Pelvic pain is a common, yet challenging area of practice. The contributing factors can be multiple and the presentation a complex puzzle. Patients are often embarrassed to speak about their symptoms. Allied health have a unique opportunity to spend more time with the patient to develop the rapport and trust required for this intimate area.
In this course you will review the embryology, anatomy, physiology and common presentations of the pelvic region to help unravel the pelvic pain puzzle for your patients.
Learn about the normal function of the female pelvis and organs and how dysfunction presents clinically. Conditions covered include pudendal neuralgia and visceral pain such as dysmenorrhea and endometriosis.
Liz Howard has been practicing as an osteopath and pain educator for over 20 years including at the Women’s Health and Research Institute of Australia since 2013. She has taught at multiple Australian universities and presented allied health CPD extensively in Australia, New Zealand and most recently in Ireland and Sweden.
The Pelvic Pain Puzzle follows on from Liz's popular Pain & Pregnancy course and will cover;
This course has a strong practical focus and includes appropriate manual therapy techniques that you can use with confidence in your practice. Internal techniques will not be demonstrated. The Pelvic Pain Puzzle is an excellent continuation for those who have attended Liz’s Pain & Pregnancy course. Pelvic girdle pain will be reviewed but not addressed in depth.
The Pelvic Pain Puzzle course is aplicable to allied health manual therapy practitioners. It includes practical examination and treatment protocols you will be able to use with confidence in your practice. Internal techniques will not be demonstrated.
The course will run from 8:30AM to 4PM. Places are limited to 20 attendees. It includes morning and afternoon tea, printed course notes and an e-certificate of attendance for your CPD records. The course can be counted as 7 hours CPD.
This course follows Liz Howard’s popular Pain & Pregnancy course which teaches practitioners to effectively help women during pregnancy (pelvic girdle pain etc), prepare for labour and recover efficiently from delivery or caesarean section.
I thought the course was fantastic! Incredibly well presented, very concise and interactive, and left me feeling confident and enthusiastic about applying it to my practice.
Jane Edmondson
Liz is an inspiring and engaging presenter, she shares extensive clinical knowledge of pelvic and perineal pain by way of case studies and current evidence-based practice protocols. Liz relates current clinical application models for chronic pain seamlessly with familiar osteopathic principles. This course has helped me to develop my confidence in diagnosing and treating patients with pelvic and perineal pain in a way that is immediately transferable to my every day practice.
Bimbi Joy
Loved that it was not too overwhelming and built on lots of techniques we have all learnt! Best course I've been to in a while.
Rebecca Brugman
I especially liked the practical techniques/assessment and exercises that we learnt and, it was very nicely presented I found it easy to be engaged but not intimidating at all!
Jacqueline Green
Get up close with the anatomical structures that you treat every day in your practice and deepen your understanding of pelvic pain presentations.
If it’s been a while since you had the privilege of returning to the anatomy laboratory to learn, then you’ll love this event!
Pelvic pain and organ dysfunction is a common presentation - with 1 in 5 women and 1 in 12 men suffering. This sensitive area of practice requires a sound understanding of the functional anatomy, embryology and how this translates to common symptomatology, and individualised treatment approaches available.
This clinical anatomy course - hosted at the University of Melbourne Cadaver Wet Lab - utilises real cases seen by the interdisciplinary team at the Women’s Health & Research Institute of Australia in Sydney to review the clinical anatomy of pre-dissected pelvic cadavers under the guidance of gynaecological surgeon and pain medicine physician Prof Thierry Vancaillie and advanced pain management osteopath Liz Howard.
These cases will highlight the importance of understanding the complex interrelationship of the pelvic anatomy structures and how this helps us understand patient symptoms.
The day will conclude with a tour of Melbourne Uni’s private Harry Brookes Allen Museum of Anatomy and Pathology - one of Australia's largest collections of human tissue specimens, comparative anatomy specimens and historical anatomical models.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this workshop you will be able to;
Better visualise and understand the anatomical structures of the pelvisCourse Details
This course is applicable to all medical practitioners and allied health with an interest in pelvic anatomy. It would serve as an excellent addition to Liz Howard’s Pain & Pregnancy and Pelvic Pain Puzzle courses.
The course will also feature exclusive access to anatomy, embryology, physiology pre-learning videos (to maximise time in the lab). Internal techniques will not be demonstrated.
The course will run from 8:45AM to 4:30PM. Places are limited to 24 attendees. It includes morning and afternoon tea and an e-certificate of attendance for your CPD records. The course can be counted as 8 hours CPD.
About the Presenters
Professor Thierry Vancaillie is one of Australia’s few accredited Gynaecologist and Pain Medicine Physicians, renowned for his role in developing minimally invasive procedures, including hysteroscopic and laparoscopic surgery. His expertise includes pudendal neuralgia, pelvic pain, post-surgical pain due to mesh implants and the surgical treatment of infertility due to Asherman's Syndrome.
Liz Howard has 25 years experience as an osteopath. She holds the title of Advanced Pain Management Osteopath (USYD), pain educator and clinical specialist in sacral neuromodulation. She has more than 17 years’ experience teaching at multiple Australian universities and as a CPD provider. Liz has been working in collaboration with Prof Vancaillie the team at WHRIA for over 10 years, providing osteopathic manual therapy, pain education, exercise and home care advice to help guide patients on their path to recovery, as a part of a whole team approach.
The Women’s Health & Research Institute of Australia (WHRIA) is a tertiary specialist clinic for pelvic and perineal pain, general gynaecology and hormone issues, with referrals for women and men from all over Australia.
Liz Howard is one of Australia’s leading Osteopaths with experience in treating the pelvis. Working closely with Pain Physician and Gynaecologist Prof Thierry Vancaillie at the Women’s Health & Research Institute of Australia Liz sees the consequences of difficult births, pregnancies and prolonged labour every day. With the right approach, great clinical results can be achieved for many complex presentations and Liz is passionate about sharing her knowledge and experience in this area.
In Pain & Pregnancy, you’ll learn how to best assist patients prepare for birth as well as post-partum covering topics such as prolapse, diastasis recti, preventing nerve pain, pelvic girdle pain, post-cesarean care, breastfeeding ergonomics, and more.
Treatment protocols and techniques demonstrated are based on the latest clinical guidelines for reducing pelvic floor delivery trauma, managing pelvic girdle pain, and the prevention of post-partum complications in the short and long term. You will learn useful self-management tips that patients can utilize during pregnancy, in birth-planning and the post-partum period.
The Pain in Pregnancy course is applicable to all allied health manual therapy practitioners with no prior experience treating pregnancy required. It will include practical examination and treatment protocols you will be able to use with confidence in your practice.
The course will run from 8:30 AM to 4 PM. It includes morning and afternoon tea, e-notes and an e-certificate of attendance for your CPD records. The course can be counted as 7 hours CPD.
After completing this course attendees will have the opportunity to attend Liz Howard’s Pelvic Pain Puzzle course which teaches the management of pelvic and perineal pain.
ACA course code: Y18-041
Organisation and venue was great which left participants comfortable to concentrate on the excellent delivery of very helpful and relevant information and instruction. Well done everyone involved and a big thank you to Liz for so generously sharing her skill and expertise.
Gopi McLeod
This was hands down one of the best courses I have attended! The balance of updated info, the course structure and the hands on practice was brilliant. I especially enjoyed that you tailored the course to the attendees and the one day course structure so that I don't feel burned out on the weekend and it didn’t impact work as much as a two day course may have. Thank you very much to all of the tutors and Liz for your guidance and support.
Casey Beaumont
Clear instruction, straight to the point, no wasting time.
Leonardo Viola
