How My Sister's Journey in Pelvic Health Started My Own

I found out at a very young age that I wanted to become a physical therapist. Around the time I was in 8th grade, my mother became a receptionist at a home health clinic and introduced me to the profession and what it had to offer. There were two aspects that being a physical therapist provided that appealed to me. The first was I could help people regain control of their lives in a way that I thought a physician never could, and the second was that I would have a hands-on approach with patients and get to see their progress rather than seeing them only when they are at their lowest. My interest in pelvic health happened a bit later though and was actually due to my sister having some pelvic floor dysfunction. After a few months of the doctors trying to find out what was happening and then giving treatments that ultimately did not work my parents decided to take her to a pelvic floor physical therapist. After just a few sessions my sister started to feel better. It was at this point that I became interested in the pelvic floor and asked my parents to see if they knew anything about the subject. Turns out my mother had issues with her pelvic health which caused pain, and my oldest sister had PCOS. From that moment I knew I wanted to be someone who could help, after all every woman in my family was experiencing pain and it seemed like doctors dismissed their concerns repeatedly. The only time they seemed to care was when my oldest sister was trying to get pregnant. It is my goal as a future therapist to make sure that people have a place to go when they are experiencing any sort of pelvic dysfunction or pain.

Author: Dalton Armes, SPT
2023 Scholarship Recipient 

Author Bio: I am a 2nd year DPT student at Indiana State University. I also received my B.S. in Exercise Science with a minor in Massage Therapy from Indiana State University. My interest in pelvic health is to help find ways to improve the lives of people suffering from chronic pelvic pain.