My name is Patricia Siegel, author and founder of The Fit Pelvic Floor and expert columnist in STRONG Fitness Magazine.
I was born and raised in Germany and was always a very active person since childhood. At the age of 17 I took on running and a few years later became a semi-professional middle distance runner. During my running career I graduated from the University in Potsdam, Germany with a Master of Science in Sports Therapy with a focus on rehabilitation & prevention. I hold certifications in Kinesiology, Biomechanics, Training Sciences, Sports Pathology, Sports Nutrition & Exercise Biology from the University of Potsdam, Germany. I have worked with various patients ranging from Parkinson's disease to pregnant women and clinically depressed all the way to elderly clientele with hip replacements.
Shortly after I was recruited by an American university and continued running track and XC in New York. I later became a National Age Group competitor in the sport of triathlon.
At 39 I became pregnant and had a great and easy pregnancy. Unfortunately, my labor took 57 hours and created a lot of trauma - physically and emotionally.
I went to various pelvic floor therapists and followed the prescribed exercises. Still, the bladder leakage did not stop. 20 months postpartum and I still ran with incontinence pads.
Until I changed my mindset to an holistic approach and created my own personal pelvic floor rehabilitation program in which I applied knowledge from my field of study as well as athletic experience. And then one day - I stopped leaking during my run.
That was a mind opening experience and I decided to share that knowledge in my course to help anyone who is struggling with the same issues.