy is passionate about supporting women to feel strong during their pregnancy and  to return to exercise in a safe and positive way after birth. 
Health care professionals listening to The Pelvic Health Podcast can use the link to access:
Two Week Free Trial for Health Care Professionals. 
Links to our Find a Physio page where they can list their clinic and reach our members. 
EMP Member Pathway 
List of Included Content. 
Testimonails from Women’s Health Physiotherapists using the program. 
 https://www.empoweredmother.com.au/the-EMP-for-Health-Professionals 
 
Other links:
WHTA - Women's Health Training Associates
ICS 2021 Melbourne (online)