The Women’s Health Podcast

Welcome back to the Women’s Health podcast. Today we are very excited to be talking to Monika Leitner, a physiotherapist and researcher based in Switzerland. Monika (originally Austrian) has been working as a physiotherapist since 1989. After experiences in a medical center, a clinic for psychosomatics, a regional hospital and private clinic she entered the field of education in 2006. She worked as a lecturer for physiotherapy (Bachelor and Master program) for 19 years and has been a member of the research team for 10 years. She holds one MAS in Health and Fitness and one MSc in Sports Physiotherapy.  Finally her experience as an pelvic floor physiotherapist and her training in sports-science led her to the research area of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in physically active women. In 2017 she received her PhD in that topic at the University of Bern. She left University recently and is setting up her career as a freelancer, still with a lot of enthusiasm in teaching/educating and a little clinical work. She has written a book about body competence, which was published at the beginning of November 2025 (in German). In this interview: We discuss how Monika’s physiotherapy experience in a psychosomatic clinic early in her career helped shape her interest in integrating physical and psychological aspects of health. Monika talks about her journey from a clinical background in pelvic health physiotherapy to academic research, particularly focusing on pelvic floor function during running. We learn more about how Monika’s team looked at pelvic floor muscle activity during running, using EMG measurements and a Trackstar sensor attached to a vaginal probe. The findings of their research were unexpected and very interesting!! We then discuss other studies on pelvic floor rehabilitation, with Monika outlining why voluntary contractions alone are likely insufficient as they cannot respond quickly enough to sudden stressors like coughing or sneezing.  This of course led to a more lengthy discussion on what types of training might be “optimal” for improving PFM strength and function. As always… more research needed!! Monika informs us of her new book “Body Competence” which has just been released! The focus of the book (which is currently in German only) is on mind-body medicine, emphasizing the influence of mindset and mindfulness on health and well-being. She shared personal experiences and scientific evidence supporting the power of positive thinking and visualization in healing. We think you will agree that Monika was a delightful guest to have on the show, and her passion shines through the more the podcast goes on. If you want to reach out to Monika to learn more about her book and teachings, head to her website: www.vita-impuls.ch You can buy her new book here: https://eticamedia.eu/produkt/koerperkompetenz/ (You will not find her on social media!) Some of the research discussed: Leitner M, Moser H, Eichelberger P, Kuhn A, Radlinger L. Evaluation of pelvic floor muscle activity during running in continent and incontinent women: An exploratory study. Neurourol Urodyn. 2017 Aug;36(6):1570-1576. doi: 10.1002/nau.23151. Epub 2016 Oct 29. PMID: 27794169. Leitner M, Moser H, Eichelberger P, Kuhn A, Radlinger L. Pelvic floor muscle activity during fast voluntary contractions in continent and incontinent women. Neurourol Urodyn. 2019 Feb;38(2):625-631. doi: 10.1002/nau.23911. Epub 2019 Jan 8. PMID: 30620113. Moser H, Leitner M, Eichelberger P, Kuhn A, Baeyens JP, Radlinger L. Pelvic floor muscle displacement during jumps in continent and incontinent women: An exploratory study. Neurourol Urodyn. 2019 Nov;38(8):2374-2382. doi: 10.1002/nau.24161. Epub 2019 Sep 7. PMID: 31493349.

Welcome back to the Women’s Health Podcast.    In this episode we are thrilled to be interviewing Dr Marie-Claire Seeley. Dr Marie-Claire Seeley is the Founder and CEO of the Australian POTS Foundation. With a background as a clinical nurse and now working as a Research Fellow at the University of Adelaide, she brings both lived experience and academic expertise to her role. Marie-Claire is dedicated to improving recognition, care, and research for Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome in Australia, and is passionate about creating a more inclusive and informed healthcare system for those affected.   In this chat we cover: What is Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome? Marie-Claire discusses the function of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the range of symptoms that a patient might present with who has dysfunction of the ANS. The diagnostic criteria for POTS and the common tests/ screening questionnaires that are available. The prevalence of POTS including the gender distribution (I’ll give you a hint here: it isn’t 50:50) The complex (and often traumatic) journey that patients often face in getting a POTS diagnosis, including the high comorbidity with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and other connective tissue disorder Some of the key management strategies for POTS, including optimising hydration and blood volume, using compression garments and carefully progressing exercise in supported positions. She also discussed the role of medications and the importance of a multidisciplinary team approach.   Upcoming events   The POTS Foundation of Australia has an upcoming conference in 2026 which will cover POTS as well as related conditions like fibromyalgia and long COVID. Stay tuned for more details. August 21st 2025 - Webinar  - Diagnosis and Management of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) in Primary Care (RACGP - CPD) https://console.humanitix.com/console/events/686df06e69cfe5511d8e97a3/information   Want to learn more? Head to potsfoundation.org.au Not only will you find incredible useful information on the condition, but you can find clinicians with a special interest in this field. You can also access many free videos in their Webinars section on related topics.   Want to follow the POTS Foundation on the socials? https://www.instagram.com/australianpotsfoundation/  https://www.facebook.com/AustralianPOTSFoundation/    Has this talk piqued your interest? Feeling nerdy? Here are some recent relevant articles.   https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40138180/   https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.5694/mja2.52710

In this interview, Antony interviews his co-host Marika about some of the lessons she has learnt along her journey as a physiotherapist (including sharing some of her big mistakes!).   Marika Hart is an APA-titled Musculoskeletal and Continence and Pelvic Health Physiotherapist. She started her journey in Perth, before heading to London, Melbourne and finally back home. Despite declaring no interest in working in pelvic health, she found herself falling into the field after having 2 children and realising she was ignorant about this area! She currently works as the senior urogynaecology physiotherapist at King Edward Memorial Hospital, where she continues to learn from her colleagues and patients.   In this episode you will hear Marika share some of her a-ha moments when working as a physiotherapist some of the different ways in which she has advanced her knowledge and skills over the years (courses, mentors etc) her vulnerability as a new-grad physiotherapist, feeling like she should know more how changes in her mindset led to less stress and anxiety at work how working with Girls Gone Strong helped her develop new skillsets to help her clients how diversifying early in her career has helped enormously in her work as a pelvic health physiotherapist how her musculoskeletal masters clinics helped her develop her clinical reasoning skills and start asking herself “why” more. some of the difficulties in working with complex conditions and why self care is so important   Would you like to hear Antony share his top tips and a-ha moments? Let us know in the socials!

This is the episode that has been 6 years in the making! We are thrilled to be able to chat to Dr Jennifer Kruger, who is the CEO and co-founder of JUNOFEM, a medtech company spun out of the University of Auckland.  Jennifer's background is clinical, but has been an academic for most of her career, so her name is probably familiar to most who are listening!  She still heads the pelvic floor research group at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute, but is now commercialising her research for greater reach, to more women who need it! Here are some of the things we discussed: Dr Kruger’s clinical background as a midwife, and how her interest in birth outcomes and postnatal recovery led her to doing extensive research into pelvic floor function during and after childbirth. She pursued graduate degrees to study pelvic floor muscle function using ultrasound, MRI and computational modeling, with a long term goal of improving birth outcomes and helping with postnatal recovery. She completed her PhD looking at pelvic floor morphology and function in elite athletes. Over the past 8 years, she has been working with the team at University of Auckland, including some very clever bioengineers to develop the femfit®, which is a flexible vaginal pressure sensor array that measures pelvic floor muscle activation and intra-abdominal pressure during functional activities Initial prototypes used a single pressure sensor, but the final version has 8 pressure sensors along the vaginal length. Therefore it can produce a pressure profile showing pelvic floor vs. intra-abdominal pressure and ensure clients are doing a correct pelvic floor contraction, rather than bearing down The tool has been validated against trans-perineal ultrasound and manometry to ensure that the information regarding movement of the pelvic floor muscles is correct. Dr Kruger is passionate about removing some of the stigma associated with urinary incontinence and help provide practical options for women wanting to improve their pelvic floor strength and function. Her team are performing ongoing research with the femfit® device, which includes looking at PFM function during functional activities. To learn more about the femfit® or to become a registered affiliate for the device, please go to the website for details. To support The Women’s Health Podcast, please use the code “femfit+WHP” to get 10% off the femfit® and in doing so, you will help keep The Women’s Health Podcast on air!. Follow this URL https://shop.junofem.com/discount/femfit+WHP or use the QR Code below! https://www.junofem.com/ Or contact Jenny at [email protected] You can follow Jenny and JUNOFEM on social media: https://www.instagram.com/junofemhealth  https://www.linkedin.com/company/junofemhealth

In this episode, we talk to Nina Theodorsen, a Norwegian women's health and pelvic floor physiotherapist, who works in a private clinic and is doing a PhD at University of Bergen. Nina has done extensive research on the effect of exercises on DRA during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Her long clinical experience affects her approach to research and dissemination of the results. She also holds a degree in health management and further education in sexual health and education, teaches women's health on the bachelor physiotherapy program, holds courses and talks, and tries to influence politicians to prioritize and improve women's health   Nina begins the episode by discussing her background working with women around the perinatal period and how her clinical observations led to her desire to perform more research on the effect of exercise on DRA. She felt that there was a lot of messaging that was fear-based and could potentially reduce participation in exercise.   With Kari Bø and others in the team at University of Bergen, Nina has published research studies on the effect of pelvic floor and transversus abdominis contraction on the inter-recti distance in both pregnancy and post-partum populations. She also conducted a randomised controlled trial (during covid lockdowns!!) on the effect of a 12-week full body strengthening program (including abdominal exercises) during pregnancy on the inter-recti distance at late stage pregnancy and at 6 weeks post-partum.   You can access her research articles here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphys.2024.02.002  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physio.2023.08.001  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physio.2018.08.009   Nina is happy for people to get in touch with her with any questions or comments. We thoroughly enjoyed this interview with Nina and hope you do too! Please feel free to leave a comment below about your thoughts on the topic!   [email protected] @diastaseprosjektet

