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Marie Fell The Pilates Physio Blog

It’s packed full of powerful imformation helping you to increase your understanding about pelvic health.

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Sex and prolapse

Sex and prolapse

Sex and prolapse, are you worried about this?⁣ This topic is very rarely talked about so let's bust some myths! Will having sex make my prolapse worse? In one word, no. It is safe to have sex and it will not damage your bladder/uterus or bowel. You may need to...

Prolapse & Periods, lets talk about it…

Prolapse & Periods, lets talk about it…

Prolapse & Periods, lets talk about it... It is not fully understood why you may feel your prolapse symptoms at certain times of your monthly cycle but here are a few theories; ⠀ 1. Your uterus will change size during your menstrual cycle as the lining thickens...

How is pelvic organ prolapse treated?

How is pelvic organ prolapse treated?

How is pelvic organ prolapse treated? There are non-surgical and surgical options for the treatment of prolapse. A prolapse can happen during pregnancy, just after childbirth or many years later and even to people who do not have pregnancies or give birth. The...

What are the stages of prolapse?

What are the stages of prolapse?

What are the stages of prolapse? If you're not sure what to look for when checking for a bulge, read on.⁣ I’ve been asked a lot of questions about different stages of prolapse. This visual is perfect again by the fabulous @mypelvicfloormuscles Mild bulge: generally...

Perineal massage in pregnancy

Perineal massage in pregnancy

Have you heard of perineal massage? Perineal massage in pregnancy is exactly that...massage to your perineum. What/where is that? Your perineum is the soft tissue found between your back passage and your vulva. When should you start it? It is advised from 34 weeks...

Exercise in pregnancy: What, when, where and how??

Exercise in pregnancy: What, when, where and how??

Exercise in pregnancy: What, when, where and how?? Let's talk about exercise in pregnancy: what, when, where and how! This is as individual and unique to your exercise preferences and choices as an apple is to a pear! Without wanting to give you more questions than...

What is happening to your body during pregnancy?

What is happening to your body during pregnancy?

What is happening to your body during pregnancy? When you become pregnant, your body goes through phenomenal changes, so what is happening to your body during your pregnancy? Here's the lowdown simplified; ❤️ your heart works harder, 🧡 your fluid volumes INCREASE...

Are you wearing the correct bra size?

Are you wearing the correct bra size?

When was your last bra fitting? Are you wearing your correct bra size? I want to touch a little bit on breast health here as wearing the correct bra size has huge benefits, many we don't even know or talk about. There are a staggering number of us wearing the wrong...

Posture Matters

Posture Matters

Posture Matters Your posture really matters and can affect many things. It is powerful and says a lot about you. It can portray confidence and shyness, it can improve your digestive system function or compromise it, it can prevent body aches and pains or contribute...

What’s that wet stuff in your knickers?

What’s that wet stuff in your knickers?

What's that wet stuff in your knickers? Why is it important we know about it? One of the things that struck me the most when reading Masie Hill's book Period Power was the chapter called - “what that wet stuff in your knickers is all about”. ⁣ ⁣ It was revolutionary...

Period cramps and pain 101

Period cramps and pain 101

Period cramps and pain 101 ⁣ ⁣ For many of us period cramps and/or period pain can be excruciating from cycle to cycle and yet, this isn't normal and shouldn't be accepted as so. They can be hugely debilitating affecting not just your physical ability to function but...

Our hormone cycle in colour and illustration

Our hormone "cycle" in colour and illustration. I LOVE a good visual so have drawn this out for you all. It shows quite wonderfully how the different "seasons" of our cycle flow. Please note many of us will have longer and shorter seasons within our cycle so for...

Menstrual cycle seasons

Menstrual cycle seasons

Menstrual Cycle Seasons Lets explore the notion of our menstrual cycles following the traits of the four seasons. ❄️WINTER is where we have LOW HORMONE LEVELS. We commonly see traits such as feeling flat, fatigued, no get up and go, lack lustre. We have a reduced...

Barriers to pelvic health care

Barriers to pelvic health care

BARRIERS to pelvic health care. If we all looked after our pelvic health like we do our teeth, hair or even nails for some of us we would all benefit enormously. BUT... because we can’t see the muscles inside and maybe because we’re not having issues, yet...it is...

