Ailsa Witherington
Women's Health Specialist
Professional Bio
Ailsa trained as a physiotherapist at King’s College London, qualifying in 2009 with a First Class Honours Degree and for the last 10 years she has worked in London but has recently relocated back to the North West. During her career Ailsa has worked in many areas of physiotherapy including supporting patients with neurological impairments, sports injuries, chronic pain, long term health conditions and patients who have undergone various types of surgery.
Over the years Ailsa has developed a special interest in Women’s Health and wellbeing and has attended a number of courses, conferences and events in this specialist area. Ailsa has become passionate about raising awareness and breaking down taboos associated with often embarrassing issues related to pelvic floor problems such as bladder and bowel leakage, prolapse and overactive bladders (all of which are common but NOT normal!). Shockingly 1 in 3 women experience women’s health problems during their lifetime.
Ailsa addresses these issues in a sensitive way and utilises a range of treatment strategies such as functional pelvic floor muscle training, bladder retraining, biofeedback, electrical stimulation and acupuncture. Evidence shows that physiotherapy is an effective treatment option for both incontinence and prolapse and should be considered as the first line of treatment in most cases.
Ailsa is also passionate about helping women stay healthy and active during pregnancy and treats a wide range of pregnancy related complaints including back pain, pelvic girdle pain and carpal tunnel syndrome. She also supports women to return to normal activity and sport postnatally whether following a vaginal delivery or caesarean section. Ailsa currently offers the “Mummy MOT” service which is a postnatal assessment for all women who have had a baby, from 6 weeks up until 6 years post-partum!
Most women will have questions regarding return to normal activity after having a baby. Many have weakness in their tummy and / or pelvic floor muscles which can lead to problems such as a persistent gap in their tummy muscles (rectus diastasis), bladder or bowel leakage or back pain, especially if incorrect exercises are performed too soon.
As part of a Mummy MOT, Ailsa will do an in-depth assessment of your posture, tummy muscles and pelvic floor, will address specific concerns, and give you a personalised plan to return to exercise.
For more information about the “Mummy MOT” see http://www.mummymot.com
When not running around after her daughter, Ailsa enjoys practising pilates and yoga and has found aspects of both to be hugely beneficial in her own postnatal recovery.
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