Inside the Box

Kat, Tash & Caitlin

A podcast for women and professionals alike, hosted by mums and Women's Health Physiotherapists, Kat, Tash, and Caitlin. Established and driven by our desires to share our passion for educating and empowering women to better understand their bodies, in particular - what's inside their 'box'. Amongst ourselves, real-life patients and leading industry experts, we’ll unpack a variety of topics including pelvic floor dysfunction, pregnancy, exercise, birth, postpartum, sexual pain, endometriosis, leakage, prolapse and beyond.

  1. Aug 12

    Big Ideas, Tiny Humans & a Brain That Never Stops

    This episode Caitlin puts Kat in the hot seat for an honest conversation about everything that’s been happening behind the scenes. From leading a growing business and raising a young family to navigating a recent ADHD diagnosis and building Hello Florense — a new bladder and bowel diary platform designed to improve efficiency and clinical decision making in pelvic health — Kat shares what’s been filling her days (and often her nights). Together, they talk about the realities of leadership, why it can feel surprisingly lonely at times, the pressure of trying to do it all, and what happens when you stop chasing perfection and start embracing “good enough.” It’s a relaxed, honest chat between two cohosts and friends.   What we cover: What life really looks like behind the scenes when it can appear like you have it all togetherBalancing business ownership, family life, and ambitious projectsReceiving an adult ADHD diagnosis and what it has changedThe loneliness of leadershipBuilding a new software and taking a leap of faith - what is Hello Florense and why it’s needed in pelvic healthLearning to let go of unrealistic expectations⸻ Connect or follow Kat at one of her many businesses! @ivoryrose_physiotherapy @helloflorense @pelvicfloorfoundationsproject Enjoying the Podcast? If you enjoyed this episode, we’d love it if you subscribed, shared it with a friend, or left us a review. It helps more people discover Inside the Box and supports the conversations we’re passionate about having. Inside the Box is hosted by Kat, Tash & Caitlin, where we explore pelvic health, healthcare, business, leadership, and the people shaping our profession.

  2. Jul 28

    Running and Prolapse with Carrie Pagliano

    In this episode we sit down with renowned physio Dr Carrie Pagliano to talk about one of the topics we get asked about most: running, lifting and exercise when you have a diagnosed prolapse. Carrie brings decades of clinical expertise to a conversation that goes well beyond “just do your pelvic floor exercises.” We talk about the very real fear so many people feel around returning to activity after a prolapse diagnosis, and why that fear is so often bigger than the anatomy actually warrants. We dig into what it looks like to piece the picture together for an individual, looking at the whole body and the many factors that contribute to symptoms rather than fixating on the prolapse alone. Carrie also unpacks the disconnect that can exist between symptoms and anatomy, why what you feel doesn’t always match what’s happening structurally, and how to manage that gap with your patients (or yourself) without it derailing progress. We cover a practical framework for graded exposure to activity when someone is symptomatic, how to build back load and intensity without triggering a flare, and where internal pelvic floor devices fit into the picture. What’s actually out there, and what’s genuinely useful versus what’s just noise. And we finish on the theme running through the whole episode: saying yes to running, weight lifting and the activities people love, because a person is not just a pelvic floor. Whether you’re a clinician working with this population or someone navigating your own prolapse journey, this one will change how you think about “return to activity.” Where to find Carrie: @carriepagliano Listen to her podcast: ActiveMum Podcast

  3. Jun 30

    Winnie Wu: Building Clinics with Purpose, Leading Through Motherhood & Embracing AI

    In this episode of Inside the Box, we sit down with physiotherapist, business owner, mentor and mum Winnie Wu to explore the journey behind building not one, but two thriving clinics, while helping other allied health professionals create businesses they genuinely love. Winnie shares how her background as a dancer shaped the way she understands movement, why she found her passion in pelvic health, and the experiences that led her to establish both Movement Lab and Papaya. We unpack the challenges of launching a multidisciplinary clinic during early motherhood, the realities of balancing business with family life, and how her own postpartum experience continues to influence the way she leads. We also dive into The Clinic Project, where Winnie mentors clinic owners across Australia, discussing the biggest mistakes she sees, what effective mentorship really looks like, and the transformations that make it all worthwhile. Finally, we explore one of the biggest conversations in healthcare right now: AI and innovation. Winnie shares practical ways clinics can use technology to improve efficiency and client care, along with her thoughts on where allied health is heading in the years to come. Whether you're a physiotherapist, healthcare professional, clinic owner, or simply curious about the intersection of healthcare, entrepreneurship and innovation, this episode is packed with practical insights and honest reflections. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a colleague or friend who would benefit from the conversation.