Yes it has been over 2 years since our last episode, but we’re back and full of excitement about the guests to come! And what a great episode to kick off the re-boot. On this podcast we interview Dr Tracy Sher about all things related to Pudendal Neuralgia. Dr Sher is the Founder/CEO of the global platform, Pelvic Guru, LLC/Pelvic Global and the Global Pelvic Health Alliance Membership (GPHAM). She is also the Owner/Clinical Director of the private practice, Sher Pelvic Health and Healing in Orlando, Florida.  In this podcast we cover: Pudendal neuralgia versus pudendal nerve entrapment.  Some basic anatomy including the pathway of the pudendal nerve and where it might become irritated or entrapped The “Pudendal Tour” - ie the challenging journeys that some patients will go on, including multiple scans, nerve conduction tests, injections and surgery. Some of the signs and symptoms that clients might present with What a physiotherapy assessment might look like and how to prioritise what to look at on day one The importance of a multidisciplinary team in the management of pudendal neuralgia and some of the specialties you might want to include in your team Some interesting case studies including patients who have been diagnosed with pudendal entrapment but there was something ELSE was going on… Acute onset pain that often gets missed (think post-surgical!) How we as health professionals need to be careful with our language (avoid nocebic language!) and can provide hope for these patients What might conservative Mx might look like for someone with pudendal neuralgia Correction: Tracy wanted to add after the conversation: “Numbness can end up being part of pudendal nerve entrapment. The Nantes criteria actually lists: “no objective sensory defects” but those who treat this clinically will see sensory changes. This was the original Nantes criteria - but we see many more nuances to this: pain limited to the territory of innervation of the pudendal nerve, pain predominant during sitting, pain does not awaken the patient from sleep, no objective sensory defects, a positive effect of anaesthetic infiltration of the pudendal nerve.The key is to do all differentials as it isn't a typical symptom.   I also stated S1-3 in the beginning and meant to say S2,3,4.” As always, we felt like we could have picked Tracy’s brains for hours, so might have to get her to come back again in the future (or encourage her to come to Australia!). You can reach Tracy at: Website:  www.pelvicglobal.com   Email: [email protected] Instagram: @pelvicguru1 Twitter: pelvicguru1 Free Facebook Group: Pelvic Guru Academy

And...we're back! After a two-year hiatus, we've decided to kick off  the Women's Health Podcast again. We're excited to interview some incredible guests on the show in the months to come and would love to hear your suggestions!  In this chat, we discuss what we've been up to over the past two years (and all the places Antony has been to!). We have a bit of a chat about principles rather than protocols when treating pelvic health conditions and the importance of personal experience as a motivator for change. We also talk about collaboration between health and fitness professionals and how this can benefit women. It's a bit of a random chat, but hopefully you enjoy it! We'll see you soon with our first guest for 2023.

Today we have the pleasure of speaking to Kieran Richardson. Kieran is a Specialist Physiotherapist and the Director of Global Specialist Physiotherapy, a consultancy company providing Professional Development, Formal Mentoring and Non-surgical opinions for patients.  Kieran and his team of academics, expert clinicians and researchers consult to multiple clinics and health care professionals in Perth, Western Australia, and well as nationally and internationally via online platforms such as Zoom.  He also has various online courses for both clinicians and patients, specifically covering non-surgical management of ACL tears.  He also has successfully overseen 100's of full thickness ACL tears of patients both in Australia and internationally via the Telehealth method. Today we talked about: - Kieran's career journey - from considering a life as an accountant, doctor or lawyer to choosing to be a physiotherapist - how the specialisation process helped - in particular the mentoring/peer review - how applying evidence-based practice can be a tricky balance  - how ACL management is VERY surgical focussed in Australia and how this has been very slow to change in spite of the current research - how healthcare is very medically dominant - we (physiotherapists) would need to be a combined force to have a strong say - the evidence for and against manual therapy - are we throwing the baby out with the bathwater? - communicating with colleagues online. Could we do better? - the business of healthcare and how profits can impact on management. - ACL pathways. What is considered best management? How is ACL surgery/rehab funded in Australia? - whether or not physiotherapists could play a bigger role in musculoskeletal pain in primary health care settings to help reduce medical burden - why important intra- and interdisciplinary collaboration is so important - his top tips for new graduate physiotherapists You can find Kieran at: [email protected]  https://www.instagram.com/global_specialist_physio/     https://www.facebook.com/globalspecialistphysio  Check out his references at: www.globalspecialistphysio.com/acl

We're excited that today we have a dynamic duo on the podcast: Dr Andrea Bruder and Dr Adam Culvenor. Adam is a Physiotherapist and Research Fellow at the La Trobe University Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, Australia. He has combined a clinical career in sports medicine together with research investigating prevention, management and long-term outcomes of sports-related injuries, and life-span osteoarthritis. He has a particular interest in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries; in optimising return to sport, identifying risk factors for poor long-term outcomes, and developing and testing novel osteoarthritis prevention strategies. Adam has written more than 50 publications on the subject of ACL injuries and osteoarthritis, has been invited to speak at numerous international conferences, and is\ currently leading the first clinical trial in the prevention of osteoarthritis in young adults following ACL injury. Andrea is a physiotherapist, Lecturer in Physiotherapy at La Trobe University and Post Doctoral Research Fellow in the La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre. Her research focuses on improving injury prevention and rehabilitation practices after musculoskeletal injuries. Andrea has a particular interest in reducing the risk of ACL injuries among women and girls playing Australian football, and for those who do sustain an ACL injury, how we can improve rehabilitation practices to reduce the long-term burden.   In this podcast we talked about: - what the ACL is and how it can be injured - some risk factors for ACL injury (in males and females)- including some of the social, environmental factors - some of the current programs that exist that have been shown to reduce lower limb injuries...but how the uptake has been poor - surgical versus non surgical (sexy, cutting-edge rehab) management - why a trial period of this kind of rehabilitation may be of benefit, even if the client goes on to have surgery further down the track - how the rates of arthritis are similar between the two treatment options   If you'd like to check out their blog, head to http://semrc.blogs.latrobe.edu.au/blog  Their website details: https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/display/abruder  https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/display/a2culvenor    Email addresses: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]   Twitter: @AndreaBruder Twitter: @agculvenor

We are again blessed to have the amazing Molly Galbraith on the podcast! Marika and Antony have both had the pleasure of getting to know Molly over the past 5 years and are thrilled to talk to her about her new book, Strong Women Lift Each Other Up. Molly Galbraith, CSCS, is the cofounder of Girls Gone Strong (GGS), the world’s largest platform providing evidence-based, interdisciplinary health, fitness, nutrition, and pregnancy education for women and the health and fitness professionals who work with them—including industry-leading certification programs and coaching. The “Strong Women Lift Each Other Up” philosophy is woven through the fabric of GGS, as Molly leads a team of women from the US, Canada, UK, Mexico, India, and Australia. From employing and educating, to featuring, collaborating with, and investing in women, GGS is dedicated to serving their community of women from 80+ countries around the world. In the podcast we talked about soooo much great stuff, including: - how this book came about and how women lifting each other up has helped Molly get to where she is today - some of the statistics around representation of women in government and executive positions... and ways that we can help change this. - why making the biggest difference with the least amount of harm is her highest value - why the book is structured the way it is - to help the reader move through the stages of working on their own care first (eg on jealousy and the comparison trap) in order to feel able to truly support other women - why understanding your values truly helps you a more fulfilling life and be true to yourself - how helping lift other women up can be small, simple things such as a compliment or a recommendation - how you can find your superpower and level up your support of other women! We love Molly's book and would love everyone to get out and buy it and tell us what you think (no, we are not making commission!!). The book is not only filled with fabulous advice, interesting stories and  reflective questions, but also a ton of online resources. You can buy her book at https://www.mollygalbraith.com/book2   Check out Episodes 12, 24, 35 and 36 which also stars Molly! http://www.womenshealthpodcast.com/uncategorized/012-molly-galbraith-feeling-fragile-uncomfortable-and-lack-confidence-in-your-post-baby-body/   http://www.womenshealthpodcast.com/uncategorized/024-molly-galbraith-how-can-i-heal-my-relationship-with-my-body/  http://ww

A quick chat between Marika and Antony just catching up. Antony's courses can be found at www.mypteducation.com  The Peak Simplicity Masterclass - www.physiodetective.com/masterclass

FIFTIETH EPISODE SPECIAL!! Antony and I were thrilled to talk to Clare Minahan, PhD Scientist and champion for women in sport. Clare Minahan is an Associate Professor at Griffith University, Queensland Australia, and has led the Griffith Sports Science group since 2002. Clare’s interests are in the advancement of human performance with a key focus on the determinants of performance in female athletes. She has documented unique responses to exercise in female athletes including muscle damage, thermoregulation and immune function. Clare is a founding member of the Australian Institute of Sport’s Female Performance and Health Initiative. Some of the topics we cover in this episode include: some of the differences between male and female athletes in terms of how they respond to training and recovery how the oral contraceptive pill (OCP) influences things like thermoregulation, immune function and recovery from acute bouts of intense exercise how the hormones fluctuate over the menstrual cycle and how this may influence training choices why training needs to be individualised and based on tracking of the athlete's cycle that around 50% of athletes are on the OCP, so we need to understand better the effects. Clare also discusses the different generations of OCP and acknowledges that these will have different effects on the athlete (there are at least 35 different types of OCP just in Australia!) how female athletes are at a 3x increased risk of ACL injuries. Studies showing that landing strategies seem to changes during teenage years for girls. This could also be related to hormonal changes - there are some studies showing increased risk during late follicular phase- but there is still much more to learn on this. Could also be related to changes in body composition through the teenage years females with higher circulating levels of testosterone. Do they have a competitive advantage? the advantage of having a regular menstrual cycle in terms of giving us a picture of our health. Withdrawal bleed while on OCP is not the same thing. if not able to properly track menstrual cycle due to OCP use, Clare talks about other ways that we can monitor for RED-S (hint: performance, fatigue, mood, immune function) why it's important to get the basics right (sleep, nutrition, stress etc) before manipulating your training around the menstrual cycle If you would like to get in touch with Clare, you can best contact her on twitter @clareMINAHAN or via the Griffin University website [email protected]

On this podcast, we chat to Amanda Thebe, fitness professional and author of the book Menopocalypse: How I Learned to Thrive During Menopause and How You Can Too! Amanda has over twenty years of experience in the fitness industry. She is a popular guest on podcasts and online summits, and her health and fitness tips have been featured in media outlets like Shape, Prevention, Healthline, and Global News. She lives in Houston, Texas. In this episode we talked about: Amanda’s recent experience with COVID-19 and how it knocked her for six for a few months. The post-viral syndrome left Amanda with a lot of fatigue and she struggled with daily activities for a long time, but is thankfully now on the mend! her story about when she first started experiencing symptoms of menopause (ie migraines, vertigo and depressions) and how it took two years and several health practitioners to find the answers she was looking for how surprised she was to find out that she was perimenopausal at the age of 42 and how so few people were talking about the subject! This led Amanda on a journey of discovery - she dived deep into the literature to learn more about menopause so that she could help herself and others. This led to her writing a book on it! the frustration that Amanda felt when she couldn’t find the answers to what was going on. She felt so much despair and thought that she was going to be feeling like that forever. how little medical professionals get trained on the topic of menopause -including the management. But this seems to be changing in the UK with new guidelines and mandatory training some of the common symptoms that women experience through the perimenopausal period (that no-one talks about!), such as vaginal dryness, urinary incontinence and sexual dysfunction. what happens to oestrogen and progesterone during the perimenopausal period. Amanda also talks about leptin and ghrelin and how these hormones can impact our hunger and satiety cues. some of the physiological and psychological changes that occur through the perimenopausal period and how we can become more susceptible to things like cardiovascular disease, Alzheimers disease and osteoporosis the controversy around hormone therapy, how the medication has changed over time and how incredible helpful it is for so many women how physical and emotional stress can impact on symptoms during perimenopause - and some things that you can do to reduce these! why women tend to put on weight around menopause and how there is often a change in body shape around this time. how perimenopause can be a tough time for many women as they are often not only working and raising children, but also looking after elderly parents too. She discusses how useful it

In this episode we have a fantastic conversation with Dr Julie Granger all about adolescent health and well being. You may remember Julie from our previous episode (#20 "Do you have a hormonal teenager?") Julie educates and mentors physical therapists and health professionals to eliminate the awkwardness that comes with helping teens — to instead confidently and expertly guide them and their families toward healthy lives in adolescence and adulthood. She also helps entrepreneurial physical therapists and health professionals who are feeling stuck, confused, or overwhelmed about how to start or grow a practice to tap into their intuition and discover a personalized life and business plan that’s both inspiring and reflects what they truly love in life. In this podcast, we talk about - how teens often slip through the cracks as they don't fit into either the adult or paediatric models of care - how some teenage boys can bottle up their emotions and minimise their injuries - and how we can open up dialogue with them - the importance of allowing children to experience the consequences of their decisions in the process of transitioning to independent adults - why some injuries and pains are more common at different age points (think: bony changes) - why it is essential for health professionals working with teens to know the growth charts and to have good links with radiologists that understand growth plates - some tips for communicating with parents of teens - how to help navigate the rehabilitation timeline with teens (when a week feels like a year!) - how to set up your working environment to make it more "teen friendly" You can learn more about Dr Granger here: Facebook: @drjuliegranger Instagram: @drjuliegranger Twitter: @drjuliegranger If you would like to join her FB group and learn more about working with this population head to https://www.facebook.com/groups/healthproshealthyteens  And for those who want to deep dive and become the go-to expert in working with teens, then definitely check out her online course (commencing November 16th): http://bit.ly/healthprosforhealthyteens (using this code will help support our podcast by giving us a small commission).

In this episode, we finally manage to grab Dr Jo Milios back on the podcast. We spoke to Jo for over an hour this time last year...and sadly the technology let us down. Yes...it all got wiped. So thankfully Jo does not hate us and she kindly agreed to come back on the podcast! Dr Jo Milios is a physiotherapist based in Perth, Western Australia. She is passionate about helping men with urinary incontinence, Peyronie's disease and pelvic pain. Here are some of the topics that we discussed in the podcast - Jo's journey in physiotherapy and how she came to be working in men's health through a connection with her brother who is a urologist - how Jo became so passionate in helping men after radical prostatectomy (RP) regain their continence and sexual function, culminating in her completing her PhD in 2019. - the story of how she learnt about Peyronie's Disease through the experience of a young client and wanted to be able to help him. This led to her reaching out to international colleagues and trying therapeutic ultrasound to great effect - Jo then added yet another project to her PhD, demonstrating the efficacy of ultrasound on Peyronie's disease -she discusses the physiological changes that occur during prostate surgery and why there are changes in continence and sexual function. - how penile length changes can occur after surgery and some of the things that can be done to help maintain length - hard-flaccid syndrome - how some young men are suffering from too much vigorous self stimulation while watching porn. Can lead to hypersensitivity, pain, Peyronie's disease, depression/ anxiety etc - how it can take 2 years for the nerves to recover after RP, so during that time we want to maintain length and function but take the pressure away from sexual function. Only 22% of men regain sexual function after two years and in men over 60 - only 4% will regain sexual function if don't do penile rehabilitation -  ultrasound treatment for Peyronie's disease - how she performed her research study and some of the amazing results found. We may need to pull these machines out of the cupboard and dust them off! - why it's important for men to check their penis regularly (eg in the shower) and feel for any changes such as lumps and bumps.  - the importance of screening for erectile dysfunction (think: cardiovascular disease), urinary /bowel function and pelvic pain. We as health and fitness professionals need to be more proactive in this! - the importance of screening the spine in clients with urinary symptoms and how treatment of the spine (eg through manual therapy and/or exercise) could help relieve symptoms esp in those who seem to have good PFM function You can learn more from Jo by listening to her podcast with Melissa Hadley-Barrett - https://thepenisproject.org/  https://thepenisproj

****Apologies - this episode was released quickly on social media but Antony forgot to release it here. Enjoy!**** This is just a super quick episode to give you the heads up about Birth Trauma Awareness Week (6th-12th September 2020). You can help by: - donating money or buying a t-shirt  - raising money while doing a 5km walk - sharing your story - signing the petition to help women around Australia get access to postnatal pelvic health physiotherapy care Please see the links below for more information about how you can support this valuable cause. https://www.redbubble.com/i/t-shirt/The-ABTA-Start-the-Conversation-White-by-TheABTA/54578433.YIZYC?asc=u  https://www.birthtrauma.org.au/birth-trauma-awareness-week/  https://www.birthtrauma.org.au/change-org-campaign/  https://www.sbs.com.au/news/insight/prolapse-muscle-tears-and-trauma-why-women-need-better-support-post-birth?fbclid=IwAR10w6TxIMPN4hIRs9h_ZH3J0xeBQzYKX97t6T1fRLPdOgvRIrD3FYDPoFA

In this interview, we talk to Dr Jane Foster, educator and creator of MYTERN - a program designed to help people change their language around emotion and regain control! TERN = Take Emotional Responsibility Now. As an educator, she was concerned about the false narratives that were, and still are, embedded in our culture, disrupting people's lives and even ending them. She wanted to create a simple, every day language that could be used by everyone to build new positive narratives, eradicating stigma and judgement, enabling people to regain control of their mental and emotional state. A language that could replace blame, judgement and retaliation with empathy, compassion and responsibility. The culture of having to be happy and positive all the time is unrealistic and almost impossible to maintain - especially now. In this interview, Dr Foster talks about - her PhD project where she sent one text message per day to university students over a ten week period. She had astonishingly positive results in the test group, including increased psychological well-being, life satisfaction and purpose. They also had decreased psychological distress levels and there were several students who said that the program prevented them from committing suicide. - how MYTERN can be used in schools, homes and occupational settings. - how the program revolves around metaphors such as roads- you can be on a red (rough road) or a green (smooth road) in terms of your emotions. They are not necessarily "bad" and "good" roads- and we don't want aim for always being on those smooth roads. The red roads can help us with our resilience, as we will always come up against challenges in life. The idea is to be in control - whether we are on the red or the smooth roads. - how you can be out of control on red OR green roads. You can be on a green road and out of control - eg taking alcohol / drugs. You can also be in control on a red road - eg angry but responding in a calm way. - how being out of control in MYTERN means that you are hurting yourself, hurting someone else or hurting something else. - how the language can be simplified to - "are you on a red or green road? Are you in or out of control?" - how the analogy of the steering wheel works - YOU are in control of the car (your emotions) and how you respond. Other people can not make you feel a certain way. "YOU made me feel this way" is giving the other person all the power. and making yourself a victim. - MYTERN teaches you how to empty your glass - how little stresses build up over time and fill our glass. Minor stresses can help build health and resilience. - how people of different ages can use the MYTERN model - from young children and adolescents to adults (even corporations) - how sign language can be used to indicate when you're feeling out of control (extending the fingers, flexing the thumb across the palm) - the acronyms of PETs and TEPs.  - PE

