Managing Long COVID and Dysautonomia in the Hypermobile Community with Naomi Bauer
Zebra Talks: Living Your Best Bendy LifeShow Notes
This episode of Zebra Talks features a discussion with Naomi Bauer, a Doctor of Physical Therapy with personal and professional experience in treating dysautonomia and Long COVID. Hosted by Dr. Libby Hinsley, they explore the challenges and management strategies for those living with hypermobility syndromes, focusing on the overlap between long COVID, dysautonomia, and hypermobility. Naomi shares her journey from a healthcare professional to a patient after developing long COVID dysautonomia herself and highlights the importance of understanding personal energy management through pacing and the 50 percent rule. The conversation also addresses potential underlying connections between hypermobility and the increased risk of developing long COVID, emphasizing the significance of social support, proactive resting, and setting boundaries for energy use. Highlights of this episode include: 00:32 Meet Naomi Bauer: A Journey from PT to Long COVID Survivor01:42 Exploring the Intersection of Long COVID and Hypermobility Syndromes01:56 Naomi's Personal Battle with Long COVID and Suspected Hypermobility05:55 The Complex World of Dysautonomia: From POTS to Long COVID14:28 The Link Between Hypermobility Syndromes and Long COVID23:47 Managing Long COVID and Hypermobility: Strategies for Recovery41:24 Concluding Thoughts and Finding Support
More from Zebra Talks: Living Your Best Bendy Life
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Host Dr. Libby Hinsley welcomes physical therapist Dr. Laura Glazebrook to discuss scoliosis, especially its overlap with hypermobility. Laura shares her own history of rapidly progressing scoliosis, undergoing a spinal fusion at age 11, and later realizing she likely falls on the hypermobility spectrum.
Dr. Libby Hinsley welcomes menopause specialist and nurse practitioner Vanessa Weiland, founder of Phases Clinic and creator of Bendy Menopause, who also has hypermobile EDS and MCAS.
Host Dr. Libby Hinsley interviews Abbey Phillipson, a classical Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) advocate and Paralympic strength and conditioning coach at the University of Michigan. Abbey shares her experience with early signs, diagnosis via genetics (COL5A1), and serious complications of Classical EDS.
Host Dr. Libby Hinsley interviews pelvic floor physical therapist and author Dr. Amy Stein, founder of Beyond Basics Physical Therapy. Stein discusses the strong overlap she sees between hypermobility and pelvic floor dysfunction (estimating about 70% of her patients), including patterns of pelvic floor gripping used for stability, pelvic pain, prolapse, hernias, constipation/IBS symptoms, possible pelvic congestion, and bladder, bowel, and sexual dysfunction across all genders.