Celebrate Muliebrity with Michelle Lyons

Hello & welcome to today's episode where we're talking about a new paper looking at menstrual health in female rowing - I'm in conversation with lead author, Dr Ciara Everard, who is an assistant professor at Trinity College Dublin's physiotherapy programme
In our chat, we discussed her recent research paper focusing on menstrual health in female rowers, from Ireland & the US, highlighting how sociocultural and gendered norms influence how female athletes experience and manage their menstrual cycles. The research, involving ex-international rowers, explored menstrual cycle pain and symptoms but found that gendered norms in the male-dominated sport played a significant role in the findings. Ciara explained that female rowers often feel illegitimized within the rowing culture, as they are perceived as weaker than their male counterparts.
Key findings included that 70% of respondents experienced irregular cycles, 80% reported menstrual symptoms affecting performance, and 70% had fears about leakage, though only 50% discussed these issues with their coaches.
The conversation highlighted that while some athletes showed interest in tracking their cycles, there was a gap between existing knowledge in the wider literature and implementation in sub-elite contexts.
Ciara & I discussed findings from a research paper on female athletes, highlighting issues around education and misinformation regarding menstrual health. We noted that harmful discourses, such as the "slim-to-win" ideology where missing periods is valorized, still prevail among younger athletes.
We also talked about the silencing of symptoms related to conditions like endometriosis and PCOS, which can delay athletes from seeking help due to fear of being perceived as weaker or affecting their selection for teams.
Despite increased awareness, athletes still face issues related to fueling and period-related pain.
There's a huge need for continuous conversations and education at all levels of sport, including the importance of sharing personal stories to help athletes relate to the information. Our discussion also touched on the variability of menstrual experiences and the challenges in diagnosing conditions like endometriosis, stressing the need for more qualitative research and open dialogue about these issues (which is of course why I created this podcast!)
“I feel like I’m marinating in the boat... and it just makes me feel gross”: a sociocultural exploration of female rowers' experiences of the menstrual cycle'' https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/bmjosem/12/1/e003004.full.pdf
Want to learn more about Menstrual Health - understanding the MC, tracking it, applying menstrual knowledge to female athlete health AND get access to the course ‘Pelvic Health for the Young Female Athlete for FREE?! Then check out my online course, The Menstrual Detective (and all of my other online courses) at CelebrateMuliebrity.com
Until next time, Onwards & Upwards! Mx

Hello & Welcome to the CelebrateMuliebrity Podcast!
Today's episode is all about strength & resistance training at menopause - why are only 30% of women engaging in resistance training at menopause?
(and sorry, my sound is a bit wonky at the start)
My guest today is Chloe Lewis, who had a non-linear career into women's health, to say the least!
Chloe is a physiotherapist conducting PhD research on optimising resistance training at menopause while incorporating pelvic health concerns and tendon issues. Chloe shared her personal journey into physiotherapy after experiencing a heart condition that led to heart surgery
We discussed how menopausal women face barriers to resistance training due to generational messaging about smaller bodies and fear of bulking up.
We explored how resistance training can benefit bone health, muscle maintenance, and mental well-being, while addressing specific concerns about tendinopathy in areas like the rotator cuff and gluteals.
Chloe explained her research approach, which includes studying barriers to resistance training in menopausal women and potentially examining how effective resistance training protocols might impact pelvic floor strength.
This conversation emphasised the importance of individualised approaches, starting with bodyweight exercises, and the need for healthcare professionals to prescribe resistance training as part of rehabilitation programs for women.
We also discussed the similarities and differences in resistance training protocols for men and women, emphasising that proportionate muscle growth is similar despite men starting with more muscle mass. Chloe highlighted that social context and barriers, rather than physiological differences, are the main obstacles for women engaging in resistance training.
We definitely agreed on the importance of understanding and addressing these barriers to encourage women's participation in resistance training....and much much more, including her PhD research focusing on the impact of resistance training on pelvic floor health in menopausal women. She plans to conduct a four-armed study comparing the effects of resistance training alone, resistance training plus pelvic floor exercises, pelvic floor exercises alone, and a control group. Chloe is currently in the ethics approval stage for qualitative interviews with menopausal women and plans to survey healthcare professionals about resistance training practices for menopause. She aims to develop a co-produced exercise program that is accessible and relevant to the participants - I can't wait to see the outcomes!
If you'd like to learn more about menopausal health, be sure to check out my comprehensive online course, 'Flourish! The Menopausal Toolbox (which also includes access to my Hysterectomy: Prehab to Rehab course FOR FREE!). All the info on all of my online courses, from menstrual, to perinatal to oncology, bowel or back pain courses can be found at CelebrateMuliebrity.com
Until next time, Onwards & Upwards! Mx

