Meg Symons
“It’s easy to get stuck in your life, thinking that the world is going to end if you miss a deadline, fail a test or do something wrong at work. But when you’re on the road, in the middle of the death valley desert, eating a sandwich, and you can’t see another person in sight, you realise all of that doesn’t really matter.”
An adventurer and expat, Meg has lived in New Zealand, Canada, the UK, and soon, Australia—embracing change and life’s unexpected turns with resilience and purpose.
As a pelvic, musculoskeletal, and sports physiotherapist, she is dedicated to supporting women’s health. Through her platform, Power to Your Pelvis, Meg helps women navigate pregnancy, postpartum recovery, and pelvic dysfunction by providing accessible, engaging content. Passionate about breaking taboos around pelvic health, she believes knowledge is power—ensuring women feel informed, confident, and in control of their bodies.
Whether on the netball court, surfing the waves, or helping women strengthen their bodies and wellbeing, Meg’s warmth and authenticity leave a lasting impression on everyone she encounters. Meet Meg. This is her story.
Meet Meg
P: Please introduce yourself!
M: I’m Meg, I am a loving daughter, a competitive little sister, a lighthearted and devoted friend, a lover to a Kiwi, a passionate pelvic and sports physiotherapist, a British citizen, an expat, a netball player and a surfer.
P: What do you do for a living?
M: I am a pelvic, musculoskeletal and sports physiotherapist - which means I treat a wide range of injuries on and off the sports field. I’m also beginning to specialise in pelvic health.
P: Where are you based?
M: I am currently based in Bristol, in the UK. But soon to be based in Sydney, Australia. Unfortunately my partner has been unable to get a work visa to remain in the UK, and this has prompted our move back to the southern hemisphere. Another move was definitely not on the cards this soon!
Moving Overseas
“It’s easy to visualise this perfect image of what your life will be like, no doubt you might be looking for a fresh start, and when it isn’t what you thought it can be disheartening, but don’t give up, it will get easier, and it will be worth the wait!”
P: We became friends in Canada while you were on a working holiday visa. What inspired you to make the move in the first place?
M: At the time I had been living in New Zealand for 4 years, and got caught there during the COVID pandemic. I happened to meet my partner after lockdown, and he had a working holiday visa for Canada. At the time I was ready for more travel and adventure, so I didn’t really think twice about it, I was keen to join! We set up life in Vancouver for a couple of years - I am forever grateful that we did!
Initially moving away from home, back in 2018, I guess I was looking for something different, new environments, different perspectives. Brexit had recently been voted for in the UK, politics was a shambles, and working in the National Health Service at the time, you could really feel the effects of all of that. I had gone straight from school, to university, to starting my career in physio, and this felt like a good opportunity to jump off the hamster wheel. What I thought would be 2 years, turned into 6 years later!
P: What advice would you give to someone who has just moved away from home?
M: I would always say try to go in with lower expectations…I know this sounds discouraging, but moving countries is hard at first, and it won’t feel like home for a while. For all of my moves, to New Zealand, Canada and back to the UK, it has always been a bumpy road in the initial year or so. But knowing to expect this, means you have more patience with yourself and you learn to enjoy the journey. It’s easy to visualise this perfect image of what your life will be like, no doubt you might be looking for a fresh start, and when it isn’t what you thought it can be disheartening, but don’t give up, it will get easier, and it will be worth the wait!
M: What is the greatest lesson you’ve learned from travelling?
P: I think travelling has opened my eyes to the bigger picture. It’s easy to get stuck in your life, thinking that the world is going to end if you miss a deadline, fail a test or do something wrong at work. But when you’re on the road, in the middle of the death valley desert, eating a sandwich, and you can’t see another person in sight, you realise all of that doesn’t really matter. Being successful at work is important to me, but this perspective shift has given me space and passion to grow my knowledge out of pure interest and love of helping people, rather than comparing myself to others in my field.
Pelvic Health Physiotherapy
“At least ⅓ of women will have pelvic dysfunction at some stage in their lives, that’s 17% of the population. ”
P: What first inspired you to choose a career in physiotherapy?
M: I grew up in a sporty household, and going to the physio was part of my childhood. My dad also had a double hip replacement when I was in my early teens and I remember feeling very at home in the hospital setting on our visits.
When I was giving my mum I massage one day, she told me I would be a good physio. I guess this stuck in my head!
P: How did you become interested in specialising in pelvic health physiotherapy?
M: I started noticing within my existing clients that there was often crossover with pregnancy, being postpartum, or other types of pelvic health conditions, and I often felt I was missing something. I thought that if I understood the pelvic floor better, I might be able to tie everything together for them.
Now that I am a trained pelvic health physio, I can’t imagine not knowing what I know now. I feel really passionate that it should be taught as a full module in physio school.
At least ⅓ of women will have pelvic dysfunction at some stage in their lives, that’s 17% of the population. Pelvic health shouldn’t be separated from the rest of our body and biomechanics, it’s central to everything!
P: What types of cases do you typically treat?
M: We treat a range of conditions, from pelvic girdle pain and birth prep support in pregnancy, postpartum recovery and rehab, bowel dysfunction, incontinence, prolapse management, pelvic pain, pain during sex, urgency and overactive bladder syndrome, all the way to genitourinary syndrome of menopause.
P: Can you explain what pelvic health physiotherapy involves and why it’s so important?
M: A lot of the conditions or symptoms I’ve just mentioned are heavily impacted by the function of our pelvic floor muscles. A lot of people think pelvic floor physio is just kegels, or pelvic floor strengthening exercises. But in reality, this isn’t often the case. Pelvic floor muscles can be overactive or tight, which can be just as problematic as lax, weak muscles, and so in this case kegels aren’t going to work. Pelvic physiotherapists are trained to do internal examinations of the pelvic floor, and can create bespoke treatment plans to help optimise not just your pelvic floor function, but also other external factors that could be contributing to the problem.
P: How do you use your work to empower and support women?
M: In so many ways! Knowledge is power! Women are clever, and so when given the correct information, they make smart decisions for themselves.
A good example of this is during birth preparation. Historically, women have been undereducated about how to prepare for birth, and are left feeling like they’ve failed when they don’t have the birth they wanted or expected. Starting motherhood feeling like you’ve failed is not helpful, and can be quite traumatic.
Pelvic physiotherapy can be instrumental to birth preparation, ensuring that your pelvic floor has enough stretch to allow for the baby to move through, optimising pushing technique, and preparing your body for postpartum recovery. We have good evidence to support using techniques like perineal massage, in significantly reducing the incidence of birthing injury. More and more research is starting to come out in this area, which should see a shift in access to this care.
Given the right information, women should be able to make the right birth choice for their own personal situation and needs.
Womanhood
P: Meg, what does being a woman mean to you?
M: Such a thought provoking question! For me, being a woman means using my special powers to show up in the world. As women I think we have a lot to give to society. We have this unique ability to be sensitive but strong, patient but determined, and intelligent but modest. Growing up in a family of inspiring women, I grew up thinking I could do anything I put my mind to, and I am committed to carry this baton forward. It’s fighting to show our place in the world, and not to take no for an answer. It’s showing the guys what we’re made of!