Olivia Clarke MAPA
B.Physio
Pelvic Health Physiotherapist
Liv is currently on Maternity Leave
​
Olivia has a background in Musculoskeletal and Sports Physiotherapy with a special interest in Women's, Men's and Pelvic Health especially around the peri-natal period.
Since graduating from Australian Catholic University in 2014 she has gained extensive experience from working in large private practices in Sydney and keeping up to date with the latest research and professional development courses. She has developed her skills to include, amongst others, lymphoedema massage, dry needling and Clinical Pilates. She has been teaching the latter for the last 6 years and incorporates Pilates principles into her treatment.
As for all our therapists at Beaches Pelvic Physio, Olivia develops individualised, evidence based treatment and management plans for all pelvic health and pregnancy related conditions. She strongly believes in exercise as medicine to help people achieve their best physical health. Our aim is to keep you active whilst undergoing treatment for pelvic health issues and to return to sport safely during or after having a baby or after an operation.
Outside of work, Olivia plays baseball/softball, does Pilates and uses any excuse possible to take a weekend away and jump on her snowboard.
​
Her main areas of clinical interest are:
-
Pelvic Girdle Pain (including pubis symphysis, sacroiliac, coccygeal and deep gluteal pain) - sport, pregnancy or general
-
Hip, groin and back pain dysfunction
-
Pelvic Floor Muscle Dysfunction
-
Incontinence
-
Prolapse
-
Overactive bladder / Urgency
-
Pre-/Post-Natal education, treatment and management
-
Pre-/Post-Operative care (including hysterectomy, prostatectomy and prolapse repairs)
-
Abdominal separation
-
Deep Core Retraining
-
Return to Sport Programmes
-
Dysynergic Defaecation
-
Mastitis
-
Lymphoedema Management
Fun Facts:
​
How did you get into pelvic physio?
I first got interested in pelvic physio as a junior physio working with musculoskeletal patients. I really enjoyed working with the pregnant population especially those who were having pelvic girdle pain during pregnancy. Then I wanted the ability to follow through and provide care to those patients while in their postpartum journey. In recent years I’ve become interested in working with the pelvic pain population, having gone through my own journey of endometriosis and learning how to manage my own pain.
​
What are your passions in the field?
I’ve always loved treating postpartum mums and helping them get back into exercise after childbirth. Returning to exercise really helped me through my postpartum journey so I’m really passionate about helping women get back to their exercise of choice in a safe but timely manner. Recently I’ve also been finding treating those patients with pelvic pain conditions really interesting and rewarding. The best part is teaching patients how to best manage their pain and provide long term treatment options.
What would you like to see change in the world of pelvic health?
I would like to see more government support for postpartum women to access physiotherapy. So many issues can be prevented with early intervention postpartum and I’d love the ability to provide this care to all women. In addition to this there are so many areas of pelvic health that are under researched, further funding for research means therapists can provide more evidence based treatments to get the best outcomes for our patients.
​
What to do you in your spare time?
All of my spare time is spent with my beautiful young family, being on my own post partum journey recently after giving birth to our 1 year old daughter. We love being out by the beach, going for coffees and spending time just relaxing in the park. I’m back at the gym most days doing a mix of strength classes and reformer pilates, with the occasional run thrown in. In the next few months I’ll get back to playing sport (baseball) and hopefully my daughter will love it as much as I do.