Nidhi Sharma PT

02/28/2022

Pelvic Organ Prolapse - this “ boat in a dock” is a good representation of our pelvis and organ support. Women often think of pelvic floor as a sling / basket carrying the organs( bladder and uterus)🧺 👈🏻That’s not accurate.
Normally, Primary support for pelvic organs like bladder and uterus comes from Thick ligaments ( labeled). These ligaments attach or rather suspend these organs from the bony walls of our pelvis
Pelvic floor acts like water under boat , giving it extra support.
In normal anatomy, pelvic floor should NOT be taking a lot of weight of these organs at rest.

This whole dynamic changes with pregnancy.
The ligaments that suspend the organs get a little bit looser and get stretched as the weight of uterus increases

NOW , pelvic floor has a lot more weight and support function even at rest ( because organs are heavier and sit lower)

This is also where the “drydock” comes into picture. Imagine if the water receded from under your boat ( weak pelvic floor) as it was docked. The stress on the ropes suspending the boat will increase as well. Boat may sit lower on the floor ( prolapse). This is how weak pelvic floor can contribute to pelvic organ prolapse

But 2️⃣ very important things that are often not talked about in prolapse are :

1. Pressure from the top - imagine if we were to put a heavyweight in the boat. Wouldn’t That push the boat even lower? That could be the case with some breathing patterns, constipation or habit of bearing down. You are creating and keeping extra weight in the boat

2. What supports the pelvis? - Remember I said that ligaments attach or rather suspend the organs on the side or bony pelvis. There are many many many muscles of abdomen back and hip that attach to the pelvis. Can weak abdominals , back muscles and hip muscles affect the prolapse?

As you can see, the problem of prolapse is not as simple as “ organs in a basket “ . You can’t just squeeze your pelvic floor and hope that all organs will stay in place. Organ support is a much more complex mechanism. Your breath, strength of your abdominal muscles , your back muscles, your hips , your pelvic floor and your bowel/bladder habits can all play a role

02/01/2022

01/03/2022

Happy first Monday of 2022

01/01/2022

I don’t believe in resolutions but I do like to set an intentionfor the year.⁣
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As we start 2022 , one of my favorite accounts / writer suggested we pick a word to reflect on this next year. ⁣
So my word for 2022 is EMBRACE ⁣
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I hope to embrace life and motherhood you can in all its colors. ⁣
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𝘌𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵 ⁣
