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Pelvic pain care doesn’t just involve patients learning to feel safe, it demands clinicians feel regulated too. In this episode, I’m joined by Dr Thea Bowler, a gynaecologist and fertility specialist with advanced training in pelvic pain, pain management, and laparoscopic surgery. Thea combines evidence-based medicine with a compassionate, whole-person approach, helping patients and practitioners understand that true healing begins with safety and awareness of the nervous system. Alongside her is Paula Hindle, a physiotherapist and educator known for her integrative, nervous-system-informed approach to pelvic health. Paula blends movement, breath, and body connection with trauma-informed care, helping women (and the clinicians who treat them) move from protection into trust and ease. Together, this powerhouse duo from Vera Wellness discuss the nervous system’s role in pelvic pain, and how their new resource supports both patients and practitioners. We explore what it means for clinicians to regulate themselves, how that helps prevent burnout, and why our own state directly influences patient outcomes. Unfortunately we are missing the wonderful Dr. Peta Wright, who is part of this brilliant team and founder of Vera. This conversation is for anyone treating or living with pelvic pain — and for every practitioner who needs the reminder that you can’t pour from an empty cup.   Vera Education Links here

On this episode of The Pelvic Health Podcast we were joined by Dr Laura Whitburn, Senior Lecturer and researcher at La Trobe University, to explore The Meaning of Labour Pain and the groundbreaking research behind it. Dr Whitburn’s work reframes labour pain—showing that the way women interpret and give meaning to pain during childbirth plays a pivotal role in their experience and coping, and that pain perceived as purposeful and productive is often associated with greater resilience and more positive outcomes. Drawing on qualitative studies and contemporary pain science, she highlights how social context, mindset, and supportive care can shape women’s pain experiences in labour. Tune in to hear her insights on how this research can empower women and inform more woman-centred approaches to childbirth.   Enjoy!! And find her research here: Dr Laura Whitburn

Part 2 is finally ready for everyone to listen to - or watch on YouTube! If you haven't listened to or watched Part 1, head back catch up, this is our continued conversation. Jo, Tam and myself dive further into my PhD studies - looking at pelvic floor symptoms between women doing CrossFit and women only running, objectively assessing pelvic floor support in supine versus standing, and more of the ins and outs of a PhD. We also discuss some more benefits of transperineal ultrasound in the clinic. For more info on learning this: Lori's online courses HERE Tam's wonderful PELVIC HEALTH COMMUNITY Jo: The Physiotherapy Clinic Lori's PhD THESIS!!!! Enjoy!

🎙️ NEW EPISODE ALERT! 🎙️ We're thrilled to share our conversation with Alison Deslandes, specialist sonographer and endometriosis researcher, who's breaking down the game-changing role of ultrasound in endometriosis detection. If you are missing out on the current action at the World Congress on Endo, catch her here and stalk her on insta. ✨ In this episode, we dive into: How specialized ultrasound is revolutionizing endo diagnosis Australia's new Medicare rebate for endometriosis investigations (finally!) Why seeking out specialist ultrasound clinics makes all the difference for accurate assessment For too long, women have been told their pain is "normal" or that nothing shows up on standard scans. Alison explains why specialized training and dedicated endo ultrasound clinics are crucial for getting the answers women deserve. This is essential listening for anyone navigating an endo diagnosis, supporting someone who is, or working in women's health. Knowledge is power, and proper diagnosis is the first step toward better care. Link in bio to listen now! 🎧 Find Ali:  https://aliultrasound.com.au/ https://www.instagram.com/aliultrasound/ https://imagendo.org.au/ #EndometriosisAwareness #WomensHealth #Ultrasound #MedicareRebate #EndoWarrior #PodcastEpisode #HealthAdvocacy #SpecialistCare #DiagnosisMatters #Australia

In Part 1 of this special series, Jo and Tam flip the script and interview the newly Dr. Lori Forner about her PhD research on exercise-based heavy lifting, pelvic organ support, and the use of transperineal ultrasound in physiotherapy. We explore her research, specifically exercise-based heavy lifting and pelvic organ support in Part 1 where the next episode (Part 2) discusses the use of transperineal ultrasound in physiotherapy and her research exploring assessment positions. 💡 Grounded in evidence, clinically relevant, and just the beginning... 🎥 And we’re now on YouTube! You can watch this episode there too! Don't forget about the upcoming PB Conference in Sydney, June 13, 2025. Check it out HERE and register!

