When my second child was 2 years old and I was under a lot of stress I suddenly developed a problem with my pelvic floor. Devastatingly, the treatment I usually advised to other women didn’t help. I was uncomfortable. I worried about lifting my children and thought the strenuous exercise and active lifestyle I enjoyed was over forever… but it wasn’t.

I started working in pelvic health physiotherapy in 2008. I taught antenatal classes, set up a bowel dysfunction clinic, developed a postnatal perineal tear service, gave talks at local conferences and helped women with their bladder and bowel issues on a daily basis whilst working in NHS and private hospitals in Bath and Bristol.

NHS pelvic physiotherapy had a big focus on pelvic floor (kegel) exercises and they were often the key component of my treatments. There had been some women that these exercises didn’t work for or made their symptoms worse. I didn’t know then that I would be one of them.

Unwilling to give up I started investigating other approaches. I learnt about hypopressives, myofascial release, ScarWork, and viewing the body as a whole in recognition that imbalances elsewhere affect the function of the pelvic floor. Exploring dysfunction caused by tension, rather than weakness.

I thought I’d never be able to run without symptoms but now I do. I lift weights, race my children and go on active adventures without worrying about my pelvis.

I am me. You are you.

I believe pelvic health physiotherapy shouldn’t be a matter of being told to do 120 pelvic floor contractions a day. It is a personal assessment and personal treatment plan specific to you. That’s what I do.