Carolyn Vandyken, BHSc (PT), Pelvic Health Physiotherapist
Carolyn graduated from McMaster University in 1986 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physiotherapy, and has practiced in a wide variety of clinical settings, focusing primarily on orthopedics. She has been a McKenzie credentialed physiotherapist since 1999 and has been a member of the Canadian College of Medical Acupuncture since 2002. Her clinical focus changed to Pelvic Health and Incontinence in 2001. She owned and managed her own clinical practice from 1999-2009; she then became the Clinical Practice Leader for Pelvic Health at LifeMark Health from 2009-2015, mentoring and training pelvic health physiotherapists throughout Canada.
Carolyn has spoken at over 50 conferences and grand round presentations throughout Canada and the United States. Carolyn was an invited speaker at the First World Congress for Abdominal-Pelvic Pain in Amsterdam (2013) on central pain mechanisms and Abdomino-Pelvic pain, and she has presented at various workshops at international conferences, including the NOI Pain and Neurodynamics conference in Adelaide, Australia (2012) the International Pelvic Pain Conference (2014), the San Diego Pain Summit (2017, 2018), IUGA Conference (2017) and ISSWSH (2018). Carolyn co-authored three peer-reviewed framework articles with Sandra Hilton on the assessment and treatment of persistent pelvic pain; they also contributed a chapter to the IASP proceedings for the 1st World Congress on Abdomino-Pelvic Pain, and a chapter in the first textbook on the Overactive Pelvic Floor, edited by Tali Rosenbaum and Dr. Ana Padoa. Carolyn and Sandra co-authored the first book on patient-centered pain biology education for pelvic pain, Why Pelvic Pain hurts, along with physical therapist, Adriaan Louw.
Carolyn is actively involved in clinical research with McMaster University and has co-authored a research study on LBP and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction (2017).
Carolyn owns a Canadian-based teaching company, Pelvic Health Solutions and teaches internationally on the physiotherapy approach for pelvic floor problems. Together with co-owner Nelly Faghani, they teach numerous evidence-based pelvic floor courses for physiotherapists, nurses, doctors, midwives and naturopaths.
Carolyn currently manages her own clinic, Physio Works Muskoka in Huntsville, Ontario. She splits her time between clinical work, teaching and research with Dr. Sinead Dufour at McMaster University.
Carolyn won the prestigious Woman of Distinction award from the YWCA in 2003 for her work in pelvic floor rehabilitation. She also won the Provincial Education Award from the Ontario Physiotherapy Association in 2015. Her patients have been her best teachers, and she is thankful for all that they share with her, and entrust to her.