“Restricting activity in the hopes of saving your vagina is not holistic womens health”
We speak with Antony Lo (Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist based in Sydney, Australia) about pelvic health considerations in the female athlete and Crossfit training and injuries.
To find out more about Antony, visit: http://physiodetective.com
00:28 Can you introduce yourself?
00:55 What got you interested in women’s health?
03:05 How often do you treat males with pelvic floor dysfunction?
03:59 How do women perceive you as a male in this career path?
05:24 How do you explain what you do to women?
06:53 How do you assess what the pelvic floor is doing without an internal exam?
08:32 What are some of the biggest myths about pelvic floor dysfunction that you are hoping to dispel?
14:01 What are your thoughts on crunches and sit-ups?
17:20 How do you teach women to control their pressure system?
19:29 How did you get involved with crossfit?
22:10 Sometime crossfit gets a bad reputation because of injury and the structure of the workouts, what are your thoughts on that?
26:37 Are there any common injuries that you see with treating crossfit athletes?
28:49 How important is modifying load as a treatment intervention?
30:28 Do you find athletes have a hard time with being told what they can/cannot do when they are injured?
34:48 What cues do you use to teach pelvic floor contractions to an athlete vs. someone who’s not doing a high level of sports?
37:36 How do you explain to someone how much they should be squeezing?
38:44 How do you get people to the point where they can use that contraction in a functional movement?
40:14 Do you think that the pelvic floor should be discussed at the beginning for anyone in sports, or just if there is dysfunction present?
43:40 How do you get people back to a higher level of sport?
47:23 What are your thoughts on breathing and lifting?
50:28 What do you think about the use of weight lifting belts?
53:32 Anything else you’d like to touch on?