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You Know His Research. But Do You Know Paul Hodges?
- Nicole Cozean
- Aug 24
- 4 min read
You might not immediately recognize the name Paul Hodges. But we can almost guarantee you've been taught his work.
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You might not immediately recognize the name Paul Hodges. But we can almost guarantee you've been taught his work.
And if you're attending PelviCon (either in-person or with our Live Virtual option) you'll get the chance to learn from him directly!
If you've learned that...
👉 The pelvic floor and diaphragm work together
👉 The pelvic floor is part of a larger pressure-management system
👉 Timing and coordination matter—not just strength
👉 The abdominals and pelvic floor don't function independently
👉 Intra-abdominal pressure isn't inherently bad
👉 Pain is far more complicated than simply "tissue vs. brain"
...then you've been influenced by research Professor Paul Hodges and his collaborators have spent decades developing.
And that's why we were SO excited to sit down with him.
Paul is one of the most influential physiotherapy researchers in the world, and in this episode we get to nerd out with him about the science that has fundamentally shaped how we practice.
We talk about:
🔬 What we got wrong about his early motor-control research — and how complex science gets oversimplified when it reaches the clinic.
💨 Why pressure isn't the enemy. Paul introduces the Swedish concept of lagom: we need the appropriate amount of pressure for the task—not simply less pressure.
♂️ Why we can't just extrapolate female pelvic floor rehab to men. Paul's team has been investigating what actually creates continence after prostatectomy and how that should change rehabilitation.
🧠 Why we've oversimplified chronic pain. We dig into nociceptive, neuropathic and nociplastic pain—and why chronic pain doesn't automatically mean the tissues are irrelevant.
🤯 The problems with “central sensitization.” Including Nicole getting a little surprise when Paul explains the limitations of the Central Sensitization Inventory!
📚 How research actually makes its way into clinical practice—and why Paul believes research should ultimately change outcomes for real people.
And maybe our favorite theme of the entire conversation:
Complexity doesn't mean we throw our hands up.
Our job is to understand that complexity well enough to find the clinically meaningful pieces that help the person sitting in front of us.
🎟️ Learn From Paul LIVE at PelviCon 2026!
If this conversation gets your clinical brain firing, just wait until PelviCon. (You can still get your tickets at www.pelvicon.com/virtual)
Paul is giving two presentations during the main PelviCon conference:
Beyond the Squeeze: Ultrasound and Precision in Male Pelvic Floor Care
and
Same Symptoms, Different Pain: Phenotyping Pelvic Pain in Clinical Practice
Your PelviCon Live Virtual + Recording ticket gives you access to Paul's presentations PLUS all 14 talks from our eight incredible speakers—and you have lifetime access to the recordings.
And there's still time to be with us in spirit!
🎁 Order before September 2nd and we'll ship you the printed, full-color PelviCon manual PLUS a PelviCon swag set.
About Professor Paul Hodges
Professor Paul Hodges is a physiotherapist, neuroscientist and professor at the University of Queensland whose research has profoundly influenced our understanding of motor control, biomechanics, pain, continence, breathing and pelvic floor function.
His work spans decades and hundreds of scientific publications, but what makes it so relevant to us is how many of the principles we now take for granted in pelvic rehab have roots in questions Paul and his collaborators were asking long before those concepts became commonplace.
📱 Follow Paul on Instagram: @paulwhodges
🔬 Learn more about his research and academic work: Professor Paul Hodges — University of Queensland
Learn more about pelvic health with our Clinical Courses
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Challenge the way you think
Make you more confident in your clinical practice.
Allow you to go-at-your-own pace (all online!)
Let you go back to your work: you'll have lifetime access to the lectures and handouts. Check out all the clinical courses we offer (www.pelvicptrising.com/clinical).
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We want to make sure you're building a business that works for you (instead of vice-versa) and actually enjoy the process along the way!
See all the business resources we offer (www.pelvicptrising.com/business), tailored specifically to pelvic health!
Nicole Cozean, PT, DPT, WCS
Founder of Pelvic PT Rising and PelvicSanity Physical Therapy in Southern California.
Dedicated to forever changing pelvic health with online clinical courses to help you be more confident in your practice and business resources to help start and grow pelvic health businesses.
Jesse Cozean, MBA
Co-founder of the Pelvic PT Rising and the Rising Podcast.
Jesse uses his business experience to help pelvic health business owners start and grow their practices so they can build a practice that truly works for them. From website design, SEO, conversions, marketing, finance and money mindset, he wants to make the process of owning your own practice easier and fun.
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