Michelle Lyons, MISCP PT, has over twenty years of experience as a chartered physiotherapist. She has recently returned to live in Ireland after a number of years in the US.
As well as developing numerous speciality courses for Herman & Wallace (Oncology and the Female Pelvic Floor, Oncology and the Male Pelvic Floor, The Athlete & the Pelvic Floor, Menopause Rehabilitation and Symptom Management, and Special Topics: Endometriosis, Infertility & Hysterectomy), she is also a tutor on the Pelvic Floor Series and the Pregnancy/Post-partum Series. Michelle was also proud to be an item writer for the PRPC certification exam.
With additional training in nutrition therapy, herbal medicine, pilates and yoga as well as her clinical training and experience in pelvic health and oncology rehab, Michelle is a firm believer in integrative medicine and a whole body approach to health and wellness.
She is also a lecturer for the Pelvic Obstetric & Gynaecological Physiotherapy Association in the U.K. on their pregnancy/MSK courses and will be Clinical Lead on their new advanced pelvic floor course and their male pelvic health coursework. She blogs and teaches online (available late 2015) for Medbridge Education and has collaborated with the Integrative Women's Health Institute and Burrell Education on a number of live and online women’s health educational programs.
As a social media advocate, in 2013 she co-founded the Women’s Health Physiotherapy Facebook group, which now has over 3000 members from all over the world. A poster presentation looking at the role of the group/social media in promoting women’s health was presented at WCPT in 2015.
She also offers consulting/ mentoring service to clinicians internationally who wish to develop pelvic rehab, integrative health or oncology rehab programs. With a busy international teaching schedule, she also finds time to indulge her passion for reading, shopping for more books and reading some more!
Courses Instructed by Michelle Lyons, PT, MISCP:
This post was written by H&W instructor Michelle Lyons, PT, MISCP, who authored and instructs the course, Special Topics in Women’s Health: Endometriosis, Infertility & Hysterectomy. She will be presenting this course this February!
Endometriosis is a common gynaecological disorder, affecting up to 15% of women of reproductive age. Because endometriosis can only be diagnosed surgically, and also because some women with the disease experience relatively minor discomfort or symptoms, there is some controversy regarding the estimates of prevalence, with some authorities stating that as many as one and three women may have endometriosis (Eskenazi & Warner 1997)
There is a wide spectrum of symptoms of endometriosis, with little or no correlation between the acuteness of the disease and the severity of the symptoms (Oliver & Overton 2014). The most commonly reported symptoms are severe dysmenorrhoea and pelvic pain between periods. Dyspareunia, dyschezia and dysuria are also commonly seen. These pain symptoms can be severe and have been reported to lead to work absences by 82% of women, with an estimated cost in Europe of €30 billion per year (EST 2005). Secondary musculoskeletal impairments caused by may include: lumbar, sacroiliac, abdominal and pelvic floor pain, muscle spasms/ myofascial trigger points, connective tissue dysfunction, urinary urgency, scar tissue adhesion and sexual dysfunction (Troyer 2007) – all of which may be responsive to skilled pelvic rehab intervention.
Endometriosis can lead to inflammation, scar tissue and adhesion formation and myofascial dysfunction throughout the abdominal and pelvic regions. This can set up a painful cycle in the pelvic floor muscles secondary to the decrease in pelvic and abdominal organ/muscle/fascia mobility which can subsequently lead to decreased circulation, tight muscles, myofascial trigger points, connective tissue dysfunction and pain and possible neural irritation.
Abdominal trigger points and pain can be commonly seen after laparascopic surgery for diagnosis or treatment. We know that fascially, the abdominal muscles are closely connected with the pelvic floor muscles and dysfunction in one group may trigger dysfunction in the other, as well as causing associated stability, postural and dynamic stability issues.
The pain created by muscle tension and dysfunction, may lead to further pain and increasing central sensitisation and further disability. Unfortunately for the endometriosis patient, as well as dealing with the problems already associated with endometriosis, she may also develop a spectrum of secondary musculo-skeletal problems, including pelvic floor dysfunction – and for some patients this may actually be responsible for the majority of their pain (Troyer 2007).
The skilled pelvic rehab therapist has much to offer this under-served patient population in terms of reducing pain and dysfunction, educating regarding self-care and exercise and helping to restore quality of life. Interested in learning more? Join me for my new course: ‘Special Topics in Women’s Health: Endometriosis, Infertility & Hysterectomy’ in San Diego this February or Chicago in June.
This post was written by H&W instructor Michelle Lyons, PT, MISCP, who authored and instructs the course, Special Topics in Women’s Health: Endometriosis, Infertility & Hysterectomy. She will be presenting this course this February!