We are back for 2024 (better late than never) with an interesting talk about female genital cutting (previously known as FGM - female genital mutilation) with Dr Greg Jenkins. Today’s episode is a tough but important episode. We discuss female genital cutting previously known as female genital mutilation in Australia. We have had the absolute privilege of talking to Dr Greg Jenkins, who was an OBGYN at Auburn hospital when they were first confronted with women in labour who had immigrated from countries where this cultural tradition continues. They looked around for pregnancy and birth guidelines for this population of women but couldn’t find any, so went about creating them, with some exceptional outcomes for these women.     Dr Jenkins currently heads up Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Westmead Public hospital in Sydney, and works privately at Norwest Private hospital in Sydney. We are very grateful for his time.    https://ranzcog.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Female-Genital-Mutilation-FGM.pdf  

We had a brilliant chat with Dr Stephanie Pirotta about PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) and the role of lifestyle interventions to manage the chronic illness. This episode was meant to be aired before the PB Endo Conference, where Dr Pirotta presented a wonderful talk, however Lori's life was crazy and she just couldn't pull it together and get it out there in time. Apologies! But this episode is such a great listen.   Dr Stephanie Pirotta is an accredited Dietician, Nutritionist and Researcher - She has a PhD in PCOS and doing post-doctoral work at Monash University in the space of diet, PCOS, endometriosis and fertility.   Stephanie is the founder of Womanly Nutrition and Dietetics in Melbourne.   Enjoy!   Check out her research here: Publications

Today’s episode discusses the deeply sensitive topic of stillbirth. We understand that discussing this subject can be distressing or triggering for those who have experienced loss, are currently dealing with pregnancy complications, or are currently pregnant. In this episode, we chat with a long-time physiotherapy colleague and friend of Lori's, Heidi Mules. She shares her personal story about the birth of her daughter Sophie, risks for stillbirth, better communication during and after pregnancy, and healing.  You can read more about Heidi's story here Please use the following resources to help you and others: Sands - miscarriage, stillbirth and newborn death support Still Aware - prevention-focused charity CRE Safer Baby Bundle - for clinicians Precious Wings - memory boxes Born Ready  

What is the vagus nerve? What is the polyvagal theory? Why should we care? Isn't it controversial? The one and only, Michelle Lyons, will answer these questions and sooooo much more on this episode (think: behaviour change for patients, how do we as clinicians avoid burnout, etc). For those of you who have been listening to this podcast, you will be very familiar with previous episodes on menopause and endometriosis. You will also be familiar with her generosity - and keeping in line with that, she is giving listeners a 20% discount on her online courses until the end of August 2023 - use the code "Phpodcast" !!!  Michelle's Website and PODCAST The Pelvic Health Community - JOIN US NOW! PB Endo Conference 2023  

In The Clinic today with Jo: palpating and cueing EUS (external urethral sphincter). Don't forget about the upcoming Brisbane Endo conference in October - tickets selling faaaaaast: PB Endo conference!!!! And of course checking out The Pelvic Health Community!!!!: https://the-pelvic-health-community.mn.co/share/M6n01bTZgpvV9J1s?utm_source=manual   The paper Jo is discussing: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30870081/ For extra knowledge in this area, you can learn from us here... Online: 2D Transperineal Ultrasound in Females: A tool for pelvic floor physios Face-to-face: 2D Transperineal Ultrasound Skills Workshop 2D Transperineal Ultrasound in Females: A tool for pelvic floor physios

This episode welcomes back to the pod, the wonderful Dr. Jennifer Kruger, who was on the podcast in 2018 discussing the vaginal pressure profile and the early work behind JunoFem and the FemFit – the focus on today’s episode. She is a wealth of knowledge, has a PhD in Sport and Exercise Science, 15 years of clinical experience in nursing and midwifery, and now the CEO and Co-founder of JunoFem – a medtech company on a mission to free women from the stigma of urinary incontinence. Listen in as we discuss some of her research that led her to design the FemFit in addition to how it works and what it does. A revolutionary little device that is unlike any other. Links to some things we discuss: The Pelvic Health Community Getting the FemFit here from Fiona! PB Endometriosis Conference in Brisbane ICS Conference in the T-dot 2023 - join us!!!!  

We are adding some new information to The Pelvic Health Podcast. Our expert interviews will continue but in between them, we will now have some shorter episodes on useful clinical ideas for assessment and treatment.  Today it's the ever-growing interest in transperineal ultrasound and I (Lori) share some tips.  PB Endo conference!!!! For extra knowledge in this area, you can learn from us here... Online: 2D Transperineal Ultrasound in Females: A tool for pelvic floor physios Face-to-face: 2D Transperineal Ultrasound Skills Workshop 2D Transperineal Ultrasound in Females: A tool for pelvic floor physios

THE Taryn Hallam (physiotherapist, educator and WHTA founder) joins the podcast in this episode to bust some big myths about pelvic floor dysfunction. Myths she addresses include: The Oxford scale as a measure of PFM strength Levator ani muscle function as a major factor in stress urinary incontinence Detrusor overactivity and overactive bladder as the same thing Caffeine as a major bladder irritant  Relaxin as the cause of ligament laxity in pregnancy Are crunches bad for the pelvic floor? And more! For those of you who don't know Taryn Hallam, she is one of the most brilliant women we know. Not only does she run the most comprehensive education on the pelvic floor in Australia through WHTA, she now travels world-wide and online to share this. The annual research updates are insanely popular and not to be missed. (No, this is not an ad or paid). Hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did.

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

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