The Reality of REDs & Rehab for Elite Athletes: Episode 105 with SJ McDonnell

About this episode

Michelle Lyons discusses pelvic health in sports with SJ McDonnell, focusing on its integration into athlete care.

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…

People in this episode

Host: Michelle Lyons

Guest: SJ McDonnell

Topics covered

• pelvic health
• sports medicine
• athlete education
• menstrual health
• rehabilitation
• mental wellbeing

Keywords

• REDs
• rehab
• elite athletes
• menstrual health
• pelvic health
• sports performance
• mental health

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Sport Ireland

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• Pelvic Pain Assessment Research Updates: Episode 119 with Michelle Lyons · May 31, 2026 · 30 min
• Neuropathic Pain - Sciatic & Pudendal Problems: Episode 118 with Thomas Dekkers · May 25, 2026 · 53 min
• Runners, Shock & SUI: Episode 116 with Natalia Cardoso Campos · May 17, 2026 · 45 min
• Behaviour Change, Physical Activity & Women's Health: Episode 115 with Orla O'Doherty · May 11, 2026 · 50 min
• Running At Menopause: Episode 114 with Dr Juliet McGrattan · May 3, 2026 · 38 min