Wow, this episode is a doozy! We think EVERYONE should listen to this episode, whether you are a medical /fitness professional or general public....this information is so important. After 23 years of misdiagnosis, Sallie embraced her struggles with endometriosis to forge a new pathway for all who suffer from the disease and its associated conditions. She is a practicing pelvic physical therapist specialising in endometriosis and subsequently occult hernia who has gone on to found The Endometriosis Summit - the largest patient and practitioner gathering for endometriosis in the United States with Dr Andrea Vidali and is a driving force behind iCareBetter, a new endometriosis education portal and video vetting system for endometriosis excisionists in North and South America. Sallie is currently weathering the USA's Covid life with her two poodles, and parents while doing telehealth to the endometriosis world. In this interview we discuss: - what endometriosis is and how common it is (one in ten women!!). - how those lesions make their own oestrogen (and progesterone) and nerve/blood supply. - why hysterectomies don't cure endometriosis - the history of diagnosis of endometriosis and some of the theories that have existed over time - how in endometriosis, the tissue can extend as far as the lungs and pericardium. The only organ in the body that hasn't been shown to have endo is the spleen! - how birth control can modulate the period but not the disease - how you can get endo in the skin - typically iatrogenic such as being dragged by a surgical scalpel - how diagnosis is made. Typically imaging is not helpful. Gold standard = laparoscopy. - Staging of the disease is not well correlated with pain experienced - the common symptoms associated with endo - including cramps, painful periods, IBS-like symptoms, pain with deep penetration, back pain, leg pain, tailbone pain, rib pain, leaking for no reason, increased urinary frequency, issues with fertility, nose bleeds with periods, neck pain and reflux, symptoms at ovulation (bowel problems worse with periods and ovulation) - how girls/women are often taught to be warriors and put up with pain. The message is often that period pain is normal and needs to be put up with. - some of the changes that are happening around the world to educate high school girls about periods (see resources below) - that symptoms may be there early in life such as inflammatory issues in the gut, but not diagnosed until older age when having fertility issues. - how early menstruation is associated with higher risk of endometriosis - teens don't always need to rush in for surgery. Birth control can modulate symptoms in some people. It does not treat the disease. - some of the conversations to be had around providing contraceptive pills in children. - how endometriosis itself can impact ovarian reserve - the receptor site sensitivity

In this interview, we talk to Inemesit Graham, fitness professional (and all-round incredible woman!) based in Yellowknife, Canada. This was a fantastic conversation that touched on so many topics, including: - her experiences moving to the UK from Nigeria and growing up in a predominantly white neighbourhood - her journey as a child having surgery for abdominal hernia and the trauma associated with that experience - how after her second child she struggled with body image issues related to her abdominal profile. She thought she was overweight and went on a weight loss journey and eventually discovered that she had diastasis recti. - her experience living with DRA and hernia and how she felt strengthening her body and learning to love it as it is was so important -how she started posting her workouts online and was told she was being negligent so she went and did qualifications to be certified as a fitness professional - how her whole life she has lived outside of other people's expectations. As a Nigerian it was expected that she study law or medicine, but she studied politics indeed and moved to Canada. - how she rarely sees people who look like her - at school, in magazines, in Canada. There was a period of time where she didn't want to be black, so she actively sought out black people to follow and listen to so that she could learn to love who she is. - covert versus overt racism and how important black representation is in the health and fitness industries as well as in tv/magazines. - how important it is to expose ourselves to different voices - how we need to be intentional in cultivating our social media feeds, so that we aren't just hearing one voice. - the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement. We have one world view and we have to listen to other people's life experiences. Ours is not the only story out there. Some people may not see racism but that does not mean it doesn't exist. How acknowledgement of other people's experience takes nothing from us, but could make the world of difference to that person. - her thoughts on the phrase "I don't see colour." She discussed how difficult it is to find makeup that suits her skin tone or to see women like her in advertisements. "When you don't see colour, people of colour become invisible in your society." - how #alllivesmatter is often posted out as a retort to #blacklivesmatter and that acknowledging that black people are 2.5x more likely to be killed by police is important. It diminishes the plight of black people to post this hashtag in a reactionary way. If you want to learn more about Inemesit or work with her, you can find her Email: [email protected]  Facebook: www.Facebook.com/MummyFitness  Twitter: www.twitter.com/inemesitg  Instagram: <a href=

In this interview we talk to Amy Dawes, founder of the Australasian Birth Trauma Association (ABTA). ABTA is a national charity committed to reducing the instance and impact of birth-related trauma whilst supporting affected women, families and health professionals. Amy discussed: - her birth experience and diagnosis of pelvic organ prolapse 16 months later. She talked about how this diagnosis affected her psychologically and impacted on her quality of life. She became scared of doing any movement or exercise and felt that she would make things worse. - how, with some assistance of a pelvic health physiotherapist and connecting with other women who had returned to exercise after prolapse diagnosis, Amy started to feel more confident in her body - how she connected with Elizabeth Skinner, psychologist, who mentioned the need for a birth trauma association here in Australia...and how the ABTA was formed (and a special shoutout to Christine Percy and Christine Pistone!). - the goals of the ABTA and how they support women through Peer to Peer mentoring. - that birth trauma can be physical, psychological or both. - the need for more comprehensive antenatal education, so women are aware of the potential risks associated with birth, without scaring the heck out of them. "Why didn't anyone tell me that this could happen?" - the fact that health care providers can also suffer trauma associated with supporting women in birth and that they don't always receive the help that they need. - how important it is to have care in birth that is supportive, nurturing and empowering. - how birth can trigger past trauma, which women may need psychological help for - how we can help support the ABTA and spread the word of these services to the community The ABTA relies on donations, so if you would like to help please reach out to the ABTA via the links below. Please share this information with anyone who you think might benefit! Website: https://www.birthtrauma.org.au/  Email: [email protected]  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/birthtrauma.org.au/  Twitter: @AusBirthTrauma

In this episode we talk to Vicki Webber - CrossFit Competitor and Box owner. Vicki shares with us - how she fell in love with CrossFit and went from being someone who never really did much lifting to being an international competitor - her pregnancy and birth experiences... and how different number four has been in comparison to the first three! - her recent postnatal experience including difficulties with bladder control and heaviness in the perineum - her experiences returning to CrossFit in the postnatal period - how she has found that changing the way that she moves (with guidance from her physiotherapist) has helped her symptoms of heaviness in the perineum. - her experience as a coach of the changes in post pregnancy information that is provided to pregnant and postnatal women - how her coaching has changed since having recent symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction We hope to chat to Vicko again in the future to see how she is getting on in her journey. You can learn more about Vicki here: https://www.steelcoastcrossfit.com/   https://www.facebook.com/vicki.webber.75  https://www.instagram.com/vwebbs2011  [email protected]

In this interview, Marika and Antony talk to Professor Peter O'Sullivan. Peter is a clinical researcher at Curtin University and specialist physiotherapist at Bodylogic Physiotherapy, Perth WA. With his team, he has published over 250 peer review articles on MSK pain and its management, His passion is empowering people disabled with pain to get back to living again. In this interview, we discuss - how COVID-19 is resulting in more anxiety and how this is showing up in clinics - helping people in pain via Telehealth - Pete's journey as a physiotherapist and in particular his thoughts around pain and how they have evolved over the years. (He even goes back to his experiences as a child and how family shaped his responses to pain). He talks about how frustrated he was with the biomechanical model of pain in his early years and how his personality as a rule breaker probably helped him to think outside the box and develop new ideas (alongside his colleagues). - things that you can do in order to keep growing professionally and how to create positive clinical environments - the pros and cons of doing patient demonstrations in front of live audiences - the Biopsychosocial Model - how the "Bio" is really important and not to be ignored. We also discussed where manual therapy and touch can fit into it (and when it is maybe not appropriate!). - Cognitive Functional Therapy (CFT) - the model that Pete and others created and how it is not about "talking to people" and a lot is based on building relationships and trust, as well as performing behavioural experiments. - minimum requirements for physiotherapists in order to implement CFT - incl a discussion on how for some people learning CFT is relatively easy whereas for others it takes a long time or it's just not a good fit. - bottom line - patient-centred care is where we should start. All models will be criticised/critiqued and will evolve over time, but if we put the person in the middle of their journey (and put our egos aside), we'll be doing a decent job of it. You can learn more about Pete at https://bodylogic.physio/  [email protected]

Ok, so this podcast is slightly different to our usual! In this episode we talk about neurodiversity...and in particular, Antony discusses his personal experience living with ADHD. We reiterate that we (Marika and Antony) are NOT neurologists, psychologists, psychiatrists etc - and we are definitely NOT experts in ADHD or other neurodevelopmental disorders. We just wanted to have a chat about - some of the difficulties associated with living with ADHD - in particular organisation/planning, staying focussed and getting tasks finished - how difficult social situations can be and the nuances that are often missed - how online forums can be particularly challenging (esp for those who are literal (black/white) thinkers - how medication has helped Antony (when he remembers to take it!) We hope that this generates a bit of conversation around neurodiversity - how thinking differently comes with challenges but how it can also result in incredible creativity! We need people that can think outside the box and support those who struggle with fitting into our neurotypical-biased community. Additional: In this episode, we start out by discussing Antony's upcoming mentoring program. To join, please head to: www.physiodetective.com/masterclass  Marika also discussed her online postnatal and pelvic "up and go" classes. If you would like to learn more, head to bodylogic.physio or email [email protected]. These classes can be attended by anyone living in Australia.

