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I just had the pleasure of an EPIC chat with Dr Jessica Reale (Doctor of Physical Therapy) all about our clinical interpretation of the latest methods of treating pelvic pain. How and why do we do what we do? There’s some great examples and pearls of wisdom I’ve taken from this, as well as being a good benchmarking that we are all approaching it in a similar way. I’ve linked to all the apps and references for the papers mentioned below. You can find out more about her on her website by clicking HERE, along with a great blog of resources

It fills my soul with joy to connect with other physios interested in understanding and treating pelvic pain. To borrow her phrase, at this point in time it really does feel like we’re “pioneers” in this work. I’d put it less eloquently but the meaning is the same; we have pain and dysfunction based research not specific to the pelvis...

As part of my recent “what else is out there?” literature review I came across two papers I thought you may be interested in. They look at potential new markers for BPS. What I find interesting is the numerous angles in which people are approaching this problem. It’s good to get out of our comfort zone, test our theories and be reminded of biologically plausible reasons for pain when we work in the emotionally and centrally driven world of pelvic pain so often…

I’d love to hear what you think!

It’s time to be honest. Working in pelvic health can sometimes be lonely, in the UK we’re often in tiny clinics away from our teams. I’m certainly someone who thrives on discussing, debating and being challenged. So here are some of the things I’ve been doing with Graded Motor Imagery, how I’m approaching it at the moment and the realities of how it’s going – it takes time!

If you’ve got any comments, are using GMI or are passionate about treating or researching BPS I’d love to hear from you! Only from sharing our knowledge do we all improve. At the end of the day, that’s my mission – getting better at getting people better. Enjoy!

I’m really pleased to be able to bring you Jane’s story, in her own words. I’m incredibly proud of how far she’s come and how well she’s doing. It takes great emotional resilience to overcome the challenges she’ll tell you all about. If you’ve got Endometriosis or know someone who has, please share her story. Well timed Pelvic Health Physio can help people to avoid surgery by improving painful symptoms, and will always also support them through their complex surgical recovery to regain their lives.

Jane

Where to begin? Well, in the words of Julie Andrews, let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.

I always had very heavy periods but I was told that periods hurt, it’s normal, just take some painkillers and just get on with it. Which I did. I didn’t really let it bother me, but as I grew...

I’m very happy to be able to share Beth’s story with you, in her words. Her delivery and 4th trimester issues are common, as was her need for greater support at that time. The fact that we were able to provide the help she needed at that vital time makes me very proud. It’s a testament to everything I’ve worked toward as a Pelvic Health Physio, and demonstrates how I believe we can provide truly holistic and individualised care that changes lives. I’m so proud of how far she has come on her rehab journey, it’s not been easy. I’ll let Beth tell you…

I’ve had writers block for a couple of weeks since confirming that I would write a blog to share my story.

Where to begin?

How much to share?

Does writing it down make everything a bit too real?

You see, I’m still on my journey to recovery so I can’t tell a story of ‘happily ever after’ just yet. However, what I can tell you is a story of hope and amazing...

What is Bladder Pain Syndrome?

The first thing to say about Bladder Pain Syndrome is what it’s Not….

Initially people went to their doctors with the symptoms of a chronic infection – a urinary tract infection or cystitis. They had an urgent need to pass urine, felt like they needed to go often and it would be accompanied by pain in the bladder region, perineum (between the legs) or in the urethra (tube from the bladder). However this went on much longer than an infection should, and often after taking antibiotics. The lining of the bladder is called the interstitium and so it was thought that when people presented with this group of symptoms they had a chronic infection of the bladder lining. This is how the name Interstitial Cystitis came around.

It’s now understood that Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome is much more complex, and many people do not have a chronic infection of the bladder or urethral lining. Even If they do have a chronic...

Watch the vlog here.

A few weeks ago I was given this paper by Gill Brook (thanks Gill!), and I think it’s another important step forwards in our knowledge about the aeteology of Bladder Pain Syndrome.

The full title of the paper is:
Will cesarean section increase the risk of interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome?
Kun-Min Chang, Ming-Huei Lee, Hsuan-Hung Lin, Shang-Liang Wu, Huei-Ching Wu
Neurourology and Urodynamics. 2018;1–7.
DOI: 10.1002/nau.23704

Have a listen, I’d love to hear your thoughts! Catch me on Facebook or Twitter.

Getting a job in pelvic health can be much like working in a pub – you can’t work in a pub til you’ve got experience working in a pub…

And then there’s the question – what do we actually Do in pelvic health?

If you’ve got an inkling that this may be the career for you – hurrah! Congrats. You’ll be hard pressed to find such a rewarding profession.

Gill and I had a chcat about how we got into pelvic health, and how you could too.

Want to find out more? Have a look at the POGP website for the complete role of a Pelvic Health physio and for details of the upcoming workshops, events, and conferences.

Watch the vlog here.

Katie and I got chatting online as we both have an interest in graded motor imagery in pelvic pain. Katie works on the East coast of Canada as a pelvic health physiotherapist and is researching graded motor imagery in women with pelvic pain with  Mount Allison Univeristy and Dalhousie University. She’s just completed a Phase 1 trial looking at how women with pelvic pain perceive images, and was kind enough to sit down and chat with me about her research and experience of what works for her in clinic.

It was really interesting to hear what kinds of images they’ve been using, the difficulties in finding images to represent motor and sensory activities for the pelvis, and what tools she uses in clinic.

Apologies for the sound quality, I’m working on it…

Always on the toilet? Always looking out for a toilet? Watch this to stop having to rush back and forth during the day or night.

It’s time to Optimise your Bladder

How does a bladder normally act?

It’s normal to go to the toilet up to 8 times a day and not at all at night unless you’re over the age of 65. Each time you use the toilet you should pass between 200-300mls of urine. Your bladder should be able to comfortably store up to around 600mls, and because of this you should pass a larger volume during your first toilet trip of the day.

What can happen?

The bladder can become irritable or ‘overactive’. This is exacerbated by concern about leakage, irritation and pain. It may also be a result of habit, by emptying the bladder too often during the day. It’s important that you first get this checked out by your doctor, then if appropriate seek help from your local pelvic health physiotherapist.

If the bladder is never allowed to fill to its...