PelviCon 2026: Disrupt

Course Description:

PelviCon is returning for its 5th year on September 25-26, 2026, with a continued goal of inspiring pelvic health providers and improving the quality of care for patients across the globe! PelviCon was founded because we recognized a need for the pelvic health rehabilitation field to come together. Pelvic health physical therapy has been expanding at a monumental rate, with more providers specializing in this field than ever before! With this incredible growth comes a great responsibility, one that we aim to meet through the mission and vision of PelviCon!

Our 2026 conference brings amazing and internationally known clinicians to the PelviCon stage! We’ll learn from the leaders of our field, exploring topics like vulvar pain, endometriosis, chronic pain, pelvic oncology, maternal health and more! As always, PelviCon will aim to blend best practice and evidence-based care with inspiration– encouraging our participants to return to their practices refreshed, motivated and inspired to be the best clinicians they can be!

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this conference, participants will be able to:

Describe the physiologic effects of menopause on the body, including the genitourinary tract and sexual function.
Recognize common but underreported symptoms of perimenopause and menopause and their impact on quality of life.
Explain the historical context of the Women’s Health Initiative and how updated evidence informs current individualized hormone therapy decisions.
Apply the five key tenets of menopause management — estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, GSM treatment, and sexual health — in primary care practice.
Initiate patient-centered conversations about menopause and sexuality with greater confidence and clinical clarity
Describe the key components of a comprehensive vulvar, vaginal, and clitoral exam relevant to pelvic floor physical therapy practice.
Identify common vulvar, vestibular, vaginal, clitoral, dermatologic, hormonal, and pain-related findings that may influence pelvic floor assessment and treatment planning.
Demonstrate trauma-informed, consent-based language and positioning strategies for performing a sensitive genital exam with patient comfort and autonomy at the center.
Educate patients using accurate, shame-free language about vulvar, vaginal, and clitoral anatomy, including how anatomy may relate to pain, sexual function, pelvic floor symptoms, and treatment options.
Differentiate normal anatomic variation from findings that warrant referral, co-management, or further medical evaluation.
Apply exam findings to clinical reasoning in pelvic pain, dyspareunia, genitourinary syndrome of menopause, vulvar pain, arousal concerns, and other pelvic health presentations.
Develop a practical framework for documenting findings, communicating with referring clinicians, and integrating vulvar, vaginal, and clitoral exam skills into pelvic floor physical therapy care within scope of practice.
Name three differences between normal tissue and scar tissue
Identify three surgeries that could impact c-section scar tissue
List three lifestyle factors that can impact the wound healing process
Name three devices every birthing person should have to identify the major causes of maternal death from home.
Identify three providers/resources that women may need on their team based on changes in their vital signs.
Discuss two vital sign changes that can be used to detect pregnancy-related complications.
Identify the sex, gender and pelvic health differences when we're working with women who have back pain
Understand the intersection of psychophysiology, neuroimmune function, pelvic health and back pain
Demonstrate enhanced clinical reasoning to elevate practice and improve treatment outcomes in improving pelvic health, back pain and self-efficacy
Identify the key references from recent literature that supports the role of pelvic rehab in improving quality of life for people with LARS
Understand the sexual health dysfunctions, and their solutions, faced by people after gynecologic cancer.
Demonstrate insight into the need for skilled pelvic rehab as a core component of person centred cancer survivorship, ideally from prehab through to rehab
Understand the current state of science informing diagnosis of diastasis
Understanding the current state of science informing the management of diastasis
Understand the influence of social media information about diastasis on postpartum women with diastasis.
Understand the current state of science for compression garments across bodily areas
Understand the current state of science for the role of compression garments targeting the pelvic floor and or lumbopelvic region
Demonstrate clinical reasoning to inform guidance on the indication for pelvic compression garments for individual patients.
Identify advances in what defines endometriosis
Identify the latest ACOG protocol in medical management of pelvic pain in relation to endometriosis
Verbalize differential diagnosis of Endo and other inflammatory conditions that effect endometriosis
Demonstrate how and why physical therapy is integral in the treatment and management of pelvic pain in relation to endometriosis
Identify advances of a neuromusculoskeletal approach to pelvic floor physical therapy treatment and endometriosis
Identify the latest in Patient Education, Behavioral Modifications, Mindfulness and more
Identify components of spiritually-informed care
Enact aspects of screening for spiritual health components within pelvic health care
Identify ethical competence with respect to whole person bio-psycho-social-spiritual care
Identify the anatomy and distinct functional contributions of key muscles within the male pelvic floor.
Interpret transperineal ultrasound images to assess male pelvic floor muscle activation and coordination.
Apply findings from a precise, muscle-specific assessment to individualize pelvic floor rehabilitation for men.
Identify the defining clinical features of nociceptive, neuropathic and nociplastic pain phenotypes.
Explain how pain phenotype can influence treatment selection for pelvic health conditions.
Apply a structured clinical framework to differentiate pain phenotypes, including mixed presentations, in clinical practice.

