Get to know dr. Bary Berghmans 

 

Dr. Bary Berghmans is co-founder and senior researcher at the Pelvic care Center Maastricht, the Department of Epidemiology at the Maastricht University and the Department of Urology at Maastricht University Medical Center+ in Maastricht, The Netherlands. 

 

Since the 1980's he is also the owner of his own physical therapy practice, called ICL Fysio (www.iclfysio.nl). Later on he also opened a multidisciplinary clinic for labour and health, called ICL Arbeid (www.iclarbeid.nl).     

 

On behalf of the Royal Dutch Society for Physical Therapy (KNGF)  Bary was a member of several panels that were responsible for the development of guidelines of conservative treatment for urinary and fecal incontinence. He is a member of the multidisciplinary ICS and IUGA committee for the standardisation of terminology of female pelvic floor dysfunctions, terminology of conservative treatments for pelvic floor and female ano-rectal dysfunctions. He is the imminent past chairperson of the IUGA Special Interest Group Female Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation and is currently chairperson of the EUGA Committee Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation, member of the European Association of Urology Guideline panel for Chronic Pelvic Pain and member of the FIGO urogynecology panel. Last but not least, Bary is a honorary member of the Pan Arab Continence Society. 

 

At the Catholic University of Curitiba (PUCPR), at the Department of Gynecology in Parana, Brazil, Bary was a visiting professor and is appointed as visiting professor at the University of Campinas at the department of Surgery at Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil. He is a professor at Faculdade Inspirar, Brazil.    

 

Bary has given lectures all over the world on pelvic floor dysfunctions and methodogical and epidemiological topics. He is considered as a key-note reference in the field of pelvic physiotherapy. Teaching Evidence Based Medicine related to pelvic (floor) and bladder (dys)functions, health problems of urological, urogynecological, colorectal and sexological origine is his trademark and passion

 

Bary's other passions in live are travelling, his grandchildren, doing sports, like playing tennis or skying and photography. Bary is married to dr. Maura Seleme, also a well-known pelvic physiotherapist from Curitiba, Brazil. He is the father of Caroline and proud grandfather of Rocco and Loua

 

Awards 

Based on scientific and clinical merits honorary member of the Pan Arab Continence Society since 2005

 

Based on scientific and clinical merits honorary member of Associacao Brasileira de Fisioterapia em Saude da Mulher, March 27, 2010, Sao Paulo, Brazil Honorary member

 

International Urogynecological Association (IUGA) 13th Ulf Ulmsten Lecture Award, 22th of June 2017, during 42nd Annual Meeting in Vancouver Canada

KNGF and NVFB recommendation letter by dr. Marijke Slieker 

Aanbevelingsbrief voor benoeming tot erelid NVFB voor dr. Bary Berghmans

Datum: 14 oktober 2021

 

Tekst:

‘Beste Bary,

Je zet je al in voor de bekkenbodemzorg sinds de begin jaren negentig. Lang voordat ons mooie beroep als specialisme werd erkend, was jij al met onderzoek bezig op dit gebied en volgde jij de eerste cursussen bekkenbodemproblematiek op de Hogeschool West-Brabant.

Als klinisch epidemioloog, gezondheidswetenschapper en bekkenfysiotherapeut speel(de) jij een belangrijke rol in de verwetenschappelijking van ons vak, een belangrijk proces waar we nu allemaal plezier van hebben. Door je tomeloze inzet is de bekkenbodemzorg door fysiotherapeuten nationaal en internationaal op de kaart gezet. Je was betrokken bij de ontwikkeling van vele richtlijnen. Zowel voor het KNGF, als bij de internationale guidelines. Een mooi voorbeeld is de richtlijn stress incontinentie die in vele andere talen is vertaald.

Je was voorzitter van de review Cochrane over urineverlies en elektrostimulatie en lid van vele multidisciplinaire internationale commissies. Meer internationaal is je betrokkenheid groot bij het versterken van de positie van de bekkenfysiotherapie. Het feit dat de bekkenfysiotherapie nu een sterke plek heeft gekregen bij de IUGA is vooral aan jou te danken en deze voorbereiding ben je al gestart in 2006.

Al deze betrokkenheid in het internationale veld is niet altijd zichtbaar, maar heeft mede geresulteerd in erkenning van ons vak bij medisch specialisten en huisartsen. Je eigen promotie over het conservatief behandelen van stress incontinentie en de overactieve blaas werd al uitgevoerd in 2000. Juist omdat jij je zowel op organisatorisch- als op wetenschappelijk vlak hebt ingespannen ben jij één van de grotere bekkenfysiotherapeut-onderzoekers met een enorme hoeveelheid artikelen en deelname in wetenschappelijk boeken.

Jij hebt ook bijgedragen in (inter)nationaal onderwijs, zodat steeds meer bekkenfysiotherapeuten zich aangetrokken voelen om met onderzoek aan de slag te gaan. Inmiddels heeft dit geleid tot meerdere promoties van (bekken)fysiotherapeuten. Iets waar wij als vereniging trots op zijn!

Je hebt aangegeven dat je in januari 2022 met pensioen gaat maar je zult nog wel actief blijven in het veld van de bekkenfysiotherapie. Je eigen bedrijf in Maastricht met een multidisciplinair team is daar een goed voorbeeld van. Met elkaar moeten we ons realiseren dat je ons wetenschappelijk voorbeeld bent en een stimulans voor velen in ons vak.

Met vriendelijke groet,

Marijke

Letter of recommendation for appointment as honorary member NVFB for Dr. Bary Berghmans

Date: October 14, 2021

 

Text:

Dear Bary, 

You have been committed to pelvic floor care since the early 1990s. Long before our beautiful profession was recognized as a specialism, you were already doing research in this area and you followed the first courses on pelvic floor problems at the Hogeschool West-Brabant.

As a clinical epidemiologist, health scientist and pelvic physiotherapist, you play an important role in the scientific development of our profession, an important process that we all enjoy now. Thanks to your unbridled efforts, pelvic floor care has been put on the map by physiotherapists nationally and internationally. You were involved in the development of many guidelines. Both for the KNGF and for the international guidelines. A good example is the stress incontinence guideline, which has been translated into many other languages.

You chaired the Cochrane review on urine loss and electrostimulation and was a member of many multidisciplinary international committees. More internationally, your involvement is great in strengthening the position of pelvic physiotherapy. The fact that pelvic physiotherapy has now acquired a strong place at the Intenational Urogynecological Association (IUGA) is mainly thanks to you and you already started this preparation in 2006.

 

All this involvement in the international field is not always visible, but has partly resulted in recognition of our profession by medical specialists and general practitioners. Your own PhD on the conservative treatment of stress incontinence and overactive bladder was already carried out in 2000. It is precisely because you have made an organizational and scientific effort that you are one of the most important pelvic physiotherapist researchers with an enormous amount of publications in the field and participation in scientific books.

 

You have also contributed to (inter)national education, so that more and more pelvic physiotherapists are attracted to get started with research. This has now led to several promotions for (pelvic) physiotherapists. Something we as an association are proud off.

 

You have indicated that you will be retiring in January 2022, but you will still be active in the field of pelvic physiotherapy. Your own company in Maastricht with a multidisciplinary team is a good example of this.

 

Together we must realize that you are our scientific example and an incentive for many in our profession.'

Yours sincerely,

Marijke Slieker