  4. Jun 16

    Paediatric Pelvic Health, Sensory Processing and Toileting Readiness with Quiara Smith

    Paediatric pelvic health is so much more than wees, poos and toilet charts. In this episode, Caitlin sits down for the second time with Quiara Smith, a paediatric pelvic health occupational therapist, to unpack the layered world of toileting, constipation, stool withholding, sensory processing and teen pelvic pain. Quiara shares why the 24–30 month window tends to be a more developmentally and physiologically supportive time for toilet learning, and why rushing the process can contribute to the rise in toddlers presenting with withholding, toileting refusal and anxiety that she is seeing in clinic. They explore how toileting is a whole-child skill — one that draws on sensory processing, nervous system regulation, interoception, environment, confidence and readiness — and why a toilet chart alone often isn't enough. The conversation also turns to teen pelvic pain, particularly in high-achieving adolescent girls presenting with tampon pain, constipation, bladder holding at school and difficulty down-regulating their nervous system. Quiara explains how she approaches assessment with teens without internal examination, using education, consent-based external assessment, SEMG biofeedback and functional strategies. Quiara also shares the thinking behind her sensory screening checklist for clinicians working with children with toileting difficulties, and gives an early glimpse into her use of red light and blue light therapy as an adjunct in paediatric pelvic health. In this episode: Why many children are not ready for toilet learning before 24 monthsStool withholding, constipation and toileting refusal in toddlersThe role of sensory processing and interoception in continenceTeen pelvic pain, tampon pain and school-based bladder and bowel habitsConsent-based assessment in paediatric pelvic healthBiofeedback with children and teensSetting realistic expectations with familiesEmerging use of red light therapy in paediatric pelvic health

  5. May 25

    Dry Nights: The Evidence Behind Bedwetting Treatment with Dawn Sandalcidi

    Bedwetting is one of the most common concerns families bring to a paediatric health appointment - and one of the most misunderstood. In this episode, Kat and Caitlin sit down with Dawn Sandalcidi, paediatric pelvic health physiotherapist, to dig into the evidence behind nocturnal enuresis: what’s driving it, how to assess it properly, and what actually works. Whether you’re a clinician seeing kids in your practice or a parent who’s been lifting a half-asleep child to the toilet at midnight for the past two years, this one’s for you. In this episode we cover: How common is bedwetting, and when does it stop being “normal”?What’s actually causing it?How do you assess a child with bedwetting?Where does physio fit in?What does evidence-based treatment actually look like?Bedwetting alarms: the what, when, and how longDesmopressin: when does medication fit in?Should parents be lifting their child overnight?The myths and mistakes Dawn sees most often From fluid restriction to punishment-adjacent responses to starting treatment before a child is ready, Dawn shares the patterns she encounters regularly and what she wishes families (and clinicians) understood earlier. This section alone is worth sharing with every parent who walks through your door with a bedwetting history. Resources mentioned: • ERIC (Education and Resources for Improving Childhood Continence) — eric.org.uk • Bladder and Bowel Australia — bladderbowel.gov.au • International Children’s Continence Society (ICCS) guidelines on nocturnal enuresis About Dawn Sandalcidi @kidsbowelbladder Dawn is a paediatric pelvic health physiotherapist and a trailblazer and leading expert in the field of pediatric pelvic floor disorders. She is a national and international speaker in the field, and she has learned so much from sharing experiences with her colleagues around the globe.

  6. Apr 28

    More than a feeling: Vaginal laxity, the research and what it means for your patients with Taryn Hallam

    Welcome back, and what a way to kick off Season 4!  Taryn Hallam first joined us back in 2022 to talk birth choices, an episode that went on to become our most downloaded of all time. Now she’s back to open Season 4, bringing the research on a topic that deserves far more clinical airtime than it gets: vaginal laxity. It’s a condition that affects more women than most clinicians realise, and yet it remains under-asked, under-assessed, and under-discussed in clinical practice. Taryn has done the work of pulling together what the evidence actually says and making it accessible for clinicians who want to do better by their patients. In this episode we cover: •What vaginal laxity actually is, why it happens, and how common it really is in clinical populations •The distinction between somatic and psychogenic sexual disorders and why it matters for how we assess and communicate with patients •The relationship between vaginal laxity and pelvic floor changes, including levator hiatal size and levator ani avulsion •The important nuance in the data: 98% of women with vaginal laxity had a vaginal birth, yet 89% of vaginally parous women had no laxity at all. So what does that actually mean when a patient asks whether her birth caused this? •Why the direct correlation between levator hiatal area and laxity sits at just ~23%, and what that tells us about the limits of a purely structural model •Vaginal laxity as a symptom, something experienced rather than objectively measured, and how that should reshape clinical conversations •The role of sensory signalling and processing, both peripherally and centrally, in how laxity is experienced •Why lubrication matters, and the interesting finding that laxity appears more prevalent in pre-menopausal women •Why PFMT seems to help, even though the research tells us it can’t reduce a distended levator  •Neuromodulation and TTNS: could the mechanism be normalising sensory processing through sacral nerve roots rather than producing structural change? Whether you’re a clinician or a woman who has experienced symptoms of vaginal laxity yourself, or you’re simply curious about the topic, you’ll find plenty here that’s relevant. Subscribe, leave us a review, and share this episode with a colleague who needs it in their ears.

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About

A podcast for women and professionals alike, hosted by mums and Women's Health Physiotherapists, Kat, Tash, and Caitlin. Established and driven by our desires to share our passion for educating and empowering women to better understand their bodies, in particular - what's inside their 'box'. Amongst ourselves, real-life patients and leading industry experts, we’ll unpack a variety of topics including pelvic floor dysfunction, pregnancy, exercise, birth, postpartum, sexual pain, endometriosis, leakage, prolapse and beyond.

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