How I Became a Physical Therapist
Want to know why I became a pelvic PT?
It’s a combination of reasons. I’ve always had a passion for health, fitness and sports. At a young age, I competitively swam, dove and danced. In school my favorite class was PE! And one of my first purchases as a teenager was my very own basketball stand. I was so excited. Next it was a gym membership. Then a cat. Lol.
Exercising has always been my thing and my way to decompress and feel good. But then, at the age of 18, my world came to a sudden hault. I was in a horrible accident and told I may never walk (or run!!) again. My leg had been badly broken. My world was now very dark and grim. I had never felt pain or this level of despair before. I honestly didn’t know how I was going to move forward with my life.
After many weeks of feeling sorry myself, I decided it was enough. I remember the exact moment honestly where I felt empowered to change my mindset. My friends had taken me out for ice cream and standing in line before us was a man with a prosthetic leg. I thought to myself, “if he can do this so can I!!” Certainly I knew things could’ve been worse for me. I was blessed to still have my leg. And at that moment, I knew my pitty party was over and I was going to workout, run, hike, ski, dance, wear heels, and feel beautiful again.
From that day forward, I began to exercise. I started with leg raises at home to eventually hobbling to the gym on crutches to workout. I rode a bike with one leg, lifted weights and did mat exercises. I eventually regained my strength. And then when my cast came off, I slowly started to walk unassisted and felt alive again.
I remember the moment I was able to run. It felt so incredible. I remember falling to my knees afterwards with tears of joy. I was so thankful I didn’t give up. I was thankful I was finally reaching my goals. I thanked God for giving me strength and motivation. And I thanked him for the amazing orthopedic surgeon, Dr Lefton at Ortho Virginia. He truly was my hero. It was that moment I knew how powerful physical therapy truly was and this was what I wanted to do as my career. I wanted to help people recover from their injuries and reach their goals just like I did.
After PT school, I started my journey as an orthopedic physical therapist. It wasn’t until after having kids, I discovered first hand how underserved women’s health truly is. Yes my babies were very well taken care of, but I felt broken (again) and needed care too! I remember calling my doctor and saying I didn’t feel good. I was offered medicine, surgery and even a pessery.. none of which I wanted. I wanted a more natural and holistic approach. I needed pelvic floor therapy but it wasn’t available.
So..that’s why I’m now a pelvic floor physical therapist. I learned how much pelvic PT is truly needed and I want to provide that specialty care. It is my passion to help and heal others, especially after childbirth. I want women to reach their biggest goals and feel good about themselves. I believe every woman deserves and needs pelvic PT.
Author: Brita Allgyer, PT, DPT
2023 PT/PTA CAPP Scholarship Recipient
Author Bio: I have been an Orthopedic and Pelvic physical therapist for over 17 years. I’m very passionate about helping people recover from their injuries and reach their goals.
