Should all women be doing Kegels or are there exceptions? How is the pelvic floor involved in perpetuating the pain of vulvodynia, UTIs and chronic thrush? Is there a correct way to pee and poo?

Sally talks to Lucia Berry about about the pelvic floor and some of the conditions that can be treated by pelvic floor physiotherapy, including urinary incontinence and vulval pain. Lucia is a pelvic health physiotherapist at Guys and St Thomas Hospital in London, senior lecturer in physiotherapy at Brunel University, and former trustee of the Pelvic, Obstretric and Gynaecological Physiotherapists (POGP).

Links

• Lucia Berry - https://www.brunel.ac.uk/people/lucia-berry

• Find a physio -⁠ https://thepogp.co.uk/patients/physiotherapists/⁠

• Vulval Pain Society (VPS) physio resources - ⁠https://vulvalpainsociety.org/about-vulval-pain/treating-vulval-pain/physiotherapy/⁠ 'We would not encourage most physiotherapy self-help techniques without a consultation, diagnosis and treatment plan.'

• Pain and the Pelvic Floor VPS webinar - https://vulvalpainsociety.org/news-events/vps-webinars/past-vps-webinars/vulval-pain-society-2021-social-media-livestreams-2/pain-and-the-pelvic-floor-how-to-treat-it-physio-special-1-24-february-2021/

• POGP pelvic floor exercises - ⁠https://youtu.be/92KUPKi-ii4⁠

• Pelvic floor exercises - ⁠⁠⁠https://pelvicphysiotherapy.com/⁠⁠⁠ Lucia says: "I really like these from a pelvic health colleague of mine in Dublin. Here she explains strengthening and relaxation exercises – under exercises."

• Perinatal services - https://www.england.nhs.uk/2021/06/nhs-pelvic-health-clinics-to-help-tens-of-thousands-women-across-the-country/

Sally talks with Sabine Tyvainen about Women4Real past and present, vulval pain, and upcoming topics to be covered in the podcast. Sabine is co-founder of Women4Real and a clinical health and high performance psychologist. Sabine also explains how she is applying her wealth of experience in elite sports to women’s health, and developing new insights into the management of vulval pain syndromes.

Links

• women4real.com
• vulvalpainsociety.org
• nva.org/media-center/#:~:text=How%20Many%20Women%20Are%20Affected,age%2035%20(Harlow%202003). – 16% of women in the US suffer from vulvodynia at some point in their lives (Harlow 2003, Pukall 2016).
• bad.org.uk/pils/vulvodynia-and-vestibulodynia/ – Vulvodynia ‘is thought to affect about 15 in 100 women’.
• peggyorenstein.com/main-st – Girls & Sex, OneWorld, 2016.
• youtu.be/mWA2uL8zXPI – Peggy Orenstein, TED Talk: What young women believe about their own sexual pleasure.
• thegreatwallofvulva.com/ – Jamie McCartney’s monumental wall sculpture.

New podcast episodes arriving here soon...stay tuned and let's get REAL about women's sexual health.

Visit women4real.com for further information.