The Pelvic Floor

In Conversation with Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist Susana Queirós.  

When we talk about women’s health, we often focus on hormones, weight, or screenings – but rarely on the quiet, constant work of the pelvic floor. Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist Susana Queirós is on a mission to change that, offering women a space where intimate symptoms are taken seriously and treated with both science and compassion.

What is pelvic floor physiotherapy?

Susana describes pelvic floor physiotherapy as a specialised area that cares for women’s intimate and functional health in a comprehensive, integrated, and deeply personalised way. It supports women dealing with symptoms such as pain during sex, urinary incontinence or urgency, vaginal heaviness, prolapse, persistent pelvic pain, endometriosis, menstrual pain, postpartum changes, and challenges linked to perimenopause and menopause.

Instead of chasing isolated symptoms, this work looks at how the whole pelvic system is functioning. That includes muscle coordination, tension, sensitivity, breathing patterns, posture, and even how pain is affecting mood, relationships, and daily life.

The power of being properly heard

One of the most important parts of Susana’s approach is what she calls true clinical listening. The process begins with a thorough, individual assessment where a woman’s story is fully heard and validated – not rushed or minimised.

From there, Susana builds a plan that is tailored to each woman’s reality. This may include manual techniques, specific therapeutic exercises, neuromuscular re‑education, biofeedback, and technologies such as laser, radiofrequency, magnetotherapy, or shock waves, always grounded in current scientific evidence. The aim is not just “less pain” or “fewer leaks,” but restoring comfort, a sense of bodily safety, freedom of movement, and confidence in intimacy.

Three things Susana wishes every woman knew

When asked what she most wants women to understand about their pelvic health, Susana doesn’t hesitate. She shares three key truths that can be genuinely life‑changing when you fully take them in.

1. It shouldn’t hurt

   Intimate pain is never something you just have to put up with. Sex shouldn’t hurt, using tampons shouldn’t hurt, and simply sitting down shouldn’t be an exercise in endurance. Pain in these contexts is a sign that something in the system needs attention and care.

   
   

2. Urinary leakage is not inevitable

   Leaking when you laugh, cough, sneeze, or exercise is common, but that doesn’t make it normal or untreatable. It’s not simply “your age,” “because you had children,” or a sign you just need to cross your legs faster on the way to the bathroom. Pelvic floor physiotherapy has strong evidence for improving stress urinary incontinence and other types of leakage by re‑training and supporting the muscles and surrounding structures.

   
   

3. Your body is not against you

   Many women feel betrayed by their bodies, especially after childbirth, surgery, years of pain, or the onset of perimenopause and menopause. Susana offers a different lens: your body is trying to adapt to hormonal changes, physical load, stress, and past experiences. With specialised guidance, those patterns can be re‑educated so the body can move out of protection mode and back into function, ease, and trust.

   
   

What support can look like in real life

A session with a pelvic floor physiotherapist like Susana is typically a blend of education, hands‑on care, and active participation. You might learn how to correctly contract and fully relax your pelvic floor, explore breathing and posture that support your core, and use biofeedback to “see” what your muscles are doing so you can change long‑standing patterns. For some women, internal manual work helps release tension and improve blood flow; for others, targeted strengthening or mobility work is key.

Susana emphasises that no two treatment plans look exactly the same because no two women live in the same body or context. A new mother navigating postpartum recovery will have different needs from someone in perimenopause dealing with dryness, heaviness, and urgency, or someone living with chronic pelvic pain linked to endometriosis. What they all share is the need for safe, evidence‑based, and compassionate support that recognises the whole person, not just a single symptom.

An invitation to informed self‑care

Perhaps the most powerful message Susana leaves women with is this: seeking help is not an exaggeration. Reaching out is an act of informed self‑care – and often the first step towards reclaiming comfort, pleasure, and confidence in your daily life.

If you recognise yourself in any of these symptoms or stories, consider this your gentle nudge to explore pelvic floor physiotherapy and to start a new conversation with your body – one rooted in curiosity, respect, and possibility.