About

I am a pelvic floor dysfunction coach and personal trainer
based in south-west London. I specialise in giving you back your life to play the sports you love, do the activities you want and run around after your kids without worrying about your pelvic floor.

No mum wants to sit on the side lines and watch their kids grow up without being actively involved - even if the wine is good!

How can i help

Who am I?

Mother

I am a mother of two small hurricanes, so I understand the challenges of being a Mum. If you throw in post-birth injury and potentially life-long issues it feels like a never-ending mountain of symptom control with self-care and strengthening on the back burner. But this does pass eventually, and you will
get to a point where you can do a little of what you need to look after yourself. After all, you are no use to anyone if you are not functioning, mentally and physically.

Sports woman

I use the term sportswoman lightly here! I am a woman and I love all sports. I love watching it and have really missed playing it. Recently I regained control of my body and I’m now at the gym lifting weights, running,
and playing hockey (not enough time for anything else currently).

Hockey, cricket, tennis and squash have been my go to sports in my adult years.

Birth/Postpartum

I had a horrendous pregnancy (in my opinion). Nausea from day 10 until the little rotter came out (by force) after a delightful 38+ hours labour. A dramatic entry into the world for the smallest hurricane and his Mum and her pelvic floor.
Tearing and swelling are a bad combination at the best of times but as the swelling subsided there was something else that didn’t feel right. At every health care visit I asked to be checked for a prolapse. Each time I was told, "no there is nothing there" or "that’s just normal with birth". I was also checked lying down with a pillow under my hips each time. Even at my six-week check up with the GP (again lying down) I had the same response. Obviously, gravity is a GP’s best friend.
By eight weeks I was not able to walk 500m without feeling like I was chafing my insides on the outside. So, I went to a private clinic and was diagnosed with a Grade 2 cystocele prolapse.

Where I am now nearly 2 years on

Managing my prolapse has meant a lot of hard work and learning. So, exercises on the move, breathing practice during the day wherever I am and late at night. But above all it’s been about finding the time to fit it into my super-busy life as a Mum. Consistency and learning more about my body has really helped me heal. I’m not saying my prolapse has gone (sadly) but I can now go weeks without my pessary and I have learned to work with my body, and build up my strength so that I can keep my symptoms at bay. I can chase my kids around the park, play hockey again and lift heavy weights at the gym as well as run 5 kms weekly with no symptoms the day after. Quite an achievement.

Contact me

Recovery

Once I’d got through the first few weeks after the diagnosis which were all about learning how to breathe again, I decided to do some research. I discovered that there are plenty of physios out there but not that many who help women with pelvic floor dysfunction (is this what you meant Caragh?), so I decided I would take a course to help me understand and learn as much as I could about my condition.

What I learned is that it is a very long journey filled with highs and lows. You can go for days on end without symptoms, and then suddenly, out of the blue, a full- blown day of the big bulge feeling, which is so demoralising. Mentally, it is tough to start with. You want someone to blame. You could blame poor education from an early age about our bodies; blame the baby for sitting in the wrong position in the womb; blame yourself even for poor pressure management; blame the GPs or the healthcare visitors (who are often not fully trained to diagnose it). I could go on, but the point I’m making is that there isn’t really any one thing to point a finger at. The best thing to do is accept it and move forward. Letting it overwhelm you will increase the stress and make it worse in the long run.

One year on, I was comfortably walking 5-8km every day, pushing a pram and occasionally with a kid in a backpack. There were a few scattered runs in the year, but mostly a lot of mobility and breathing exercises.

Two years on, I am training for a triathlon, doing strength training in the gym, swimming, and running weekly, with lots of long walks and a game of hockey each week. I haven't started cycling as it's my least favourite sport (I find it so boring) but I will! There is still a long way to go, but it feels like I’m going in a positive direction, even with the fluctuation of symptoms throughout my cycle. Now I know that it is just a hormonal thing, and nothing to do with my prolapse getting worse.

The future: we shall see how the triathlon goes, then I’ll find the next goal and keep pushing on from there. But my main aim is to help as many women as I can get back to the gym, in the pool, running, cycling, or playing sport again, whether at an elite level or just for fun. I want you to get back to doing what you love without the worry of prolapse or pelvic floor issues ruining your day.

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Qualifications:

Passions:

Pre and Post Natal Corrective Exercise

Level 3 personal trainer

Group fitness instructor

Suspension trainer

Core trainer

Kettle bell Trainer

Passionate about movement and mobility.

Fascinated by the biomechanics of different sport.

Terrible at counting!

Playing and watching sport of any description.

Nature and the outdoors.

Trying To
Hold it in