Menopause – An Integrative Approach For Physiotherapists

Participants who register for this course have the option to attend the course live-online and/or watch the recording later. The recording will be available to all registrants for a 6-week period and access is provided on the next business day following the course. This allows participants who may not be able to attend live-online to still benefit from the course content. 

Course Description:

Menopause is having a moment! There’s never been a better time to become familiar with the whole body and brain changes associated with menopause and to get clear about our role in helping women live well during menopause and beyond.

Female hormones change dramatically throughout our lives, and affect every function and structure in our bodies, from pelvic health to psychological health.

Do you understand what’s happening hormonally during the menstrual cycle? During pregnancy and postnatal recovery? What if you’re postnatal AND perimenopausal?

And what’s the difference between perimenopause and post menopause?

How can we help women live well during all of these transitions?

In this revised, updated and expanded course we will explore:

• The definitions, key terms and diagnostic criteria to understand around this transition
• The influence of menstrual and maternal health on good outcomes at and after menopause
• The musculoskeletal implications of low oestrogen: how muscles, tendons & joints are affected by menopause
• Breast health, back pain and prolapse – creating good support systems
• Resistance training: what do we need to consider, from bone health to pelvic health?
• Brain changes, sleep hygiene and evidence based lifestyle medicine for managing symptoms
• Why women at menopause/after hysterectomy are more likely to be diagnosed with IBS and what does the evidence tell us about our role in midlife bowel health
• Why urinary frequency and urgency, as well as incontinence are menopausal issues
• Sexual health at menopause: it’s not just about atrophy! Body image, msk considerations & relationship with self, along with lubricants, moisturizers and topical hormonal treatment
• Metabolic changes, weight gain and exercise prescription
• Exercise prescription at menopause: picking the right tool for the target

Objectives – By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

1. Explain the anatomical, physiological and hormonal changes associated with the menopausal transition, including their impact on pelvic, urogenital, musculoskeletal and whole-body health from peri- to post-menopause.
2. Critically appraise and apply the evidence for pelvic rehabilitation in Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM), integrating assessment, education, exercise, pelvic floor rehabilitation and appropriate multidisciplinary management into individualized care.
3. Recognize, assess and manage the Musculoskeletal Syndrome of Menopause (MSM), applying evidence-informed principles of resistance, impact, balance, mobility and load management to support muscle, tendon, joint and bone health and lifelong physical function.
4. Integrate brain, heart, mental and metabolic health into menopause rehabilitation, using a biopsychosocial and behaviour-change-informed approach to create personalized strategies that support resilience, recovery, physical activity, sleep, nutrition and long-term health.

In this course, supplemented by access to pre-recorded lectures & videos, the therapist’s repertoire of clinical reasoning, manual therapies and exercise prescription will be developed, along with an exploration of evidence based integrative approaches, including yoga, breath-work, stress management, sleep hygiene & lifestyle pertaining to the management of menopausal symptoms. Participants will gain an understanding of the changing hormonal profiles of the menopausal woman, but will also appreciate the long term implications of these changes, especially pelvic & sexual health and function, musculoskeletal/bone health issues, and overall health and wellness.

5+ hours of pre-recorded material available 7 days before the course start date and for 14 days after the last session.

Audience: Open to all healthcare and wellness professionals. Information/skills taught must only be used within your scope of practice.

Prerequisites: None

Time: Two-day course from 10:00am – 4:00pm ET (Toronto). Please convert to your local time zone.