{"id":24499,"date":"2025-06-04T00:00:35","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T22:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.physiotutors.com\/?post_type=podcast&#038;p=24499"},"modified":"2025-04-11T14:48:03","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T12:48:03","slug":"pelvic-health-hedwig-neels","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/www.physiotutors.com\/podcasts\/pelvic-health-hedwig-neels\/","title":{"rendered":"EP. 077: Breaking Taboos About Pelvic Health With Hedwig Neels"},"featured_media":24501,"template":"","tracking_tag":[2192],"class_list":["post-24499","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tracking_tag-lumbar-sij"],"acf":{"sections":[{"acf_fc_layout":"page-header-detail-page","background":{"background_image":24502,"background_image_alt_text":"Pelvic Health Physiotherapy"},"heading":"Breaking Taboos About Pelvic Health","subheading":"Podcast","content_editor":"","button_type":"internal_link","button_label":"","button_style":"button-one","button_internal_link":"","button_anchor":"","button_url":"","button_file":null,"label":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"submenu","links":[{"button_type":"anchor","button_label":"Listen","button_internal_link":null,"button_anchor":"section-number-3","button_url":"","button_file":null},{"button_type":"anchor","button_label":"Guest","button_internal_link":null,"button_anchor":"section-number-4","button_url":"","button_file":null},{"button_type":"anchor","button_label":"Description","button_internal_link":null,"button_anchor":"section-number-5","button_url":"","button_file":null},{"button_type":"anchor","button_label":"Download","button_internal_link":null,"button_anchor":"section-number-7","button_url":"","button_file":null}],"dropdown_label":"","button_right":{"button_type":"internal_link","button_label":"","button_style":"button-one","button_internal_link":"","button_anchor":"","button_url":"","button_file":null},"button_description":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"podcast-embed","column_left":{"content_editor":"<h2 class=\"heading-four\">Listen<\/h2>"},"column_right":{"content_editor":"<iframe style=\"border: none;\" title=\"Embed Player\" src=\"https:\/\/play.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/36095995\/height\/192\/theme\/modern\/size\/large\/thumbnail\/yes\/custom-color\/ffffff\/time-start\/00:00:00\/hide-playlist\/yes\/hide-subscribe\/yes\/hide-share\/yes\/font-color\/000000\" width=\"100%\" height=\"192\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe>\r\n\r\n<strong>Content<\/strong>\r\n\r\n00:00 Intro\r\n\r\n01:12 Why she started her Pelvic Health Platform\r\n\r\n03:19 Misconceptions about the Pelvic Floor\r\n\r\n06:42 Sponsor\r\n\r\n07:19 Lowering the barrier to start talking about pelvic health\r\n\r\n12:00 Pelvic Health during and after pregnancy\r\n\r\n15:40 Return to sport post-partum\r\n\r\n20:00 Quantifying pelvic floor function in practice\r\n\r\n23:37 Pelvic Floor Problems among top reasons women stop playing sports\r\n\r\n26:52 Male pelvic pain\r\n\r\n31:43 More about letting go than holding in\r\n\r\n34:12 Pelvic health skills for non-pelvic health practitioners\r\n\r\n37:01 Sponsor\r\n\r\n38:02 Go beyond Kegels\r\n\r\n42:54 Don't forget the pelvic girdle\r\n\r\n46:34 The biggest innovation in pelvic rehab\r\n\r\n49:32 What every physio should know about pelvic health\r\n\r\n51:02 Hedwig's closing thoughts\r\n\r\n53:18 Contact info &amp; Outro"},"unlock_banner":{"heading":"Become a member to unlock this podcast","subheading":"This content is for members","content_editor":"","number_of_buttons":"one","button_1":{"button_type":"internal_link","button_label":"","button_style":"button-unlock","button_internal_link":4135,"button_anchor":"","button_url":"","button_file":null},"button_2":{"button_type":"internal_link","button_label":"","button_style":"button-unlock","button_internal_link":4135,"button_anchor":"","button_url":"","button_file":null}},"free_resource":"free"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content-content","section_options":{"vertical_alignment":"top","column_right_box":false,"column_left_width":"col-12 col-lg-4 offset"},"column_left":{"content_editor":"<h2 class=\"heading-four\">Guest<\/h2>"},"column_right":{"content_editor":"<img class=\"alignleft wp-image-24503 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.physiotutors.