About Me & My Philosophy
Nidhi Sharma, PT, DPT, OCS, WCS
My name is Nidhi and I am a pelvic health physical therapist. I am double board certified in orthopedics and pelvic health through American Association of Physical Therapy (www.apta.org) and have been a practicing physical therapist since 2009. I hold a BS in Physical Therapy from IP University in Delhi (India), a Masters in Science in Kinesiology from Texas Woman’s University and a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from EIM Institute of Health Professions. My practice is focused on helping women navigate pregnancy and postpartum, and providing holistic pelvic health care.
When not treating my patients, I’ll often be found speaking at local support groups and community events, or teaching in childbirth education classes to raise awareness about pelvic health. I also write for Westchester County Moms collective website about my journey into motherhood and pelvic health after postpartum. I am also involved in teaching physical therapists and fitness professionals in the specialty of pelvic health.
I have spent thousands of hours in my advanced training to make sure I am providing the highest level of care. Here is a snippet of my training over 15 years of my practice:
- Functional Manual Therapy – Institute of Physical Art https://instituteofphysicalart.com
- Visceral Manipulation – Barral Institute https://www.barralinstitute.com
- Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation – Herman and Wallace https://hermanwallace.com
- Pregnancy, Labor and Postpartum Care – APTA Academy of Pelvic health https://aptapelvichealth.org
- Pelvis Restoration Program – Postural Restoration Institute https://www.posturalrestoration.com
- The Female Athlete – Antony Lo https://physiodetective.com/courses/female-athlete-tfa
- Pregnancy and Postpartum Athleticism Coach – Brianna Battles https://www.briannabattles.com
- Pudendal Neuralgia – Pelvic Guru Academy –https://www.pelvicguruacademy.com
- The Male Pelvic floor – Entropy Pelvic Health
- Active Release Techniques – https://activerelease.com
My Philosophy
“Movement never lies. It is a barometer telling the state of the soul’s weather to all who can read it” Martha Graham
As a physical therapist with a background in kinesiology, performing biomechanical evaluation is one of the founding pillars of my treatment philosophy. I thoroughly evaluate how different parts of the body interact with each other. Quite often, I find that the driver of a patient’s pelvic pain is far away from the pelvis like the ankle, knee, spine or jaw. A decade of treating pelvic health conditions as well as orthopedics has taught me to step back and look at the whole system before honing in on the pelvis. I enjoy helping people with chronic complicated pain that presents in different parts of the body. I treat the system, not just the symptom.
“It is far more important to know what person the disease has than what disease the person has” Hippocrates
I was once asked what my “strongest clinical trait” was. After earning two board certifications, multiple manual therapy certifications and working in 5 different facilities, many things came to mind. My manual skills? My depth of experience? My education? But my most powerful skill (that I have learned from my patients) is the ability to listen. Like really listen. In today’s healthcare world, a typical consultation lasts about 5-15 minutes and the majority of care plan decisions are based on labs and tests. The art of listening to the patient and carefully analyzing their story is lost in this impersonal factory style model of care.
So many patients tell me that I was the first person who asked them their whole story, wanted to know what they thought of their pain and attempted to understand the person behind the diagnosis.
Two patients with the exact same diagnosis can have very different symptoms and most likely have very different lives. Successful treatment isn’t just about the patient’s diagnosis but also about their life, their goals, and their aspirations. Diagnosis makes most sense when placed in the jigsaw puzzle of a person’s life.
“Healing is an inside job” – Dr. B. J Palmer
Treating some of the most intimate conditions in a human body has made me realize how powerful and imperfectly beautiful) our body is. I do not subscribe to the idea of “fixing people”, my job as a therapist is to help you heal.
My job is to create a space where the body feels safe and can move in ways that were not possible before. I can help in myriad ways. I can perform manual therapy to decrease pain. I can help the body find more easeful alignment. I can help the body get stronger and move better. But that doesn’t take away the fact that it is your body that is doing the healing. And to heal, your body is going to need your support. I expect my patients to be very involved in their treatment plan. I am not a fixer. I am not a magician. I am your guide to your journey into your own body.
Follow @pelvis.andbeyond
Helping people with pregnancy, post Partum, bladder and pelvic health problems NYC and Westchester