I am Sytske Lohof-Venema. In 1993 I graduated as a general physiotherapist, as a pelvic physiotherpist in 2007 and in 2013 I completed the master's degree in pelvic physiotherapy. During my work I often involved with the manual treatment of trigger points. I often noticed that my fingers were quite painful from these treatments and I wondered if there was anything that could support this. There is of course dry needling, which is fantastic method for handling trigger points, but I was looking for something which:
- is not invasive
- can also be used on pregnant women
- can treat places where you cannot reach with dry needling or where you are not allowed to treat with dry needling.
I could not find such a device in physiotherapy. For that reason, around 5 years ago I started developing a triggerpoint device myself. Developing the Sylo-pen has been a major challenge because it involves a huge amount: it must be hygienic, ergonomic and also sustainable. With the help of a lot of people around me, I finally succeeded and now there is a fantastic product. It has been on the market since November 2019: The Sylo-pen.
The purpose of the Sylo-pen is to relieve physical therapists physically during work. While I was working on the development and started working with the first test specimens, it turned out that many patients enjoyed the treatment very much and also wanted such a device for themselves so that they could treat themselves at home. This was an extra reason for me to continue developing. I saved the money I earned by giving NIMOC courses (Non Invasive Mobilization of the Coccyx). This is a course for pelvic physiotherapists to mobilize the os coccyx. This is done with patients that have complaints of the torso, the pelvis and back, but also with urological problems, relieving or pain during sex.
I would very much like for my colleagues to use the Sylo-pen, so that their fingers are relieved. They may become as enthusiastic as I am! My colleagues and I don't want to work a day without the Sylo-pen. What I would like if it is profitable is to go to "poor" countries where they have health centers for midwives, such as in Africa. I would like to stay there for about 3 weeks to teach midwives the NIMOC treatment and to further teach them how to use the Sylo-pen to treat muscles. Of course I would like to leave a number of Sylo-pens there so that they can go to different places to help people who would otherwise not get the chance to be helped.
Whether this happens in the short term or will take longer, or by me or someone else, I don't know. But I believe this is going to happen!