In this interview with Heather Edwards, Antony and Marika learn a lot about gender, sex, sexuality, BDSM and more! Heather has been a pelvic physical therapist since 2003 and is one of only a few AASECT (American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists) certified sex counselors in the world. As an artist, she has a line of coloring books the blend gender-inclusive genital anatomy with fun and approachable designs. As a producer and host, she created a sex-ed-in-a-bar event series, Vino & Vulvas, in 2015. In this episode, Heather tells us about her journey in pelvic health and how she fell into it when no one else wanted to! Along the way, Heather discovered an interest in sexuality and wanted to learn more about this topic, so she went on to do further studies. Some of the questions that we asked Heather were: - What does LGBTQIA stand for? - What is the difference between sex and gender? - As a health or fitness professional, how can we support people of all genders and orientations in our clinics? How important is the environment and our language? (NB Heather recommended the podcast Decolonising Fitness) - Where can health and fitness professionals learn more about supporting LGBTQIA clients? - When doing a subjective assessment, how do we create a safe space so that our clients feel comfortable sharing information? - What does BDSM stand for and how can knowledge of this area help in working with clients with pelvic pain? - When people talk of penetrative sex as being the goal, how can we introduce other aspects of sensuality into their rehabilitation program? - Are there any particular things you’d like pelvic health physiotherapists to know about gender reaffirmation surgery? Please go to the website www.womenshealthpodcast.com to download the coloring pages. You can find Heather: http://www.heatheredwardscreations.com  [email protected]  https://pelvicguru.com/event/trans-inclusive-trauma-informed-kink-aware-care-optimizing-sexual-wellness-in-atlanta-ga/

In this incredibly practical episode, we interview Teresa Waser and ask her for her top tips for helping female athletes. Teresa is an Orthopaedic and Pelvic Health physiotherapist, operating within a non-traditional model. She works at RX Physiotherapy, her clinic located within a CrossFit gym in Leduc, Alberta, Canada where she has also coached running clinics and CrossFit, particularly in older adults. She also has a special interest in pregnant and postpartum athletes. When not in the clinic, she acts as Senior Teaching Assistant for Antony Lo’s The Female Athlete course, in addition to teaching her own seminars independently. Teresa shares her journey within physiotherapy and her frustrations along the way as her beliefs were being challenged. She talks about when she discovered pain science and how her thought process changed after doing the Female Athlete Course and The Masterclass Program - Peak Simplicity - with Antony Lo. Teresa then goes on to outline her acronym TIIPPSS- FC that she developed to help give course participants, and later all health and fitness professionals, a framework to think about what aspects of the person's presentation they could change. T= tension to task (global and local) I = Impact (eg with the body or with equipment) I = Irritability (incl irritants of the pelvic organs or symptom irritability) P = Posture and Position (ie static and dynamic) P = Pressure (ie IAP. Modified by breathing, muscle contraction etc) S = Strategy (eg technique, scaling) S = Sensitivity (central and local. Consider sleep, stress, beliefs, attitudes etc) F = Fatigue (is the person experiencing symptoms at the end of a session?) C = Capacity (ie SAID principles) Teresa then gives examples of how these principles can be applied to clients. A client who has some mild low back pain with deadlifting. A client who has some leaking with running. You can learn more about Teresa here: Website: www.rxphysiotherapy.com  www.pelvicguru.com/professional/teresa-waser/  Email: [email protected] FB: www.fb.me/teresa.graysonwaser  www.fb.me/rxphysiotherapy  IG: www.instagram.com/rxphysio

Today we talk to Molly Galbraith, Woman-in-charge at Girls Gone Strong (GGS).  The GGS movement is dedicated to:  teaching women how to find their own version of strength and confidence from the inside out teaching parents how they can be better role models and leaders and helping professionals empower the women they work with We put the ball in your court and took questions from the community! Here are some questions that we asked: Where are the older female coaches? What challenges are they facing eg unemployment, recognition etc How did you get here – ie from the online business side of things to running courses in the Coaching and Training Women Academy? (Antony tries to sneak in more work for Marika to do in suggesting a webinar…hehe) Molly drops some great tips on WHY you need to be putting out great content even if you think that someone else has already done it before. What tips do you have for those who suffer Imposter Syndrome? What is your favourite family tradition? Resources:   Website: https://www.girlsgonestrong.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegirlsgonestrong/ https://www.instagram.com/themollygalbraith/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GirlsGoneStrong/ Facebook Groups: Health and Fitness Professionals: https://www.facebook.com/groups/GGSCoachingandTrainingWomen/ General public: https://www.facebook.com/groups/strongwomenlifteachotherup/ Pregnant/postnatal public: https://www.facebook.com/groups/StrongMomsSisterhood/ Free Home Workouts: https://www.girlsgonestrong.com/free-home-workouts-download Coalition of Health and Fitness Leaders Resource Pack: https://www.precisionnutrition.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/CHFL_Coaching-Resource-Package.pdf Coalition of Health and Fitness Leaders website (where the weekly expert panels take place): https://healthandfitnesscoalition.com/ Brene Brown podcast on Comparative Suffering: <a href='https://brenebr

Today we talk to Molly Galbraith, Woman-in-charge at Girls Gone Strong (GGS).  The GGS movement is dedicated to:  teaching women how to find their own version of strength and confidence from the inside out teaching parents how they can be better role models and leaders and helping professionals empower the women they work with We put the ball in your court and took questions from the community! Here are some questions that we asked: What is the Coalition of Health and Fitness Leaders and how are you helping health and fitness professionals during the COVID-19 outbreak? What is your health and fitness story? Tell us about your journey. When did you feel that your self-worth was no longer connected to your body shape? How long did it take you to get on top of your body image issues? How can you cultivate and strengthen a mindset that will help us through the next few weeks? Any nutritional advice for women with hypothyroidism? (Molly shares her personal experience)  Resources:   Website: https://www.girlsgonestrong.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegirlsgonestrong/ https://www.instagram.com/themollygalbraith/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GirlsGoneStrong/ Facebook Groups: Health and Fitness Professionals: https://www.facebook.com/groups/GGSCoachingandTrainingWomen/ General public: https://www.facebook.com/groups/strongwomenlifteachotherup/ Pregnant/postnatal public: https://www.facebook.com/groups/StrongMomsSisterhood/ Free Home Workouts: https://www.girlsgonestrong.com/free-home-workouts-download Coalition of Health and Fitness Leaders Resource Pack: https://www.precisionnutrition.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/CHFL_Coaching-Resource-Package.pdf Coalition of Health and Fitness Leaders website (where the weekly expert panels take place): https://healthandfitnesscoalition.com/ Brene Brown podcast on Comparative Suffering: <a href='https://brenebrown.com/podcas

In this episode we talk to Dr Juan Michelle Martin. Dr. Martin is a pelvic floor physical therapist and telehealth consultant. She is the owner of JMM Health Solutions, a concierge practice offering in person and virtual sessions as well as the creator of the Zero to Telehealth and Telehealth Taster programs designed to get clinicians confidently started with and executing telehealth sessions with their clients. We asked her lots of questions about how Telehealth has been helpful for her clients and she shared some fantastic ideas on how we can use this current situation as an opportunity to connect with people and help those in more rural areas. Some of the highlights in this podcast: - Her subjective assessment is collating the intake forms and then listening. - Assessment can be ADLS in their environment. Watch them perform the aggravating task. - In regards to treatment, always bring it back to the client’s goals - Use social media as an opportunity to promote yourself as a specialist. Speak to the people. - Get people on a video call rather than telephone call. It can help get them used to the idea of telehealth - Before going online, get the legal stuff sorted. Become a legal entity, to protect yourself. Get consent forms, privacy, communication policy etc all sorted BEFORE starting. Make sure you have liability insurance and that it includes telehealth. - In the USA you can only practice telehealth for clients that reside in states that you are licensed in. This is not a limitation though – most states have large populations and you have an opportunity to reach out to people in isolated areas. - Consider doing a check-in with patients via video - If you are a clinic owner, consider having a pelvic health PT that can consult via Telehealth. - In the future, perhaps clients can have their physical therapist on video phone to be with them in consults with their doctor A huge thank you to Dr Martin for her time today. It has given us lots of food for thought! Juan Michelle has kindly shared her Telehealth consent form. You can find that here: https://www.jmmhealthsolutions.com/offers/wWeW93xn  There are also more Telehealth resources at www.jmmhealthsolutions.com/telehealth  You can find her at Website: https://www.jmmhealthsolutions.com  Facebook: www.facebook.com/JMMHealthSolutions  IG: www.instagram.com/thepelvicperspective   Phone: +1 (770) 569-3572

