Hello & welcome to this episode all about the intersection of hip health and pelvic health, with one of my favourite researchers/clinicians, Dr Alison Grimaldi

In this episode we discuss the interconnectedness of the pelvic floor, hip muscles, and nerves in the pelvic region, how the pelvic floor works in conjunction with other muscles, particularly the obturator internus, to support pelvic function.

We emphasized the importance of considering both pelvic floor and hip issues when treating patients, as weakness in hip muscles can affect pelvic floor function and vice versa.

The conversation also covers the potential for sciatic nerve irritation in the deep gluteal space, particularly in athletes like cyclists and trail runners, and the importance of screening for pelvic floor issues in patients with hip or buttock pain.

We shared our mutual disdain for the clamshell exercise (WHY do people recommend it?) and an exploration of Alison’s 2025 open access paper - a masterclass on gluteal tendinopathies

Want to learn more from Alison?

Here is the link to the Glasgow workshop: https://www.hampdensportsclinic.com/events/events-the-hip/

and more course info:  https://dralisongrimaldi.com/event/online-hip-workshop-lateral-hip-and-buttock-pain-2025/  

And if you’d like to learn more about the role of hormonal health in just about everything, but especially in a woman’s musculoskeletal health, head to CelebrateMuliebrity.com for info on my online Female Hormonal Health Masterclass & other courses, from Female Pelvic Pain, to Hysterectomy, Breast Cancer, Pelvic Cancer, Bowel Health & Back Pain - let me know if you have any questions via Instagram where I nerd out about women’s health as @michellelyons_muliebrity

See you next time! Mx

Hello & Welcome to this episode of the podcast, where we're talking about all things prolapse, with advanced practice women's health physio (& pilates teacher!) Leah Bryans

• ​In today’s conversation we discussed the evolution of our roles as physiotherapists, particularly in pelvic health. Leah shared her journey from not realizing the extent of what physio could do to becoming more confident in managing conditions like prolapse.
• ​We talked about the importance of continuous learning, collaboration with other professionals, and understanding the individual needs of patients, and of course I had to hop on my soapbox about the shift from being mechanics to educators, focusing on facilitating patient progress rather than fixing issues.
• ​We’re both keen to emphasise the need to consider patients' overall health, including their bladder and bowel function, fluid intake, and diet. We also highlighted the significance of assessing patients' pelvic floor movement and identifying risk factors for prolapse
• ​We discussed the potential benefits and challenges of using pessaries for postnatal women, and noted that some women may be hesitant to try pessaries due to psychological barriers, while others may not be seen early enough in primary care or public systems to receive this treatment
• ​We also discussed the importance of building confidence and gradually increasing strength in patients, particularly those with pelvic health issues.
• ​It’s important to remember the the need for a low-threat approach to exercise, focusing on breathwork, relaxation, flexibility, and proprioception at first. We also highlighted the benefits of Pilates as a gateway to heavier lifting and osteogenic activities.
• ​The conversation concluded with the importance of education in helping patients manage their conditions, including the use of tools like the femmeze for splinting during bowel movements.

Leah teaches a prolapse management course with Suzanne Carney (@anatomy-_physiotherapy) and they have an upcoming event in May - contact them for details!

And if you’d like to learn more about my online courses, please visit CelebrateMuliebrity.com

Until next time, Onwards and Upwards! Mx #celebratemuliebrity 🥳💗

Hello & Welcome to this week's episode, all about Food, Mood & Menopause with Dr Trish Heavey

Trish is a nutrition and menopause researcher at TUS here in Ireland and brings a practical and evidence based perspective to helping women life well during this transition

In today’s episode, we talked about:

how lifestyle strategies such as exercise & sleep are important at menopause but nutrition is the foundation of a healthy lifestyle

Hormones vs Lifestyle? As Trish says, ‘you can’t outrun a bad diet’

Better diet = Fewer symptoms

Key foods to eat (and avoid) for overall health but especially mental health

Low fat vs healthy fats, diet vs lifestyle and bad news for alcohol

Why education and shared experiences are the key to empowering women at midlife

And much more!! I really enjoyed this chat and hope you enjoyed the many pearls of wisdom that Trish shared!