Endometriosis is a common gynaecological disorder, affecting up to 15% of women of reproductive age. Because endometriosis can only be diagnosed surgically, and also because some women with the disease experience relatively minor discomfort or symptoms, there is some controversy regarding the estimates of prevalence, with some authorities stating that as many as one and three women may have endometriosis (Eskenazi & Warner 1997)
There is a wide spectrum of symptoms of endometriosis, with little or no correlation between the acuteness of the disease and the severity of the symptoms (Oliver & Overton 2014). The most commonly reported symptoms are severe dysmenorrhoea and pelvic pain between periods. Dyspareunia, dyschezia and dysuria are also commonly seen. These pain symptoms can be severe and have been reported to lead to work absences by 82% of women, with an estimated cost in Europe of €30 billion per year (EST 2005). Secondary musculoskeletal impairments caused by may include: lumbar, sacroiliac, abdominal and pelvic floor pain, muscle spasms/ myofascial trigger points, connective tissue dysfunction, urinary urgency, scar tissue adhesion and sexual dysfunction (Troyer 2007) – all of which may be responsive to skilled pelvic rehab intervention.
Endometriosis can lead to inflammation, scar tissue and adhesion formation and myofascial dysfunction throughout the abdominal and pelvic regions. This can set up a painful cycle in the pelvic floor muscles secondary to the decrease in pelvic and abdominal organ/muscle/fascia mobility which can subsequently lead to decreased circulation, tight muscles, myofascial trigger points, connective tissue dysfunction and pain and possible neural irritation.
Abdominal trigger points and pain can be commonly seen after laparascopic surgery for diagnosis or treatment. We know that fascially, the abdominal muscles are closely connected with the pelvic floor muscles and dysfunction in one group may trigger dysfunction in the other, as well as causing associated stability, postural and dynamic stability issues.
The pain created by muscle tension and dysfunction, may lead to further pain and increasing central sensitisation and further disability. Unfortunately for the endometriosis patient, as well as dealing with the problems already associated with endometriosis, she may also develop a spectrum of secondary musculo-skeletal problems, including pelvic floor dysfunction – and for some patients this may actually be responsible for the majority of their pain (Troyer 2007).
The skilled pelvic rehab therapist has much to offer this under-served patient population in terms of reducing pain and dysfunction, educating regarding self-care and exercise and helping to restore quality of life. Interested in learning more? Join me for my new course: ‘Special Topics in Women’s Health: Endometriosis, Infertility & Hysterectomy’ in San Diego this February or Chicago in June.
This March, H&W is launching a brand new course on Oncology and the Male Pelvic Floor. This course was developed by H&W faculty member Michelle Lyons, PT, MISCP.
Pelvic Rehab Report sat down with Michelle to learn more about her course.
PRR: What inspired you to create this course?
ML: I am very passionate about oncology rehab and pelvic physical therapy. While it has been great to see the huge advancements being made in the provision and recognition of pelvic physical therapy, I often feel that cancer survivors don’t always get the treatment they deserve – they don’t fall exclusively into the domain of the pelvic therapist or the oncology therapist. Add to this the lack of awareness in the medical community about the benefits of physical therapy generally (and pelvic physical therapy especially) and it becomes obvious that a lot of pelvic oncology patients, both men and women, have many issues that we can help address. The first step is creating awareness, both with our medical colleagues and with cancer survivors, about the benefits of physical therapy
What resources and research were used when writing this course?
I like to use a wide range of resources when creating a course. My main priority was to determine if there was a need for this service – I visited cancer survivorship websites and forums and asked on various social media sites, as well as talking to medical and therapy colleagues, about their opinions on the topic. The answer was a resounding ‘We need this!’
I read hundreds of journal articles, interviewed healthcare professionals and patients as well as drawing on my own professional experience. I want this course to be based on the best evidence based medical practice out there, but more importantly, I want to make the information immediately clinically applicable, so there will be a generous allotment of time to discussing and practising manual therapy techniques and exploring different ideas for exercise prescription. I believe we are all students and we are all teachers; I know I learn something new every time I teach, so I am really hoping these classes will be a forum to get therapists brainstorming and planning how best to serve this community
Can you describe the clinical/treatment approach/techniques covered in this continuing education course?
We will be looking at how to apply the skills we have to help problem solve pelvic issues such as bladder, bowel and sexual dysfunction, but also thinking about the sequelae and complications of cancer treatments such as osteoporosis, fatigue and cognitive changes. I want to discuss the necessary precautions and contraindications we need to be aware of but also to look at how to develop the skillset we already have to really enhance cancer survivors’ quality of life
Why should a therapist take this course? How can these skill sets benefit his/ her practice?
Fortunately, we are seeing more people living longer lives as cancer survivors – there have been huge advances in the treatment of many pelvic cancers. But these treatments do have side effects that impact on the pelvic health of the many men and women who battle pelvic cancers. We are the experts in pelvic rehabilitation and I think we need to expand our skillsets to offer cancer survivors access to our expertise. The many exciting changes we are seeing in cancer care means that therapists need to be able to not only assess, treat and educate cancer survivors but also to be able to show that the work we do has a body of research to demonstrate the value of what we do. I think developing an expertise in pelvic oncology will be of huge value to a therapist’s repertoire of marketable skills, but I can also tell you that working with pelvic cancer survivors will be one of the most rewarding aspects of your career. You will literally be changing people’s lives.
The course will be offered January 25-26 in San Diego, CA. Don't miss this brand new offering - Register today!