Catherine Leavett Clinical Therapies

26/11/2025

21/11/2025

The sacroiliac joint (SIJ) can move, but only a little and that tiny movement is essential for upright walking and standing. Because the SIJ sits at the centre of the body, it has to handle huge amounts of force from above and below. Every time we take a step, it manages shear. If it were highly mobile, we’d constantly lose stability through the pelvis.

Instead, humans evolved a relatively stiff but still dynamic SIJ: stable enough to keep us upright, yet mobile enough to absorb force. Compared with joints like the hip, though, its movement is minimal.

People sometimes feel pain around the SIJ, and this often gets labelled as “instability.” But true instability is rare. Pain here is far more likely tied to sensitivity, irritation, or a history of trauma, not bones shifting out of place. Even in hypermobile individuals, attributing symptoms to SIJ “alignment” doesn’t hold up, because the joint simply doesn’t move much.

Assessing SIJ motion or sacral alignment is also extremely unreliable. Pelvic anatomy varies widely, and the bony landmarks we depend on aren’t consistent from person to person. So the idea that we can detect a “misaligned sacrum” with our hands just isn’t supported.

Language matters. Telling people they’re “out of alignment” can create fear and fragility, making them feel unfit to move, exercise, or participate in daily life.

Yes, the SIJ is mobile to a small degree, and that varies between individuals. But it is also one of the most stable joints in the body, reinforced by incredibly strong ligaments. The likelihood of a genuine SIJ “misalignment” in the average Pilates client is extremely low.

Let’s stop fear-mongering and start helping people move with confidence.

Movement is medicine

Tom

20/11/2025

20/11/2025

🙏 🙏 🙏

19/11/2025

A recent paper by ACOG for those interested in the implications of caesearan birth.

The standard method for closing the uterus after cesarean delivery, used for over 50 years, may be causing a host of long-term health issues for millions of women.

According to Dr. Emmanuel Bujold and Dr. Roberto Romero, leaders in obstetrics and gynecology, current closure practices—where sutures join the uterine lining with surrounding muscle—fail to restore the uterus’s natural structure, leading to serious complications.

Their exhaustive review reveals the risks: abnormal placenta attachment affects up to 6% of women, uterine rupture up to 3%, and premature births up to 28%. Many suffer pelvic pain (up to 35%), excessive bleeding (up to 33%), and endometriosis or adenomyosis (up to 43%). Such complications are linked directly to the scarring produced by the conventional closure method.

Bujold and Romero propose a nuanced technique: suturing tissues only of the same type, carefully reconstructing the muscle layer while leaving the uterine lining untouched for natural regeneration. Although this new method takes 5–8 minutes—twice as long as the traditional approach—the additional blood loss is minimal and outweighed by better outcomes for future reproductive health.

With cesarean rates rising globally, especially in countries like Canada where 27% of births are by C-section, prioritizing meticulous uterine repair is a critical public health concern. This shift in surgical thinking may help millions experience safer subsequent pregnancies and better long-term well-being.

Follow Science Sphere for regular scientific updates

📄 RESEARCH PAPER

📌 Emmanuel Bujold et al, "Uterine closure after cesarean delivery: surgical principles, biological rationale, and clinical implications", American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (2025)

23/10/2025

22/10/2025

Diastasis Recti leads to weakness in the core, which can cause a range of issues until the gap is closed and function improves.
Symptoms and related issues can include:

☀️Back pain and discomfort.
☀️Reduced support for the spine and pelvis
☀️Weak pelvic floor
☀️Increased susceptibility to hernias
☀️Greater risk of pelvic organ prolapse.

These symptoms can often be linked together, and addressing one may help alleviate others.
Does any of this sound familiar to what you’re experiencing?
Here’s a few ways to help:
❤️ Strengthen pelvic floor & core connection
❤️ Improved posture
❤️ Reduce belly breathing
❤️ Core rehabilitation & pelvic stability
❤️ Reduced abdominal pressure.
Healing Diastasis Recti is not just about closing the abdominal gap — it’s a whole-body approach.
Holistic Core Restore programmes go far beyond basic core exercises. They begin with a comprehensive postnatal assessment to understand your unique needs, then focus on the key pillars of recovery:

🌸 Nutrition for tissue healing.
🌸 Breathing techniques that restore core function.
🌸 Postural alignment to support everyday movement.
🌸 And finally, progressive, safe exercises that rebuild strength from the inside out.
Find out more using link in my bio or DM to chat about how we can help you.

21/10/2025

OASI birth injuries are in the headlines today 😓

An article in The Guardian has uncovered evidence that number of mothers sustaining a third- or fourth-degree perineal tear while delivering their baby has risen from 25 in 1,000 in June 2020 to 29 in 1,000 in June this year – a 16% increase.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/oct/17/pregnant-women-in-england-at-growing-risk-of-serious-injury-in-childbirth #:~:text=Pregnant%20women%20in%20England%20are,year%20%E2%80%93%20a%2016%25%20increase.

The figures mean that almost 3% of all women who gave birth in England suffered a serious tear.

“Behind these figures are heartbreaking stories of women suffering unimaginable trauma at a moment that should be full of joy,” said Helen Morgan MP, the Liberal Democrat health spokesperson, who obtained the NHS England figures from the House of Commons library.

Chloe Oliver, The MASIC Foundation chief executive, said:

“OASI injuries are life-changing and can have a devastating impact on quality of life. Symptoms can include: pelvic pain; difficulty controlling urine, faeces and wind; problems with bonding and establishing breastfeeding; psychosexual dysfunction; relationship or career breakdown; and mental health problems, including postnatal depression, anxiety, PTSD and secondary tokophobia, a fear of another pregnancy and birth.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said:

“Childbirth can be an incredible moment in a woman’s life, but suffering from injuries, including perineal tears, can leave mothers deeply traumatised."

21/10/2025

Pelvic rehab isn’t just about doing our kegels!