Source: SHECONOMY
Their time studying together and their later professional focus were the catalyst for the two founders to set up their start-up "PelviQueens". "We got to know each other during our studies in Steyr and then initially went our separate ways to specialize in pelvic floor physiotherapy," explains Magdalena Rechberger. At the beginning of the year, they came up with the idea of founding a platform for holistic women's health with a focus on the pelvic floor.
The shared vision: "We want women to take care of their pelvic floor and create a space for honest conversations, advice and training with PelviQueens," says Judith Sacher, adding: "We were part of the Activate program at tech2b, the Upper Austrian start-up incubator. We received a lot of support here and Johannes Sailer from 7hauben was a mentor who provided us with advice and support," explains Judith Sacher.
A leading role
Working on a strong pelvic floor promotes body awareness and helps women to connect better with their own bodies and feel balanced and stable. A neglected pelvic floor can lead to complaints in women's everyday lives in all situations: "Whether urinary leakage, urinary urgency, pain during intercourse, menstrual pain or postnatal pain - the pelvic floor is the supporting center of the body and has a major influence on women's well-being and health," explains physiotherapist Magdalena Rechberger.
Correct breathing and posture are crucial for the function of the pelvic floor, which also supports the uterus, bladder and bowel as an "organ carrier". "A strong pelvic floor prevents these organs from sagging or moving downwards, which can lead to problems such as uterine prolapse or urinary incontinence," explains Judith Sacher.
Advice, personal training and online courses
After a preliminary analysis, an individual training plan is drawn up. Online courses are also offered, which can be used at flexible times. Almost all women who start to focus on their "strong center" experience a sense of achievement:
"I remember a patient who suffered from severe menstrual pain for a long time. She had to take painkillers to cope with the pain. Through the training, we were able to reduce her pain on a scale of 0 to 10 to half to a third. She has made enormous progress and improved her quality of life," says Magdalena Rechberger. Many young mothers also use the platform to work on their postnatal recovery. PelviQueens also offers many services for women during pregnancy and birth preparation.
Social media and provocation
As a start-up, "Pelvi", which means pelvic floor in English, deliberately focuses on provocation and directly addressing complaints in the intimate area. "We address the problem directly without beating around the bush," explains Magdalena. Trigger videos or exciting facts and figures on social media are used to vividly address complaints relating to the pelvic floor, "to give women the confidence that it's okay to talk about it. We notice that women start talking about it through our site and realize that they are not alone. Our aim is to raise awareness that many women have similar problems and it works, as the rapid growth of our community shows.
How do the two physiotherapists keep up to date with their knowledge? Magdalena Rechberger: "We are constantly taking part in further training. We recently completed a course on vaginal palpation (gynecological examination). The holistic approach, specialist knowledge and experience are PelviQueens' USP," say the two founders.
Picture: (c) Pelvi Queens