Pelvic Health Myth Busting

Pelvic Health Myth Busting

Let's bust some PELVIC HEALTH myths Peeing your pants little or often can be extremely COMMON so please don't feel embarrassed or ashamed about it if this is happening to you, but IT IS NOT NORMAL. Equally, you don't have to put up with those feelings, help is out...

PELVIC HEALTH PHYSIOTHERAPISTS

PELVIC HEALTH PHYSIOTHERAPISTS

A little bit about PELVIC HEALTH and a PELVIC HEALTH PHYSIOTHERAPIST'S job. A pelvic health physiotherapist may see a variety of ailments that mainly link to problems relating to the pelvic area. These can be related to toileting issues, pelvic pain, pregnancy...

The best position of baby for birth

The best position of baby for birth

The best position of baby for birth The most optimal position for baby to be in for birth is LOA = Left Occipital Anterior.  Any clues what that means? I'll explain more. But first this is really good to know... When you go into labour if you experience pain in your...

What are the signs and symptoms of post natal depression?

What are the signs and symptoms of post natal depression?

What are the signs and symptoms of post-natal depression? The charity 4Children, in 2011, produced a survey that they ran with the parenting club Bounty to look into postnatal depression further. From it, they gathered information to explain what are the common signs...

Abdominal Birth

Abdominal Birth

Abdominal Birth Let's talk about WORD CHOICE surrounding caesarean birth. How did the word Caesarean birth come to be? ​ Caesarean birth was according to some named after "Caesar" as in Julius Caesar who was born via his mother's abdomen! However others say that the...

Feeling empowered in your birth space

Feeling empowered in your birth space

Feeling empowered in your birth space Giving birth is a huge life event and one that for many can leave us feeling confused and de-railed afterwards. However, it is possible to feel confident and in control of your birth choices and birth environment if you use the...

Am I in labour? Is it braxton hicks or even hiccups?

Am I in labour? Is it braxton hicks or even hiccups?

Am I in labour? Is it braxton hicks or even hiccups? When I trained in pelvic health as a physiotherapist we taught an active birth class that described labour in 3 stages. For instance, it is widely acknowledged amongst health care practitioners that: The three...

Are you ready to return to running?

Are you ready to return to running?

Are you ready to return to running? Earlier this year, three physiotherapists collaborated together to make the first ever "returning to running post natal guidelines for medical, health and fitness professionals managing this population". Tom Goom, Emma Brockwell and...

Why am I peeing so much in pregnancy?

Why am I peeing so much in pregnancy?

During pregnancy, the female body undergoes a transformational change due to the wonderful hormonal orchestra being played out. Pregnant and peeing for England! springs to mind. Many will notice subtle body changes like tender achy breasts, a heightened...

Breastfeeding: The good, the bad and the ugly.

Breastfeeding: The good, the bad and the ugly.

Breastfeeding: The good, the bad and the ugly. The reality is it's a mixture of all three and some parts take more centre stage than others. This blog post is based purely on my own experiences of breastfeeding my own two children and may not resonate with everyone....

Caesarean section scar tissue massage

Caesarean section scar tissue massage

Caesarean section scar tissue massage Did you know that post caesarean section surgery your scar tissue should be massaged? Were you told how to let air get to it to allow it to heal, then to try and walk tall to allow the scar to lengthen or even to touch it and...

Exercise post baby: the struggles

Exercise post baby: the struggles

Fairly recently I had my second child. Up until 36 weeks pregnant I taught 4 pilates classes a week and until 38 weeks pregnant I taught many 1:1 client sessions. I was very fit. Super fit. I was very active. I thought very naively post baby I would breeze back into...

Six weeks post baby…what now?

Six weeks post baby…what now?

When you get to six weeks post baby and you are told you can magically return to all normality. Is that realistic? What now... Post baby the initial euphoria and ecstasy quickly turns into serious sleep deprivation and the realisation of "what now" sinks in, your...

Get pelvic floor smart and stop leaking

Get pelvic floor smart and stop leaking

This week marks World Continence week from 18/6/2018. There are several people campaigning to bring this to the forefront of the media and really grab the nations attention. Have a look at #pantsnotpads and see some of the amazing work that the pelvic roar team are...

Is being SEDENTARY keeping you STUCK?

Is being SEDENTARY keeping you STUCK?