Hello & Welcome! Today’s conversation is with Lydia Durkin George, all about pelvic health in women’s rugby
In our chat, we discussed Lydia’s journey from being an elite kickboxer to becoming a physiotherapist, driven by a desire to support female athletes.
She highlights her research on pelvic floor dysfunction in elite women's rugby players and her collaboration with advocates for female athletes.
We discussed the prevalence of pelvic floor issues among elite women's rugby players, noting a high incidence of urinary and anorectal symptoms despite a lack of childbirth history.
We also highlighted the need for better awareness and education about pelvic health, as only 30% of the athletes knew what a pelvic health physiotherapist was and only 10% engaged in pelvic health exercises.
We’re both passionate about the importance of normalising conversations about pelvic health and avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach to pelvic floor muscle training, as overactivity could exacerbate issues, and we both agreed that integrating pelvic health discussions into regular athletic training and education could help address these issues more effectively!
We also talked about:
• the specific pelvic health demands of rugby
• better pelvic health screening
• how lower limb injuries can affect pelvic health
• the need for comprehensive pelvic health education and training

And much more! You can find Lydia on Instagram at @form.at.physio (and of course I’m there too @michellelyons_muliebrity)

Want to learn more about supporting female athletes at every age and stage? For young female athletes, check out The Menstrual Detective (comes with free access to Pelvic Health for Young Female Athletes), or for return to physical activity, I’ve got Perinatal Pelvic Rehab, and for masters athletes, Flourish! The Menopause Toolbox will help you help women live well. All the course info is at CelebrateMuliebrity.com
Until next time, Onwards & Upwards! Mx #celebratemuliebrity

Hello and also HOW can we be at the end of March already??!! In today's podcast, we are going down a nerdy research rabbit hole - ready? Let's go!
As you probably know, March is Endometriosis Awareness Month and although we are only a quarter of the way through the year, there are already some noteworthy papers out there, from acknowledging the many issues people with endometriosis face, from dismissal and gaslighting to clinical diagnosis, assessment and pelvic rehab strategies - what the evidence actually is showing (some of it may surprise you!
I'm going to talk through what these research papers are saying, why they matter and how we can use their findings to improve the care of people dealing with pain, fatigue, GI, MSK, urologic and neurological issues, as well as including nociplastic changes - and how the evidence is really supportive of a multimodal pelvic rehab approach, which we're talking about pelvic floor therapy, tens, movement or manual therapy - there's also some interesting implications for including telehealth options as part of our psychologically informed care...
I'm in the middle of doing my regular research updates for my online Female Pelvic Pain Rehab course - I'm starting with the Endometriosis module but expect updates on vulvodynia, pudendal neuralgia and bladder pain syndrome...as well as how we can include a bio psychosocial approach to assessment and differential diagnosis, as well as an integrated treatment toolbox - if you're already enrolled, you'll get all the updates as they are released and if you're not...come and join the pelvic pain rehab conversation!
All of the details of my online courses can be found at CelebrateMuliebrity.com - let me know if you have any questions!
Until next time, Onwards & Upwards! Mx
#celebratemuliebrity

Hello & Welcome to the latest episode of the podcast where I'm delighted to welcome back Grainne Donnelly, this time to chat about her new book, Sports Medicine & The Pelvic Floor, Science to Practice, which will be available April 1st.
In this episode, we talked about why we need a book about female athletes and their pelvic health - if you're working in this space you'll have seen the surge in research in the female athlete, especially in the realm of the menstrual cycle, but of course, there's so much more to pelvic health - cue Grainne's great new book!
Gráinne is a pelvic health physiotherapist and doctoral researcher, and she has edited this comprehensive 24-chapter book featuring contributions from leading experts including Dr Jenny LaCrosse, Dr John Delancey, Dr Sula Windgassen, Dr Sinead Dufour, Fiona Rogers, SJ McDonnell, Julie Wiebe and the legendary Kari Bo and many (many!) more
The book covers topics ranging from evolutionary aspects to clinical assessment and treatment approaches, from bladder, bowel, prolapse, with a focus on making research knowledge more accessible to sports medicine clinicians as well as the lived experience of the clinicians that serve them.
In this chat, Gráinne explained that the book was designed to be a practical addition to not only clinicians' libraries, but also for coaches and the athletes themselves, particularly for sports medicine teams who may not initially consider pelvic health as part of their remit. She also highlighted the inclusion of chapters on differential diagnoses by Dr. Helen McKeever and practical tools like videos and QR codes for patient outcome measures.
If you haven't ordered the book yet, you can sign up to Grainne's website, sportsmedicineand the pelvic floor. com (and there may even be a discount code available there too! ;) - it is also available from all good booksellers and free shipping if you order it directly from the publishers Elsevier
I can't wait to get my copy and I'm sure it will spark many conversations and challenge and support how we work to serve the pelvic health needs of the female athlete
And if you'd like to take a deep dive into the pelvic health needs of female athletes, you might also like my online course, The Menstrual Detective, which include the course Pelvic Rehab for the Young Female Athlete which covers it all in depth! As with all of my online women's health courses, the details can be found at my website CelebrateMuliebrity.com
As always, thanks for being here - make sure you're following the podcast so you don't miss an episode! (and reviews are always appreciated too!)
Until next time, Onwards & Upwards, Mx #celebratemuliebrity