Five years ago, physiotherapist Caitlin Day struggled to find a physio clinic in Auckland that had experience in pelvic floor health. 

Now, she and Unity Studios co-owner Sophie Lax have opened their second physio clinic which has a strong focus on pelvic floor issues, due to the client demand.

“I was pretty unaware about pelvic health physio, even as a physio, when I first graduated,” Day tells BusinessDesk.

She says after finishing her physio degree in 2009, she started working at Auckland hospital on the wards as a general physio.

It was there that she started to recognise the number of people experiencing urinary incontinence, prolapses, and other pelvic health issues, who were only provided with a pad before they were sent on their way.

“There's a lot to learn but it's not really touched on here,” Day says about pelvic floor health education in New Zealand.

“We didn't learn anything about pelvic health as an undergrad – we maybe had a one-hour lecture during the whole physio degree.”

That lack of training and knowledge about pelvic health drove Day to move to Melbourne after a year at Auckland hospital and study for a two-year post-graduate qualification purely focused on pelvic-floor physiotherapy.

She came back to NZ with a plan to merge her studies with extra training as a pilates instructor. She believed the linkage between exercises such as pilates, yoga, and barre was deeply beneficial for people experiencing pelvic floor issues.

“There was quite a disconnect between those exercises whereas I thought they worked together really nicely and were also something that we should be educating clients about how exercise can affect your pelvic floor,” she says.

“I wanted to set up something where we could provide both services and really streamline our physio clients up through our progressive classes and fitness offerings.”

Day says she and Lax have shared a unique business experience from the start. After meeting in a cafe in 2019, by the time they’d finished their cups of coffee they’d decided to open a physio clinic together with a focus on pelvic floor health.

“I think it was just luck that we work really well together, and both of us have really similar passions and outlook in terms of clients and business,” she says.

Best laid plans

Day and Lax planned to open Unity Studios in Mount Eden on March 23 in 2020, but covid-19 had other ideas. 

The NZ government’s launch of alert level 4 began on March 25, so after frantically finishing the last parts of the clinic building just before the country went into lockdown, the business then had to adopt online services.

Day says it wasn’t easy – but the pair learnt a lot.

After working through the juggles and challenges of running a business online and finally opening the studio once lockdowns were over, Day and Lax fell pregnant at the same time.

"It's just really interesting as we've both got really young kids and we're in the trenches,” Day says. “And then we come to work and talk to new mums about their pelvic floor and trying to fit in their pelvic floor exercise.

“We’re really in the mix there and that sort of leads our business strategy.

"I think it's like our business is around our lives, rather than the other way around.”

Opening a second clinic hadn’t been on the cards, but Day says the idea of more than one Unity studio had been tossed around casually.

“But with covid, having babies and everything, it was never really a priority.”

It wasn’t until she stumbled across a Northcote property for rent on Trade Me that the idea for a second studio became a reality.

“That wasn't really part of the plan, but it worked out well,” she says.

“We've been encouraged to open more studios, so there might be a couple more in the future, probably just in Auckland for the moment as we're very much focusing on what we've currently got.”

Day's thrilled that an area of women's health that’s been given little awareness or training is now finally getting the recognition it needs. She thinks more can always be done when it comes to pelvic floor health and helping those – especially women postpartum – with their pelvic floor.

Her advice for everyone concerned about pelvic floor health is that “public health prevention is better than the cure”.

She thinks the fact that ACC is now covering birth injuries will help build awareness about pelvic health issues and encourage more people to seek help when they might’ve been reluctant to do so before.

“I do wonder if it will change now that it's becoming a lot more talked about.”