How it started
My name is Sytske Lohof-Venema. I graduated as a general physiotherapist in 1993, as a pelvic floor physiotherapist in 2007, and in 2013, I completed my master's degree in pelvic floor physiotherapy. In my work as a pelvic floor physiotherapist, I frequently manually treat trigger points. I often noticed that my fingers were quite painful from these treatments, and I wondered if there was anything that could offer support. Dry needling, of course, is already available, which is a fantastic way to treat trigger points, but I was looking for something that:
- is not invasive
- can also be used by pregnant women and children
- can treat areas that cannot be treated with dry needling
Goal and development
I couldn't find such a device in physiotherapy. That's why I spent five years developing my own trigger point device. Developing the Sylo-pen was a major challenge, as there were so many things involved: it had to be hygienic, ergonomic, and durable. With the help of many people around me, I finally succeeded, and all in all, we now have a fantastic product. It's been on the market since November 2019: the Sylo-pen.
The goal of the Sylo-pen is to reduce the physical strain on physiotherapists during their work. While I was developing it and working with the first prototypes, I discovered that many patients really enjoyed the treatment and wanted a similar device so they could treat themselves. This was an added incentive for me to continue developing it.
I saved the money from the NIMOC (Non-Invasive Mobilization of the Coccyx) courses I teach. This course is for pelvic floor physiotherapists and general physiotherapists to mobilize the coccyx. It's used for coccyx, pelvic, and back problems, as well as for problems with urination, defecation, or pain during sex.
Vision
Ideally, I'd like many colleagues to use the Sylo pen. This would also relieve the strain on their fingers. Perhaps they'll become as enthusiastic as I am! My colleagues and I certainly don't want to work another day without the Sylo pen. What I'd like, if it were profitable, is to go to "poor" countries with midwifery health centers, such as in Africa. I'd like to stay there for about three weeks to teach midwives the NIMOC procedure and further train them on how to use the Sylo pen to treat muscles. Of course, I'd like to leave a few Sylo pens there so they can go to different places to help people who wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to receive help.
Whether this will happen soon or will take longer, whether it's done by me or someone else, I don't know. But I believe it will happen!
Update
In May 2024, I traveled to Limpopo, South Africa, where I helped teach the first year of pelvic floor physiotherapy training. Twenty physiotherapists started in Polokwane. It was fantastic how, by the end of the week, twenty physiotherapists from across the Limpopo region, who knew nothing about pelvic floor physiotherapy, were brainstorming how to treat women in their country with prolapse and urinary incontinence. They were also discussing how to reach these women in rural areas. What a joy to work with these people, together with a urogynecologist from the Limpopo hospital and in collaboration with the University of Johannesburg.
