I’m Emily and I am originally from Knoxville. I was so fortunate to discover at age 16 that I wanted to be a physical therapist. This firm knowledge pushed me through undergrad at ETSU and the desire to be a PT didn’t waver--until I was getting ready to apply to PT school. I decided to take a year off (to the dismay of my loving parents) and took a job in a therapy clinic to make sure this is really what I was really supposed to do with my life.
I was so blessed to end up in a clinic that treated a huge variety of conditions including orthopedic, neurologic, pediatric, and pelvic health. I was so intrigued by the incontinence program this therapist was running. I had no idea that physical therapists could help with these symptoms! And even more importantly, I was seeing these patient GET BETTER! It changed their lives in such a different way than fixing their shoulder or knee that I was hooked!! I spent my 3 years in PT school working my tail off to learn everything I needed to know to pass boards & start my career, but I also sought out opportunities to learn more about pelvic floor dysfunction.
When I initially moved to Johnson City, I swore up and down that I would never live in Knoxville again. Well, I have learned to never say never!! I did my last round of clinical internships in Knoxville and had so many amazing opportunities here that I didn’t want to leave. I fell in love with Knoxville all over again as an adult. I love all the outdoor space, the shopping, the events, the community as a whole, and most importantly--the food!! Even when other opportunities presented to leave the state, I couldn’t bring myself to leave.
There are so many reasons I am passionate about treating pelvic health, but I think the main one is that it gives me huge opportunity to serve an underserved community. You can throw a rock in this town and hit a PT clinic, but there are only about a dozen pelvic health therapists working in the greater Knoxville area (which is up from the 6 that were treating these conditions when I started!!). I have built a wonderful practice at East Tennessee Spine & Sport in Oak Ridge, but I know there are still so many more opportunities out there to help more people.
I am creating these programs for a number of reasons:
There are so many people who cannot make it to physical therapy and I want to be able to provide a variety of resources to help these people.
Most people don’t understand they have pelvic floors or how these muscles can impact their lives. If people know anything about their pelvic floor muscles, it is usually a vague knowledge that if they do their Kegels they should be good to roll. But most people have very limited awareness of how amazing and wonderful this group of muscles can be when they are working properly.
I want to normalize utilization of pelvic floor treatment throughout the lifespan. I treat patients as young as 14 and as old as 96 who have a variety of conditions and concerns. Pelvic floor physical therapy can help all of them!
And lastly, I want to try to work myself out of a job. The number of people who have had urinary incontinence or pelvic pain for years is heartbreaking!! Many of these people think that they have to live with it or that it’s normal. My goal is to increase awareness of how these muscles can contribute to various dysfunctions and how physical therapy can help. Just like any other condition, the earlier we catch these problems the faster we can fix these problems!
Now you know a little about me, jump on social media and follow me there. I will post updates about the program and my life on there!
Fair warning, my social media is usually full of my dog, my travels, and pelvic health info I come across!!