“I’ve been seeing middle-age female clients for years as a Physiotherapist here in Perth, Australia, but I didn’t fully understand why they were complaining about their tendon injuries – plantar fasciitis , tennis elbow etc).
I also noted that their muscles were not tolerating load either and going into a ‘holding pattern’ which would release manually but felt different from my younger clients. The fact that menopause may have something to do with it, never entered my head.
But then I also had a friend who I trained with in competitive surf-lifesaving, who all of a sudden was slower than me despite her feeling that she was putting in the same effort but not getting the same results. She was always tired and in some sort of body pain.
That’s when I began to look into menopause. And whilst I got some answers, there weren’t enough. Interestingly at this time, I started to have problems with my own sleep, sore joints and felt so tired all the time.
I tried numerous supplements and HRT but the results didn’t last, especially as I moved into post-menopause. That’s when I stumbled upon Wendy’s website and listened to her Masterclass on Menopause.
Wow! That was when the penny started to drop. I signed up and did Wendy’s Circuit Breaker programme.
Altering my diet and taking on Wendy’s advice around how to recover from my training now, made the world of difference. Suddenly I had energy and was sleeping again.
I’ve now had the best 2 seasons at the Western Australian Masters Surf Lifesaving State Champs that I’ve had in 10 years! Not only did I get a few medals last summer but I actually had energy right to the last event. In previous years I ran out of reserves by the halfway mark.
When Wendy offered her Health Professionals training course, it was a ‘no-brainer’ to sign up and I’ve loved what I’ve learnt. It was great revising all my physiology and putting it into the context of women’s ageing and the inflammatory response during menopause.
We deep-dived into every single symptom and explored the lifestyle science that is currently available for managing these symptoms, including joint health! I realise that this was the advice that I had been missing with my physiotherapy clients.
An unexpected learning for me was the huge role the HPA pituitary axis plays in the menopausal chaos. And how it has been accumulating for decades. Our lifestyle definitely doesn’t help the situation.”
After the Menopause Practitioner Course, I decided to become a MyMT™ Affiliate Coach. This means I get to coach women through either of the MyMT™ Transform Me and Circuit Breaker programmes alongside my own Physio sessions and Pilates classes.
It’s exciting that I’ve added a new dimension to my physiotherapy assessments for middle aged women. This is now reaping great success for them in overall well-being as well as sorting out musculo-skeletal pain specific to their age and stage of life.
My first group of ladies going through the My Menopause Transformation programmes got great results and now I’m onto my second course! Already a few weeks in, they are all delighted at the differences in their symptoms, sleep and weight loss.
It’s fabulous to have this extra string to my bow as I firmly believe the whole body is important not just the outside bits we can see and feel. And now, based on my new knowledge, I look at my midlife clients tendon injuries differently.
As Wendy moved us through the scientific evidence, it became obvious that the menopause transition is the entry to an ageing body, and therefore, there are inflammatory changes occurring deep within tissues and cells, including tendons, muscles and joints.
As far as my business goes, this added string to my bow has made me the ‘go to’ person in my community for middle aged women. Plus, they all stay on to continue to ‘work out’ in the clinic as we have dedicated Pilates instructors and exercise physiologists who take classes.
It’s become quite a community of midlife women now.
As I move forwards into 2023 I’m so excited to support more menopausal women with lifestyle medicine, so they too can be their best as they move through this transition and beyond. I’m also really keen to consolidate my knowledge and continue to dive deeper into the subject.
Thanks Wendy for all the information I have learnt, and the extra advice and words of wisdom you post in the group plus in emails.”
Sarah Gregson, Physiotherapist/ Body Torque Physiotherapy
If you live in Perth, Western Australia, then please contact Sarah at Body Torque Physiotherapy, if you would like menopause-specific advice or you are continually injured! She is now a registered MyMT™ Affiliate Coach.