Episode
The Reality of REDs & Rehab for Elite Athletes: Episode 105 with SJ McDonnell
- Published
- Feb 23, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3023
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Summary
I'm so pleased to share this conversation with high performance rehab specialist, SJ McDonnell, who is leading the charge to integrate pelvic health into sports medicine at Sport Ireland. Our paths crossed many ( many) years ago but we reconnected when SJ and I started having conversations about how to bring pelvic health into high performance sports - how to bring expertise into this field in a thoughtful way. We discussed lots of different ways to empower and educate athletes, coaches & medical staff about assessing and managing pelvic health conditions, including: the importance of the MC in sports & the challenges of bringing a nuanced approach to menstrual health the level of information about pelvic health that is available to athletes the difficulty with the diagnosis and management of LEA or dysmenorrhea in athletes who have limited access to medical appointments that athletes may not seek help for a variety of reasons and how a one size fits all approach to menstrual health is not a good strategy & how more training & understanding are required to improve the skills practitioners need to better support female athletes Ultimately, there is a definite need to do a better job at integrating pelvic health into sport at every level, with the inclusion of psychological health into this domain as well, as there is a complex interplay between physical performance and mental wellbeing. SJ is leading a great team at Sport Ireland and is driving the conversation about creating a safe space for athletes to discuss menstrual & pelvic health. She shared how this approach has worked well for other issues such as sleep management for elite athlete and the lessons that could be applied in educating and involving athletes, coaches and medical support staff t…