In this podcast we talk to Julie Granger, a physiotherapist who you may remember from episode 20 when we talked about working with teenagers. In this episode we talk about transitioning to Telehealth and how you can maintain your Telesanity! There are a LOT of gems in this episode, including - how to help patients calm down, by encouraging them to feel the emotions and sit in them for 2mins - how to assess and provide treatment via telehealth. She encourages you to brainstorm a previous client that you couldn’t do manual therapy with and think about how that would work in an online situation. - Consider that 70% of the clients outcome is from lifestyle, 20% genetics and 10% what we do - Her favourite author David Hawkins (esp the book “Letting Go") - Think about who YOU are. Don’t put your identity in your profession. Eg I am me. I practise physical therapy. I choose to have these things. - Do as much as possible and as little as necessary - In regards to technology, if you have a system in place and it is compliant, stick with what you know. If it can be integrated, go with it. Make sure it is sorted in terms of legal and compliance.. then just get on and treat patients… - How to help those clients who want/ expect manual therapy from their physical therapist. Break patients into groups- those that will follow you regardless should be booked straight away. Those who are "manual therapy or die" – like trying to turn the Titanic. Start planting seeds now. Consider a complimentary 15 min chat or every few weeks touch base and share stories of how you’ve helped others through telehealth - Establish a human connection. “How are you?” Acknowledge their goals. Consider the what and how – and ask the client where they would like to start. Julie uses progress forms for each session. - Each new session ask: “What 3 things went well since last session?” “What are the top three hiccups to success?” and “What are the three things you want to focus on?” - Use reflective listening. Repeat their statements with no tone. Patient will hear it and verify the truth of it. Ask what and how questions such as : what if it did get better? What would you do with your time? - Give the client options for management and ask which one they would like to choose. - Wrap up with reassessment, measure change/ outcomes. Ask: how do you feel? - Create business hours for yourself: don’t offer client bookings outside of that. Do admin time if you don’t have clients, not at night. Set boundaries - Choose an electronic scheduler that is HIPAA compliant. Calendly Acuity - Re: billing. Be very specific when you ask insurance companies about telehealth rebate and get it in writing To find and follow Julie, here are her socials: www.drjuliegranger.com/energizeyourhealth  www.drjuliegranger.c

In this episode, Antony talks with Maggie Bergeron, the co-founder of Embodia. Antony and Maggie were messaging after having done the #PTTogether Episode 2 webinar earlier (available free on Embodia!). Anyway, Maggie mentioned she was up late because she had been busy doing support during this busy time with all the changes with COVID-19 and there had been some technical hiccups with their transition from Zoom for Business to Zoom for Healthcare... ...and so Antony, ever the questioner, had to ask why they were moving to Zoom for Healthcare since they are an education company! Listen to the episode for the details but the bottom line is that subscription members of Embodia have access to unlimited free 40mins Zoom for Healthcare consults including bookings and sending home exercise program videos! And they are simply passing on the cost if you want longer than 40mins! That's unbelievably good value considering Zoom for healthcare for one person would cost at least 10 times that amount of money! So please take advantage of the fact that you can contact Maggie and ask any questions you need to. Please note that NO COMMISSIONS OR PAYMENT was received for this podcast. Antony thought it was a great initiative and wanted to share this with you all. Maggie Bergeron is a registered physiotherapist who received her Master of Science in Physical Therapy from McMaster University in 2009 after completing her undergraduate studies at the University of Ottawa. Maggie co-founded Embodia in 2014 to modernize the patient experience and to provide a simple, easy way to take continuing education courses to all physiotherapists and rehabilitation practitioners, regardless of their location, budget or area of practice. Maggie is also the host of HealthTO - a health technology event that brings together 200 health tech enthusiasts bi-monthly to network, learn, and collaborate. She has been an invited speaker at Universities, technology symposiums and healthcare conferences across Canada. Maggie currently serves as a mentor, placement host and holds a Status-Only Appointment (lecturer ranking) with the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Toronto. Outside of work, Maggie enjoys travelling, rock climbing and attempting to play ultimate frisbee. You can contact Maggie at Embodia via the links below: www.embodiaapp.com   www.instagram.com/embodia   www.facebook.com/embodia

In this special episode, we speak to Dr Susan Clinton, physical therapist/physiotherapist extraordinaire, about how long periods of stress can affect our health and well being... and what we can do to try to combat this. Around the globe, huge changes have been taking place since the arrival of COVID-19. Our daily routines and the simplicity of things like going to the gym or having a coffee with friends have been completely upended. We are all feeling some degree of anxiety, wondering "when will this end? How bad is it going to get?" So we asked Susan, who has a love for the parasympathetic nervous system to come and give us some tips on how we can take care of ourselves during these difficult times. Here are some of her thoughts in point form (we recommend listening to the whole thing though, so you can hear Susan expand on them): 1. Create a schedule 2. Break bread with friends and family eg over facetime 3. Habit stack 4. Practice self compassion (https://self-compassion.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/self-compassion.break_.mp3) 5. Find movement/exercise daily. Try and get a combination including slower forms such as tai chi or yoga. 6. Put the phone away 7. Consume alcohol on occasion only (eg for celebration, not regularly to relax or self soothe!) 8. Work on sleep hygiene. Get rid of those screens! Consider how you feel when you wake up in the morning. We also had a great chat about children and how we can model some of those behaviours for our own kids during this period of homeschooling. This was a wonderful chat and we are grateful for Susan sharing her time and compassion during this time. You can find Susan at: https://embody-pt.com/  https://www.thegeniusptproject.com/  https://toughtotreat.com/

In this episode, we get to talk to the amazing Jilly Bond. We talked about Pelvic Pain - in particular Bladder Pain Syndrome, A biopsychosocial approach and why (and some of the how) we deal with the psychosocial side of things within our scope of practice, Virtual consultations, How to manage burnout Jilly shares her own story about this as well as the difficulties of COVID-19 for her right now, and Coffee! The content was so epic, we had to break it down into 2 episodes! Jilly Bond is a pelvic health Physiotherapist based in Wales, UK, with a specialist interest in pelvic pain. She is a regular speaker at international conferences, runs professional development courses for physios in the UK and online and her Youtube channel has free resources for patients and clinicians. Her research interests include understanding how graded motor imagery may help in the treatment of centralised mechanisms in visceral pain. If you're interested in pelvic pain she'd love to hear from you. You can find Jilly in many ways, outline below: Website - http://www.JillyBond.com Email - [email protected]  Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/JillyBondPhysio/ Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/jilly_bond Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jillybondphysio/

In this episode, we get to talk to the amazing Jilly Bond. We talked about Pelvic Pain - in particular Bladder Pain Syndrome, A biopsychosocial approach and why (and some of the how) we deal with the psychosocial side of things within our scope of practice, Virtual consultations, How to manage burnout Jilly shares her own story about this as well as the difficulties of COVID-19 for her right now, and Coffee! The content was so epic, we had to break it down into 2 episodes! Jilly Bond is a pelvic health Physiotherapist based in Wales, UK, with a specialist interest in pelvic pain. She is a regular speaker at international conferences, runs professional development courses for physios in the UK and online and her Youtube channel has free resources for patients and clinicians. Her research interests include understanding how graded motor imagery may help in the treatment of centralised mechanisms in visceral pain. If you're interested in pelvic pain she'd love to hear from you. You can find Jilly in many ways, outline below: Website - http://www.JillyBond.com Email - [email protected]  Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/JillyBondPhysio/ Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/jilly_bond Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jillybondphysio/

In this episode, we start with another update on what is happening in Sydney and Perth in regards to COVID-19 (19th March 2020). We talk about how it is affecting client numbers, as well as the anxiety and stress felt by health and fitness professionals around the globe. We then talk about how we might help a client with pelvic organ prolapse via Telehealth. We share some of our ideas on how we might conduct a subjective and objective examination, as well as ideas for management. We discuss some of the limitations of Telehealth as well as some of our own fears associated with treating without the use of our hands! Resources: Antony Lo online courses www.physiodetective.com/courses Code for discount on Embodia: AntonyLo30 Marika Hart- online pregnancy education and exercise program Herasphere Pregnancy Club: https://herasphere.net/online-program/ Code for 40% discount: corona

In this episode, we really just wanted to have a chat about what is going on in our lives and the effect that COVID-19 is having right now (18th March 2020). We both feel that social distancing is a necessity in order to (hopefully) flatten the curve... but we worry that this potentially long period of isolation could lead us all to feel lonely, scared and disconnected. We would like to really support our community and put out some more frequent podcasts during this time. We have already lined up some Telehealth experts, pain specialists and other amazing health/fitness professionals to have a chat to. If you would like to get in touch, please do so via email or Facebook. We'd love to hear how we can help you all. Let's pull together as a community and get through this. Lots of love to everyone. Marika and Antony Those FB groups for interested physios: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TelehealthPTs/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/1110987192400998/

