Women's Health Exercise Physiology

Individualised, evidence based exercise to support women's health at every stage of life.

Delivered with care, clinical expertise, and a focus on your unique needs and experience.

Women's Health Exercise Physiology

Personalised support for women's health and wellbeing.

Exercise & Women's Health

There are so many benefits of exercise for various women's health concerns. Far too often women's health concerns are dismissed. Women's pain unfortunately is commonly downplayed and dismissed by health professionals, the very people that women have entrusted in helping them improve their well being, quality of life and health outcomes. In many instances these health concerns are misdiagnosed, or women wait many years to receive a diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Here at Coordinated Fitness we pride ourselves on listening to your concerns. We seek to develop appropriate movement strategies and a specific exercise plan for you, in collaboration with you and your trusted health team.

Our Women's Health Exercise Physiologists have completed additional training and professional development in assisting individuals living with various conditions. Conditions we can assist you with include:

Endometriosis & adenomyosis
Pelvic pain, pelvic floor tightness or weakness
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
Peri-menopause & Menopause
Osteoporosis & osteopenia
Chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, functional neurological disorder and other invisible illnesses that more commonly affect women.
Pelvic floor prolapse
Breast, ovarian & uterine cancers
Incontinence

If you are impacted by any of these conditions, and are looking for where to go next with navigating your health and wellbeing, get in touch to see one of our specialist Exercise Physiologists. We are ready to listen and help you get started on your movement and exercise journey

Endometriosis & Adenomyosis

Endometriosis is when endometrial tissue grows outside the uterus. Lesions can be found on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, intestines and bowel most commonly. The bleeding and breaking down of this tissue with each menstrual cycle can leave scar tissue and adhesions. Common symptoms with endometriosis include pelvic pain, heavy bleeding, high muscle tone of the pelvic floor and surrounding muscles, painful periods, constipation and infertility.

Endometriosis has no current cure. It can be treated with surgeries to remove cysts and endometrial tissue from organs. Surgeries can include bowel resection or hysterectomy. Surgeries are aimed at reducing pain and sometimes fertility outcomes. Other treatments include hormonal interventions to reduce the growth of the endometrial like tissue, pain relieving medications and specific nutrition guidelines to manage pain and improve fertility outcomes.

Movement and exercise can have a significant impact on managing endometriosis. Mindful movement and muscle relaxation can aid in reducing pain levels. Specific mobility exercises for tight muscles can help to restore length and manage pain. Relaxation of pelvic floor muscles aim to reduce pelvic muscle spasms and manage incontinence. Various types of resistance and aerobic exercise aim to improve exercise tolerance gradually and reduce pressure and pain levels. Some types of exercise can reduce the of developing cysts and help to balance hormones linked to the growth of endometrial like tissues. Additionally post-surgery, exercise plays a role in building strength and fitness for everyday tasks, with the goal to return to high intensity exercise.

Adenomyosis is when the endometrial-like tissue grows in the wall of the uterus.

Similarly to endometriosis, adenomyosis can cause painful periods and significant pelvic pain. Treatments also include hormonal treatments and surgeries if the individual is not planning any future pregnancies. Depending on symptoms, movement and exercise treatment is similar to that as endometriosis.

Exercise Physiology is located in Greenslopes, Brisbane.

Pelvic Floor Pain

Pelvic floor pain is multi-faceted and can have many contributing factors. We can work together with your pelvic floor physiotherapist to work on any tightness or weakness of your pelvic floor and surrounding muscles and tissues.

Pelvic floor pain requires a whole body approach, and can be related to poor breathing techniques, poor walking mechanics, and a heightened nervous system. We can assess you on what areas may be contributing to your pelvic floor pain, and can design a movement approach that is suitable.

PCOS

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) can have significant impacts on fertility, cardiometabolic health and psychological wellbeing. Whilst there are multiple different types of PCOS, one of the most common underlying contributing factors is insulin resistance.

Exercise can play a huge role in improving insulin sensitivity, and your Exercise Physiologist can point you in the right direction of the most effective exercise type and dosage. Specific exercise programming can help with improving mental health, improving ovulation and increasing frequency of your menstrual cycle, all whilst decreasing your metabolic and cardiovascular disease risk.

Peri-menopause & Menopause

Throughout the menopausal transition, many women can experience significant symptoms that can have a severe impact on their wellbeing and quality of life. Due to the decline in oestrogen during peri-menopause and beyond, women are at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis (low bone density). Specific strength and impact training can help in maintaining muscle and bone mass.

It is important to work on maintaining cardiovascular fitness through aerobic exercise, and some specific types of interval training have been shown to have good benefits for improving cardiovascular fitness, but also through reducing fatigue and helping to manage other symptoms such as hot flushes and low mood.

Osteoporosis & Osteopenia

Ideally, the sooner you can effectively load your bones, the more significant impact we can have long-term on maintaining or even improving bone density. This is important to reduce the risk of fractures in the future.

We know that simply walking is not enough to improve bone density. Our Bone Foundations Program is specifically designed for individuals looking to build and maintain their bone density.

Click here to find out more on our Bone Foundations program.

Invisible Illnesses

Invisible illnesses disproportionately affect women more than men. Some of these illnesses include chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)/ myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), fibromyalgia, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome(EDS), postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), functional neurological disorder (FND).

Often individuals living with these conditions have been dismissed by multiple health professionals, and it may have taken many years to reach their diagnosis. Our women's health EPs are here to listen to your story and ensure we work together with you to build the right movement plan for you.

Our women's health EPs have experience in these conditions, and can safely use movement and exercise to help you achieve your goals.

Pelvic Floor Prolapse

Prolapse is a multifaceted women's health issue, which requires treatment from a multi-disciplinary team. A pelvic floor physiotherapist is important in providing an internal examination. This is used for diagnosis and in teaching correct pelvic floor engagement.

Some individuals may require pessaries or surgery to manage their prolapse. In addition to those mentioned above, Exercise Physiology can aid in teaching correct pelvic floor and core muscle engagement.

We may also work on reducing downwards pressure on the pelvic floor through correcting breathing and bracing techniques, improving respiratory capacity and fitness, and increasing the strength of the body to reduce the load placed on the pelvic floor during everyday activities.

Women's Cancers

Exercise plays an important role both during cancer treatment and through survivorship for breast, ovarian and uterine cancers. The evidence is increasingly indicating that exercise is an important adjuvant therapy during cancer treatment, and can improve the success of treatment. Exercise can assist in reducing the impact of treatment side effects, and reducing the risk of recurrence post-treatment.

Exercise needs to be tailored to each individual based on their diagnosis, treatment type and any side effects they may be experiencing, in addition to their current fitness and fatigue levels.

Incontinence

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and urgency urinary incontinence impacts women of a range of ages and through different life stages. Stress-urinary incontinence is leakage of urine with an increase in intra-abdominal pressure during exertion or effort.

Although vaginal birth is a significant risk factor for SUI, it also impacts a large number of athletes who have never given birth. Incontinence is not necessarily due to the weakness of the pelvic floor, it may in-fact be a tightness and inability to completely relax the pelvic floor.

It can also be related to poor breathing mechanics and impact absorption. Specific rehabilitation and exercise prescription can assist in treating incontinence.

Women's Health Exercise Physiology