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Hedwig-Neels-Profile-150x150.png\" alt=\"Hedwig neels profile\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/>\r\n<h3>Hedwig Neels<\/h3>\r\nHedwig is a physiotherapist specializing in pelvic health, with a particular focus on education and awareness. She is a professor at the University of Antwerp, where she combines academic research with clinical practice at the University Hospital of Antwerp. Hedwig is also the founder of The Pelvic Floor, an information platform and community designed to break taboos and make pelvic health accessible and understandable for all women. She teaches both medical and paramedical professionals through the Women's &amp; Pelvic Health Professionals network and is the author of <em>Het Bekkenbodemboek<\/em> \u2014 a beautifully illustrated, accessible guide to pelvic floor health for women.Her clinical expertise also extends to athletes, including both women and men, with a special focus on cycling-related saddle pain and its impact on performance."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"content-content","section_options":{"vertical_alignment":"top","column_right_box":false,"column_left_width":"col-12 col-lg-4 offset"},"column_left":{"content_editor":"<h2 class=\"heading-four\">Description<\/h2>"},"column_right":{"content_editor":"In Episode 77 of the PhysioTutors podcast, we welcome Hedwig Neels, a renowned physiotherapist from Belgium who specializes in pelvic health. Hedwig is a professor at the University of Antwerp and founder of the Pelvic Floor platform, which aims to break taboos and make pelvic health accessible and understandable for women. During the episode, Hedwig discusses her journey in creating the Pelvic Floor platform and the common misconceptions around pelvic health, such as the overemphasis on Kegel exercises. She emphasizes the importance of education, awareness, and a holistic approach to pelvic health. The conversation also covers pelvic health during pregnancy and postpartum, highlighting the need for pelvic floor training and the challenges in returning to high-impact sports. Hedwig shares insights into male pelvic health, particularly saddle pain in cyclists, and the significance of relaxation over strengthening in certain cases. The episode concludes with a discussion on the future of pelvic floor rehabilitation and the importance of open communication and education in the field. Hedwig provides valuable resources and advice for physiotherapists and individuals looking to understand and improve pelvic health."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"podcast-embed","column_left":{"content_editor":"<h2 class=\"heading-four\">Downloads<\/h2>"},"column_right":{"content_editor":"DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT\r\n\r\nDOWNLOAD INFOGRAPHIC"},"unlock_banner":{"heading":"Become a member to unlock the podcast transcripts","subheading":"This content is for members","content_editor":"","number_of_buttons":"one","button_1":{"button_type":"internal_link","button_label":"Become a member","button_style":"button-one","button_internal_link":4135,"button_anchor":"","button_url":"","button_file":null},"button_2":{"button_type":"internal_link","button_label":"Become a member","button_style":"button-one","button_internal_link":4135,"button_anchor":"","button_url":"","button_file":null}},"free_resource":"unfree"},{"acf_fc_layout":"featured-latest-podcasts","heading":"Other interesting podcasts","subheading":"Featured","content_editor":"","featured_or_latest":"latest","posts":[5438,6559,5294],"button_type":"internal_link","button_label":"","button_style":"button-one","button_internal_link":"","button_anchor":"","button_url":"","button_file":null}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pelvic Health Physiotherapy with Hedwig Neels | Physio Podcast<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Pelvic Health Physiotherapy Expert Hedwig Neels breaks taboos about the pelvic floor in this episode of the Physiotutors podcast.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.physiotutors.com\/podcasts\/pelvic-health-hedwig-neels\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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