Marie-Josée Ryan

Marie-Josée completed her physiotherapy degree with honors in 2008 at the University of Ottawa. She has since had the privilege to learn from Dr. Lois Lochhead as Lois transitions into retirement from her pelvic floor physiotherapy practice. Marie-Josée uses RTUS to assess and treat low back, pelvic floor, groin, hip and pelvic/tailbone issues.

The pelvic floor can be visualized through the abdominal wall (with a full bladder) which is a less invasive way to assess pelvic floor muscles when compared with internal pelvic examination. However, when such an examination is warranted, Marie-Josée is fully qualified to perform internal assessments. She also has expertise in the management and treatment of both female and male bladder and bowel control, vaginal/genital/rectal pain, as well as perinatal low back, pubic or groin pain. She provides treatment for conditions such as painful intercourse, vulvodynia, erectile dysfunction, and pelvic organ prolapse. Her treatment approach combines manual therapy and myofascial release techniques along with training of the deep stabilizers of the low back, abdomen and pelvic floor using RTUS to provide biofeedback ensuring correct exercise performance.  

Of note, Marie-Josée also completed her MBA in Prague in 2011-2012 after which she chose to return to her physiotherapy practice, and while working full-time as a physiotherapist, she also completed her Masters in Peace Studies and Conflict Transformation at the University of Innsbruck in Austria in 2015. Her Masters Thesis was titled “How can I, as a health care provider, contribute to healing the chronic pain crisis in British-Columbia, Canada?” This process has and continues to encourage her to embrace a practice consistent with the contemporary science of pain and she continues to be inspired by the nervous system’s capacity for neuroplasticity and relief.