047 - Dr Jo Milios - The Nuts and Bolts of Men's Health

In this episode, we finally manage to grab Dr Jo Milios back on the podcast. We spoke to Jo for over an hour this time last year...and sadly the technology let us down. Yes...it all got wiped.

So thankfully Jo does not hate us and she kindly agreed to come back on the podcast!

Dr Jo Milios is a physiotherapist based in Perth, Western Australia. She is passionate about helping men with urinary incontinence, Peyronie's disease and pelvic pain.

Here are some of the topics that we discussed in the podcast
- Jo's journey in physiotherapy and how she came to be working in men's health through a connection with her brother who is a urologist
- how Jo became so passionate in helping men after radical prostatectomy (RP) regain their continence and sexual function, culminating in her completing her PhD in 2019.
- the story of how she learnt about Peyronie's Disease through the experience of a young client and wanted to be able to help him. This led to her reaching out to international colleagues and trying therapeutic ultrasound to great effect
- Jo then added yet another project to her PhD, demonstrating the efficacy of ultrasound on Peyronie's disease
-she discusses the physiological changes that occur during prostate surgery and why there are changes in continence and sexual function.
- how penile length changes can occur after surgery and some of the things that can be done to help maintain length
- hard-flaccid syndrome - how some young men are suffering from too much vigorous self stimulation while watching porn. Can lead to hypersensitivity, pain, Peyronie's disease, depression/ anxiety etc
- how it can take 2 years for the nerves to recover after RP, so during that time we want to maintain length and function but take the pressure away from sexual function. Only 22% of men regain sexual function after two years and in men over 60 - only 4% will regain sexual function if don't do penile rehabilitation
-  ultrasound treatment for Peyronie's disease - how she performed her research study and some of the amazing results found. We may need to pull these machines out of the cupboard and dust them off!
- why it's important for men to check their penis regularly (eg in the shower) and feel for any changes such as lumps and bumps. 
- the importance of screening for erectile dysfunction (think: cardiovascular disease), urinary /bowel function and pelvic pain. We as health and fitness professionals need to be more proactive in this!
- the importance of screening the spine in clients with urinary symptoms and how treatment of the spine (eg through manual therapy and/or exercise) could help relieve symptoms esp in those who seem to have good PFM function

You can learn more from Jo by listening to her podcast with Melissa Hadley-Barrett
- https://thepenisproject.org/ 
https://thepenisproject.podbean.com/ 

In that podcast, Jo and Melissa talk to everyday men about their experiences post RP. 

You can also find Jo here:
www.menshealthphysiotherapy.com.au 
jo@completephysiotherapy.com.au