In this episode, we have the pleasure of interviewing Lily Nichols about nutrition in pregnancy- and some may consider this one a little controversial. Lily Nichols is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, Certified Diabetes Educator, researcher, and author with a passion for evidence-based prenatal nutrition. Her work is known for being research-focused, thorough, and unapologetically critical of outdated dietary guidelines. She is the author of two bestselling books, Real Food for Pregnancy and Real Food for Gestational Diabetes. In this interview, we cover - where Lily developed her passion for pre/postnatal nutrition. - how her approach to prenatal nutrition differs from what we've all been hearing for years (and why some of what we've been told just doesn't make sense!) - what some of the things that she finds women need to add to their diet in pregnancy that perhaps they are missing out on - how postnatal nutrition may support recovery of connective tissue in the mother as well as breastfeeding. - some tips on how an expectant mom can plan ahead for her postpartum recovery so she doesn’t have to worry about shopping and cooking right after giving birth This interview was a cracker and we both learnt a lot from Lily! Please check out some her free articles and considering buying her books if you are pregnant or have gestational diabetes! https://lilynicholsrdn.com/real-food-postpartum-recovery-meals/ https://lilynicholsrdn.com/prenatal-guidelines-updated/ https://lilynicholsrdn.com/vegetarian-diet-in-pregnancy   https://www.amazon.com/Real-Food-Pregnancy-Prenatal-Nutrition-ebook/dp/B079H8LL9L https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0986295000/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

In Episode #25 we have the great pleasure in interviewing Carolyn Vandyken - an extremely knowledgeable and experienced pelvic health and musculoskeletal physiotherapist (and educator!) based in Canada. This is a must-listen for anyone who works with clients who have musculoskeletal pain or pelvic floor dysfunction - ie EVERYONE! Carolyn is a physiotherapist, educator, researcher and advocate in the areas of low back pain, pelvic health and pain science. She has been practicing for 33 years and is passionate about helping therapists get out of their silos and integrate a biopsychosocial perspective. Her research is in the area of connecting pelvic health to low back pain. In this interview, we discuss - what pelvic pain is and what it might look like - the link between the lumbar spine and pelvic pain - how pelvic floor dysfunction might masquerade as other types of musculoskeletal pain such as low back or groin pain - why pelvic floor screening is so important for all musculoskeletal /sports physiotherapists and fitness professionals to consider and how they might go about it - why consideration of the whole person is so important when helping clients with symptoms of pelvic pain or pelvic floor dysfunction If you would like to get in touch with Carolyn Vandyken you can find her at: https://www.physioworksmuskoka.com  Here are some of the articles that Carolyn wanted to share with everyone: Hilton S, Vandyken C. 2011. The puzzle of pelvic pain. A rehabilitation framework for balancing tissue dysfunction and central sensitization, I: Pain physiology and evaluation for the physical therapist. JWHPT 35:103-113. Vandyken C, Hilton S. 2012. The puzzle of pelvic pain. A rehabilitation framework for balancing tissue dysfunction and central sensitization, II: A review of treatment considerations. JWHPT 36:44-54. Louw A., Hilton, S. Vandyken C. 2014. Why Pelvic Pain Hurts: Neuroscience education for patients with pelvic pain. Minneapolis: OPTP. Vandyken C., Chapter contribution to the IASP proceedings of the 1st International Congress on Abdomino-pelvic pain, 2014. Vandyken C., Hilton S.: An Integrative Approach to Physiotherapy; Chapter contribution in Padoa, A., & Rosenbaum, T. The Overactive Pelvic Floor (2016). Vandyken C., Hilton S. 2017. Physical Therapy in the Treatment of Central Pain Mechanisms in Female Sexual Dysfunction. Sex Med Rev 5: 20-30 Dufour, S., Vandyken, B., Forget, M., & Vandyken, C. (2018). Association between lumbopelvic pain and pelvic floor dysfunction in women: A cross sectional study. Musculoskeletal Science and Practice, 34, 47-53. Keizer, A., Vandyken, B., Vandyken, C., Yardley, D., Macedo, L., Kuspinar, A., Faghani, N., Forget, MJ., & Dufour, S. 2019. Predictors of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction Among Women with Lumbopelvic Pain. Physical Therapy

This episode is a little different in that we have a guest host - none other than Antony's daughter, Amie Lo. When Antony mentioned that we were having the privilege to interview Molly Galbraith (Women in Charge of Girls Gone Strong) again and that we were going to be talking about body positivity, Amie had so many great questions for us that we thought it would be great if she asked Molly herself! In this episode Molly shares her journey with us and how she turned her life (and her health) around by healing her relationship with her body. Some of the things that she found helped were: 1. Noticing when she was having negative thoughts about her body and how often she was saying really negative things about herself and her body. 2. Getting clear on her values and what she believed. 3. Questioning the thoughts she was having and how they did not align with her values 
4. Moving her thoughts from negative to positive
 (she gives a great example here regarding chronic pain) 5. Focusing on things related to her body that had nothing to do with how her body looked. This could include what her body could do, how her body served her and what value she added to the world. 
6. Curating what images she exposed herself to on social media…
 Some other questions that Amie asked include: - do you get affected by social media influences like IG models? - does posting on social media cause any anxiety? - do you ever get tempted to photoshop or alter your photos? Please listen and share this interview with your friends and family. This is a great one for your teenage girls! If you want to get in touch with Molly you can find her at: www.girlsgonestrong.com https://www.facebook.com/mollymgalbraith/ https://www.facebook.com/GirlsGoneStrong/ https://www.instagram.com/themollygalbraith/ https://www.instagram.com/thegirlsgonestrong/ We'd also like to share GGS free 5-day course on pre/postnatal coaching! * * What You Must Know About Pelvic Health - Your Ultimate Guide To Working With Pre- & Postnatal Clients Sign up here: http://bit.ly/33GKbEw Did you know that 67-75% of people who hire a coach or trainer are women, and 85% of women will have a baby in their life. The curriculum for this course was developed by world-leading pelvic health physiotherapists, OB/GYNs, PhDs, pre- and postnatal fitness experts, university researchers and other women’s healthcare team members -- so you can feel confident it’s up-to-date and evidence-based. Sign up here: http://bit.ly/33GKbEw ***Disclosure Notice - By choosing to use the link, you will be supporting The Women’s Health Podcast. The money the podcast earns goes back to supporting the technical running of the podcast and donating to our chosen charities. Please click the link and support the podcast! Thank you!

In this episode we have the pleasure of speaking to Chantal Traub - a doula based in NY city. Chantal is an active birth doula, childbirth educator, pre/postnatal yoga teacher and MUTU Systems trainer and has been assisting expecting families in New York City for 17 years. She is also a Women's Health Coach empowering moms through (Peri) Menopause. She created her workshop Pushing Power (2nd stage Labor & The Pelvic Floor) to help moms with the education, knowledge and the tools to set themselves up for a functional, meaningful and positive birth experience and full postpartum recovery. Some of the topics that we discussed were: -The relationship between baby and pelvis during birth (it's worth watching the video to see her demonstration on this!) - The role of the Pelvic Floor during birth - Understanding 2nd Stage Labor - How women can best prepare ahead of time You can learn more about Chantal on her website: https://www.chantaltraub.com or contact her via email: [email protected]

In this episode, we chat to Lisa Ryan, Crossfit competitor and Pregnancy and Postnatal Athleticism coach. Lisa has a fascinating story to share about her experiences through pregnancy and postnatally, in particular her journey in living with significant diastasis recti and her ultimate decision to have surgery. Lisa tells us her story about - how she came to love Crossfit and find that she was a competitor - how she discovered that she had diastasis recti after her first pregnancy - her journey with different physiotherapists and coaches between her pregnancies and during her second pregnancy - diastasis recti and body image - her decision to have surgery for the abdominal separation and how she found the right surgeon - her pre-operative plan - her emotions leading up to the surgery and how she felt in the early weeks post-surgery - her post-surgical recovery to date- including those first few weeks - her tips for women considering surgery You can learn more about Lisa here: Website: https://lisa-ryan.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LisaMarieRyan22/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisa.marie.ryan/

Get prepared to feel pumped up! In this episode we talk to the amazing Dr Carrie Pagliano (DPT) about - her story (why she became a pelvic health PT and her work with the American Physical Therapy Association) - what a pelvic health PT actually does - what an assessment might look like with a pelvic health PT - what kind of treatments may be offered - how physical therapists can get more involved in working in pelvic health. This episode is great for those who are considering a visit to a pelvic health PT but perhaps don't know what to expect. Or if you are a health or fitness professional and have maybe heard about pelvic health PT and think you might have clients who need this service and want to learn more...this is well worth a listen! You can find Dr Carrie Pagliano at https://carriepagliano.com/ https://www.facebook.com/CarriePaglianoPT/ https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/ <a href='https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FCarriePagliano%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR02_yNWCAryn3-fiBvIuGIeIua2we811zGBus5XhKE0Oz9oa0FJNX3-Szg&h=AT1FIrjbim4SSyqpieYpjATomh9cV4WqFh3WrWi92LOKsBqc6e5IPgCa0nx6rOtG_E0RdGe6PkpvtrpO5zW3SeDrJXovLnlS32LdGeAEdet2thqTOb8B2yFF556gMrcuyLprOsOyovVUO2pxgZIU1LzbdNJjhL0DNEcIu_YjfcOgjI-Iirs5lIrdFoE1L3zItvqMB7r82sZn3HjPeJIro3229lDswNeYxKiAulsQOJKyOJqpnXw5K5WMP3yWv3_MKhxrBHQa2780uXu4D3E-kQR6vQyJq_jTvXqNVAujoL_Jih_1LZRIv4SMK2zPEw9F-wzDzVw7cpGADmg3r_9pLXMVnI5vQPL4s28szdxyVVkwNZ7suNnQJWqELOPrLs0UV1IZcUj