And if you’re a women’s health professional and you want to learn more about helping women live well before, during and after menopause, my online courses are exactly what you need - check out the Female Hormonal Health Masterclass at CelebrateMuliebrity.com or visit the link in my instagram bio @michellelyons_muliebrity

Until next time, Onwards & Upwards! Mx #celebratemuliebrity 🥳

My first male guest on the podcast - who better than Bill Taylor!

I've known Bill for ages and we can talk and talk and talk... Bill is a brilliant clinician and a great friend. We had intended to talk about pelvic neuralgias, and what makes us suspect or rule out the pudendal but...we actually ended up talking about male pelvic health (seems inevitable in hindsight with my first male guest!)

Don't despair - I'm already working on getting Bill back for a chat about pelvic neuralgias - coming soon!

We talked about male pelvic pain, sexual health, the differences (and similarities) between male and female patients and we we need more of the male perspective in pelvic rehab

Bill was brilliant at Pelvicon last year and he's doing a position this year. In person tickets are sold out but you can purchase live online access to the main conference and get access to the recordings and manual here: https://pelvicon.mykajabi.com/offers/PfHzpsoW

I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed chatting - remember if you'd like to learn more about my online women's health courses, all the info can be found at my website, CelebrateMuliebrity.com

Until next time, Onwards & Upwards, Mx

Hello & Welcome to today's episode -

March is, as you know Endometriosis Awareness month - we know there's a lot of room to improve when it comes to diagnosis and treatment ...but today, I wanted to focus on what's going well when it comes to helping women with endometriosis live well

My guest today is Emma Sheehy, a physiotherapist who is driving the conversation about a biopsychosocial multimodal approach to whole person management of endometriosis

Some of the things we talked about:

🤔 are we meeting women with persistent pelvic pain where THEY are

🤔 what is the role of central sensitisation - can we do a better job recognizing problems before nociplastic changes set in?

🤔 the importance of education around menstrual health, sexual health & pain management

🤔 what else needs to be considered beyond medical and surgical treatment?

🤔 what does multimodal pelvic rehab look like, why multidisciplinary care matters and what WE as clinicians need to recognise to avoid burnout

And much more!!

If you’re a women’s health professional and you’d like to know more about an evidence based approach to working with women with pelvic pain, my online course, Female Pelvic Pain Rehab covers menstrual pain, endometriosis, IC/ Bladder Pain Syndrome, Vulvodynia and more, from the diagnosis to a multimodal approach to helping women live well, with a toolbox that includes lifestyle, biopsychosocial care, manual therapy and a large exercise library. You can find it at my website, CelebrateMuliebrity.com or the info is on my instagram, @michellelyons_muliebrity

Until next time, Onwards and Upwards! Mx #celebratemuliebrity

New Podcast Alert ‼️

We are heading into Women in Sport week AND Women in Research week so this feels like the perfect time to share my conversation my Dr Emma Cowley - another of the great researchers from TUS

If you’ve ever said (or heard me say 😉) that only 6% of research in sports science is done on females - you have Emma to thank for that! ‘Invisible Sportswomen’ 2021)

In this chat, we explore how Emma’s research has given us great insights into not only the lack of female specific research but also the psychosocial barriers and benefits to exercise for women at every age & stage, from adolescent girls (the Herizon 2021 paper) to challenges around body image for menopausal women in the gym (2025)

I’ll put screenshots of Emma’s research in my instagram (@michellelyons_muliebrity) and you can find Emma on x as @emmacowley44 and on ResearchGate

My big takeaway from this conversation was the importance of creating a femalecentric approach to goal setting, creating a safe environment that has peer support and of course, getting more women into physical activity AND into research!

If you’re a women’s health pro and you’d like to learn more about the benefits, the why as well as the how of physical fitness and strength at every age and stage, you’ll find all the info in my online course, Female Hormonal Health Masterclass - it covers menstrual, maternal & menopausal health from a biopsychosocial whole person approach, with evidence based strategies for pelvic & msk health, mental, metabolic, cardiovascular and so much more, then head to the link in my bio or visit my website, CelebrateMuliebrity.com

Until next time! Mx

hello there!

