Professor Corlia Brandt is the South African International Urogynaecology Association Physiotherapy representative and on the IUGA Africa Advisory Board; the Vice-President of the International Organisation for Physiotherapists in Pelvic and Women’s Health (World Physiotherapy), chair of the Professional Development Portfolio on the National Executive Committee (SASP), President of the South African Sexual Health Association; on the editorial board for the African Journal of Primary Health Care and Family Medicine; and Scientific Chair for several national and international congresses.
Her main areas of interest are neuromusculoskeletal, sport, pelvic and women’s health, and research.
Brandt says: “Women’s health has become much more comprehensive than focusing only on gynaecological and related issues. Different trends are seen in females when looking at systemic diseases and injury patterns as well. None of these have been explored in-depth in women, and even less in an athletic population and on the African continent.
“There are many conditions that only relate to women and can affect performance, such as pelvic floor dysfunction, pregnancy-related changes, and the menstrual cycle, to name a few. With female sport growing and women becoming more competitive every day, research must shift to investigate these aspects and performance as related to female physiology.”