Dr Julie Granger (DPT) speaks with Marika and Antony about hormonal teenagers, painful periods, working with elite female athletes...and so much more! In a nutshell, we ask Julie: - Why are you so passionate about working with young women? - What are some of the issues you see that are unique to young female athletes? Do you feel that this has changed in recent years? (eg more stress on athletes, technology etc) - What tips would you give to mothers of a driven teenager? - What tips would you give to teenage athletes - esp those with big dreams? To find and follow Julie, here are her socials: www.drjuliegranger.com/energizeyourhealth www.drjuliegranger.com Dr. Julie Granger at PRISM Wellness Center And here is an ebook book written by Julie specifically for young female athletes: https://buildstrongirls.com/…/the-young-female-athletes-pl…/ And for those that don't know Julie, here is her bio: Dr. Julie Granger, PT, DPT, SCS, WHC is a teen & women’s health and life coach, sports physical therapist, and career and business coach to physios and health professionals. She specializes in holistic treatment and coaching of active, busy women, teens and professionals. Julie is fluent in “speaking teenager” and has a passion for helping girls and women find simple ways to fix or prevent health problems without sacrificing their whole lives to do it. She also loves helping health pros do more with less in their businesses or careers so they can spend more time living and less time working. Dr. Granger loves sharing her passion & knowledge with others as an accomplished speaker. She is an adjunct clinical professor in the Emory University Doctor of Physical Therapy program, from where she also received her DPT degree & performed research on the holistic sports health of girl and teen athletes. She has lectured both nationally and internationally & is faculty member for the Integrative Women’s Health Institute (IWHI). In early 2017 Julie published her first book, The Young Female Athlete’s Playbook. As a lifelong elite swimmer & cancer survivor, Dr. Granger knows firsthand what her clients are stacked up against. Now in an international coaching practice, she helps show women and teens that health is more than a never ending series of appointments, supplements, nutrition changes and out of the box lifestyle changes. Instead, she helps them embody the universal human truth that health begins and ends with the state of mind that we hold. Dr. Granger swam collegiately at Duke University where she majored in child & adolescent developmental psychology. In her free time she enjoys swimming, being outdoors, drawing and painting, playing the clarinet, and traveling and adventuring with her husband, Daniel, and Labrador pup, Aspen.

Lindsay Vaughn asks a question that is often asked so Antony decided to make this an episode since so many people want to know about lifting belts. Lindsay's question was actually about a male client she has but the information is very relevant for female athletes and one of the most common questions on Antony's course - The Female Athlete. Lindsay Vaughn is a CrossFit Games athlete and coach and owner of CrossFit Ballina on the beautiful NSW north coast.

Grainne Donnelly and Emma Brockwell join us to discuss the recent publication of their Post Partum Return To Running Guidelines. You can find the guidelines here - https://mailchi.mp/38feb9423b2d/returning-to-running-postnatal-guideline

Lifting Weights and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction Show notes by Elaine Stevenson of The Myotherapy Reading Room - https://www.patreon.com/MyotherapyRea... - see below for more details. Show Notes: Antony Lo is the co-host of The Women’s Health Podcast. In addition to his degree in Physiotherapy he also holds a Masters in Physiotherapy and took part in the Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy Specialisation training program – the highest form of training a physiotherapist can take in Australia. Antony’s special interests include pelvic floor issues, antenatal and postnatal, and strength-based training. In this podcast, Antony and co-host Marika introduce the topic of lifting weights, focussing on pelvic floor dysfunction in the context of some of the common myths. Themes covered in the discussion include: - different types of lifting, including techniques, standards, rules (for sport-related lifts) - relationship between weight and repetitions (reps) - strategies for lifting - common reasons why patients seek assistance from strength-based health professionals when lifting - physical therapy as a ‘legal performance enhancing’ intervention - considerations for women experiencing pelvic organ prolapse - role of a women’s health physio for return to lifting - important information to obtain from your women’s health physio - biomechanics and movement variability - breathing / breath techniques - loading strategies - diastasis and lifting Links: Biography: http://physiodetective.com/antony-lo/ Website: http://physiodetective.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/physiodetec... YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9j2... Twitter: https://twitter.com/physiodetective Facebook: <a href='https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&v=dNMVCNQO9X4&q=https%3A%

Amy Eicher’s SIJ Pain Story Show notes by Elaine Stevenson of The Myotherapy Reading Room - https://www.patreon.com/MyotherapyReadingRoom - see below for more details. Amy Eicher is an Author, Speaker, Pain Coach, clinician, athlete, and mother of two who, having spent years trying to get back her life from the abyss of pain, now focuses on empowering women with persistent pain to restore their lives through movement, self-discovery and education. In this podcast, Amy speaks with Antony and Marika about her journey from being an elite level swimmer via a painful injury which was attributed to a ligamentous strain in the SI joint, which took her out of the pool and which culminated in years of pain, tears and frustration followed by surgery which failed to deliver the promised resolution. In telling her story, the discussion covers the following: how explanations and environment influence pain; the role of fear; Amy’s journey through different therapists, therapeutic approaches and explanations, including physical therapy, surgery and medication; how living with pain has the potential to shrink one’s world; the importance of being able to get back to things that mattered (eg swimming, friends); strategies for managing pain and flare-ups; getting out of the abyss; recognising positives; challenging believes and why it’s not always the most important facet of care; understanding communication styles and needs; calming stuff down; and building stuff up. Links: Book: https://www.amazon.com/Restoring-Venus-Journey-Chronic-Possibilities-ebook/dp/B07PND16JW Biography:  http://restoringvenus.com/about-me-pain-coach/  Website:   http://restoringvenus.com/  Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/RestoringVenus/ Instagram:   https://www.instagram.com/restoringvenus/  Podcast: http://restoringvenus.com/podcast/  Email:    [email protected] Sponsored by the Myotherapy Reading Room  The Myotherapy Reading Room provides a curated, keyword-indexed feed of topical peer review paper, podcasts, clinical practice guidelines and systematic reviews together with links to related papers and resources, all specifically selected to support subscribing clinici

TWHP – 013 –What is important to your doctor and trainer? With Dr Amal Hassan and Elizabeth Davies   Show notes Sponsored by Elaine Stevenson of The Myotherapy Reading Room - https://www.patreon.com/MyotherapyReadingRoom - see below for more details.   Dr Amal Hassan is a UK-based Sports and Medicine Exercise Physician who completed her Masters degree in the sub-speciality of female athletic health.  She experienced difficulties returning to exercise after the birth of her first child and as a result of that experience is now focussing on updating information available in the UK for postnatal women on meeting national physical activity guidelines.   Elizabeth Davies is a personal trainer who specialises in the needs of female clients in the west and south-west of London.  She has two children and as a result of her own experiences in returning to returning to exercise after the birth of her second child, decided to leave her career as a barrister to retrain in the fitness industry.  Elizabeth often works in partnership with women’s health physios and is passionate about helping women to get back to the activities they love, as well as empowering them to perhaps try something new.    In this podcast, Amal, Elizabeth and Antony discuss the need for better information for postnatal women and the role of ‘The Pelvic Floor Patrol’.   Themes covered in the discussion include: - Experiencing pelvic floor ‘dysfunction’ as a mum - The lack of awareness among fitness professionals about pelvic floor ‘dysfunction’ - Difficulties postnatal women experience in accessing information about resuming physical activity - Physical activity guidelines; what they are and the role they play - Pelvic health barriers to resuming activity - The need for positive, aspirational and empowering health information   - The potential mental health burden of restrictive advice - The importance of focussing on how women conceptualise their physical state - Remaining active throughout life - Importance of educating health and fitness professionals about pelvic floor issues - Pelvic health screening in fitness settings - Self-assessment and self-measurement - The need for governments to review/revise policy re pelvic health issues - The role of ‘safety-netting’ - Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDS) - The need for individualised care and goal-centred approaches for women returning to physical activity - The importance listening to patients and constantly reflecting on the validity of one’s own knowledge and preconceptions   Related Reading and Resources: Better Birth Initiative: https://www.rcm.org.uk/better-births-initiative  Start active, stay active: infographics on physical activity: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/start-active-sta

Show notes by Marika Hart and Elaine Stevenson of The Myotherapy Reading Room - https://www.patreon.com/MyotherapyReadingRoom Show Notes: Molly Gallbraith is a US-based Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Coach who has experience in cheerleading, gymnastics, figure competition and bodybuilding. She co-founded Girls Gone Strong. She has dedicated her life to helping women “give themselves grace and compassion when it comes to their bodies so that they can discover and accept what their best body looks like”. In this podcast, Molly Galbraith discusses the postnatal period, with particular reference to the issue of body image after pregnancy. Themes covered in the discussion include: The pressure women experience to ‘bounce-back’ after the birth of a child Physical and mental changes that occur during pregnancy and in the post-natal period How these changes impact on a woman’s self-image Advice for mum (of children of all ages) to help us learn to love our post-partum bodies Tips for health and fitness professionals to support women in achieving their goals Related Resources: Pre- and Post-Natal Coaching Certification (CPPC): https://go.girlsgonestrong.com/cppc-enrollment-order?affiliate_id=1279297 (Clicking this link will support the podcast - all commissions earned will go to keeping the podcast technical costs and the charities we support) Other Links: Biography: http://mollygalbraith.com/about/ Websites: https://www.girlsgonestrong.com/and http://mollygalbraith.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MollyGalbraith Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themollygalbraith/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GirlsGoneStrong YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/GirlsGoneStrong