Welcome to this week's episode of the podcast - thanks for joining the women's health conversation

In today’s podcast, I have the pleasure of chatting with Edel Flynn, a PhD candidate at TUS University. Edel is looking at different lifestyle approaches for menopausal health and wellbeing, with a primary focus on exercise and education about lifestyle choices, including nutrition, stress management and the topic of our conversation - sleep

In this conversation, Edel & I chat about:

• why women & men may have different relationships with sleep

• why sleep matters (spoiler: brain & heart & mental health, avoiding weight gain and chronic pain for starters)

• what good sleep looks like, in terms of quality and quantity

• successful sleep strategies for perimenopausal women

Edel is part of a great team of women’s health researchers at TUS University and I’ll be sharing some conversations I’ve had with them over the coming weeks to showcase what we’re learning about women’s health & how that’s changing the conversation

Are you a women’s health pro interested in menopausal health?Do you want to learn more about implementing successful sleep strategies for women at midlife? My online course, Female Hormonal Health Masterclass has a whole module on sleep - the evidence & how to apply it what to eat, how to exercise, restorative yoga by Laura Feeney - the link is in my bio or at my website, CelebrateMuliebrity.com

If you’re enjoying the podcast, I’d love it if you can subscribe, rate and review it!

Until next time, Onwards & Upwards! Mx

#celebratemuliebrity 💓

hello again!

I'm still a bit croaky but nevertheless, I persisted!

In this week's episode, I want to look at how we can best help women with dyspareunia (and maybe throw a bit of evidence based myth busting into the mix!)

In this episode I talk about the different types of sexual pain, the drivers and how we can best come up with clinically reasonable treatment planning, that includes pelvic rehab at the centre of a multi-modal approach.

The main focus is on finding the drivers - is it superficial or deep? Is it primary or secondary? Is there a specific diagnosis? Is there always a bio cause (are we including the psychosocial? the nociplastic?)

Are we comfortable having the discussions? I think yes, if we know what questions to ask AND what to do with the answers

I think the key to good outcomes is to believe the story, take a great history, create a safe space to discuss these issue and having a deep and wide biopsychosocial treatment toolbox

Let me know if you'd like a Part 2 on treatment strategies! Or in the meantime, if you'd like to learn more, my new course 'Female Sexual Health, Contraception & Fertility - considerations for pelvic rehab'. It's still on pre-sale pricing until the final module is released next weekend! You can find the details on my website or in the bio of my Instagram account @michellelyons_muliebrity

Until next time! Onwards & Upwards, Mx

All the course info can be found right here too! https://michelle-lyons-muliebrity-education.teachable.com/?preview=logged_in

Let me know if you have any questions!

We're back! Welcome to a new batch of episodes, where I'll be sharing conversations with colleagues as well as research roundups in solo episodes

I'm a bit stuffy in the first part of today's episode with menopause running coach Irene Clark (thanks lingering flu!) - but I wanted to include a little research roundup on working with female athletes, especially the challenges facing physical activity at menopause, so I discuss 2 papers that came out at the end of 2024 - I'll do screenshots of the full citations on my instagram - you can find me there as @michellelyons_muliebrity

Then we have the conversation with Irene Clark (you can find her on Instagram as @menopause_coach_irene) where we discuss practical strategies to keep menopausal runners happy & healthy - we explore musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause, pelvic health concerns, why fasted training is a bad idea, how strength training is non-negotiable and optimal recovery strategies

Want to learn more? My online course , Female Hormonal Health Masterclass, covers the needs of female athletes at every stage from menstrual to menopausal - it's a big course with a large exercise library so you'll get evergreen access when you enroll - check out all the courses here!

https://michelle-lyons-muliebrity-education.teachable.com/?preview=logged_in

Hope you enjoy the episode and see you next time! Mx #celebratemuliebrity

Hello and Welcome!

Thanks for being here - this episode is all about the multidisciplinary and multimodal approach to pelvic pain! I'm joined by my friend and colleague, psychotherapist Orlagh Reid.

We discussed:

You can find Orlagh on Instagram as @thewellbeingpsychotherapist - I'm there too as @michellelyons_muliebrity

If you'd like to learn more about Female Pelvic Pain (or Menopause or Oncology Rehab or Bowel Health...) the head over to my website and find out how you can gain evergreen access to a toolbox of skills to understand, treat and support women with persistent pelvic pain