Is being SEDENTARY keeping you STUCK? You know when you have a "to-do" list as long as your arm but you find yourself staring at the same page of that book you're trying to read, or the same screen of your computer for over 10 minutes? Do you recognise you are stuck?...

C-section recovery

C-section recovery

As April is C-section awareness month let's talk about the recovery. This blog post tells you everything you need to know about the recovery if your baby was born through your sun roof! Having a caesarean section to give birth to your baby can be a blessing if it...

Mums Matter!

Mums Matter!

My blog post this month is written from the heart.  March is a sad month for me as it was at this beautiful time of year we lost our mum suddenly to heart failure. This is the double reason why I am passionate about improving post natal care for new mums as not...

How to do your Pelvic floor exercises

How to do your Pelvic floor exercises

Pelvic floor exercises should be simple, squeeze and relax and they are done, right?   WRONG.   Pelvic floor exercises are complex. They require breath control, co-ordination & timing for starters. That's before you try & isolate the "squeeze" to the...

How to reduce hip pain when running with Pilates

How to reduce hip pain when running with Pilates

How to reduce hip pain when running with Pilates... Are you an avid runner who suffers with knee or hip pain when running? Do you love running but it doesn't agree with your body? Would you love to run without all the aches and pains afterwards?   I am a self...

Preparation for my ideal birth

Preparation for my ideal birth

I wanted to share my birth story the second time round, as I was very passionate about having the opportunity to give birth naturally and not via Caesarean section, like I did electively (planned) with my first born who was breech. Here is my journey about my...

Pregnancy: the second time round

Pregnancy: the second time round

Pregnancy: the second time round Here we go again - I'm pregnant for the second time. I'm ecstatic and feel very privileged but was in complete shock at the news for the first few weeks. I didn't feel pregnant - until I took the test and then it was like an instant...

Why you need to get up off your bum!

Why you need to get up off your bum!

Why you need to get up off your bum! (And why always sitting is bad for your health...) Why do you indeed? We live in a modern society in the Western world where lounging around and basically "doing nothing" is almost considered the "social norm".  This is worrying on...

What exactly are the health benefits of Pilates?

What exactly are the health benefits of Pilates?

What exactly are the health benefits of Pilates? PILATES seems to have a "buzz" around it at the moment. With sayings such as 'Pilates has got your back' and with many healthcare professionals recommending it as a form of exercise - you may wonder what EXACTLY are the...

How to reduce the risk of prolapse

How to reduce the risk of prolapse

How to reduce the risk of prolapse After writing my blog about what is a prolapse it occurred to me that many women would also like to know how to reduce the risk of prolapse. There are probably many other common questions to answer which I have heard in clinic time...

Walk the PILATES way

Walk the PILATES way

Walk the PILATES way... One of my all time favourites since starting my Pilates journey has been learning to WALK the PILATES way. If you are wondering what I am referring to it's the essence of walking tall and being mindful of my posture as I walk.   Using all...

How to reduce neck and shoulder tension

How to reduce neck and shoulder tension

How to reduce neck and shoulder tension: three simple top tips Do you suffer with sore shoulders? Muscle tension around your upper back and neck muscles? Headaches that radiate from the back of your head into your eye socket? Rounded shoulders? Poor posture? It's a...

Seeds and salads

Seeds and salads

Healthy Eating: Seeds and salads Although you wouldn't have guessed it from looking at me, I wasn't particularly a healthy eater when I was younger. I was very fussy. I think I could count on two hands the amounts of different foods I would eat. I feel for my poor...

Desk based workers – is your posture causing you pain?

Desk based workers – is your posture causing you pain?

Calling all desk based workers - is your posture causing you pain? For the vast majority of us, we spend long hours chained to our desks which results in sedentary, inactive lifestyles. It is no wonder many of us are not doing enough exercise when we are sucked into...

Birthday celebrations – one year on

Birthday celebrations – one year on

Birthday celebrations - one year on The Pilates Physio is one year old and celebrates it's first birthday milestone in April. I wanted to write this blog about that first year as both a reflection and a thank you for the gratitude I have for getting me to this point....

Pilates for men: why Pilates is not just for ladies

Pilates for men: why Pilates is not just for ladies

Pilates for men: why Pilates is not just for ladies Pilates is slowly gaining momentum and popularity and Pilates is not just for ladies. Many health care professionals highly recommend it due to its many benefits. It's like a "buzz" word that is here to stay. Most...