Speaker Bios

Michelle Lyons, PT, MISCP

Michelle Lyons is an internationally recognized women’s and pelvic health physiotherapist, educator, and speaker. She has consulted for organizations including FIFA, Sport Ireland, the European Society of Gynecologic Oncology, and Bayer Pharmaceuticals. Michelle teaches internationally across Europe, North America, Australia, and Asia and provides online women’s health education through Celebrate Muliebrity. Her postgraduate training includes health coaching, functional nutrition, innovation and enterprise, and stress management and resilience.

Taryn Hallam, PT

Taryn Hallam is an Australian physiotherapist with advanced specialization in urogynecology. She teaches advanced coursework through Women’s Health Training Associates and is internationally recognized for her expertise in pessary use for incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. Taryn has trained physical therapists around the world in pessary management and is known for translating evidence into practical clinical care.

Gráinne Donnelly, PT, BSc(Hons), MSc, POGP

Gráinne Donnelly is an Advanced Practice Pelvic Health Physiotherapist, doctoral researcher, and educator from Northern Ireland. She serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Pelvic, Obstetric and Gynaecological Physiotherapy and is a trustee of the Pelvic, Obstetric and Gynaecological Physiotherapy charitable body. She is also an editor of the Elsevier textbook Sports Medicine and the Pelvic Floor: Science to Practice. Gráinne is currently completing her PhD at Cardiff Metropolitan University.

Rachel Rubin, MD

Dr. Rachel Rubin is a board-certified urologist, fellowship-trained sexual medicine specialist, and Assistant Clinical Professor of Urology at Georgetown University. Her clinical expertise includes sexual health, pelvic and genital pain, menopause, libido, arousal, orgasm, and erectile dysfunction. She is a former Education Chair and Director-at-Large for the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Sexual Medicine. Dr. Rubin also founded the Sexual Medicine Research Team to advance sexual health research and mentor emerging clinician-researchers.

Katherine Sylvester, PT, DPT

Dr. Katherine Sylvester is a physical therapist and founder of Operation M.I.S.T., an organization focused on improving maternal health through remote vital-sign monitoring, education, and community outreach. Her own experience with postpartum preeclampsia inspired her work using wearable technology and health data to identify concerns between routine medical visits and empower patients to advocate for appropriate care. Through Operation M.I.S.T., she partners with hospitals, schools, corporations, and nonprofit organizations to address maternal mortality and morbidity. She has 16 years of experience as a physical therapist.

Amy Stein, DPT, BCB-PMD, IF

Dr. Amy Stein is a leading expert in pelvic floor dysfunction, pelvic pain, women’s health, and functional manual therapy and is the founder of Beyond Basics Physical Therapy in New York City. She is the author of the award-winning Heal Pelvic Pain and co-author of Beating Endo: How to Reclaim Your Life from Endometriosis. Amy previously served as President of the International Pelvic Pain Society and currently serves on its Advisory Board and chairs its Past Presidents Committee. She lectures internationally and is certified in biofeedback and perimenopause/menopause coaching and is a Fellow of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health.

Sinéad Dufour, PT, PhD

Dr. Sinéad Dufour is an academic clinician, Associate Professor at McMaster University, and an expert in pelvic health, perinatal care, and pain science. She also serves as a content expert for FIFA and conducts research on pelvic floor function, pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain, innovative technologies, and collaborative models of care. Clinically, she is co-founder and Chief Clinical Officer of the Pelvic Health Collective, an international virtual physiotherapy company. She also contributes her expertise to organizations focused on advancing perinatal care, pain care, and pelvic health services.

Paul Hodges, PhD, MedDr, DSc, Drhc, BPhty(Hons)

Professor Paul Hodges is an internationally recognized neuroscientist and physiotherapy researcher at The University of Queensland and Director of the Centre for Innovation in Pain and Health Research. His research focuses on pain, movement, rehabilitation, and men’s health, including pioneering work in transperineal ultrasound imaging and management of incontinence following prostatectomy. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, and Australian College of Physiotherapists. He has authored more than 640 peer-reviewed papers, books, and book chapters, with more than 84,000 citations.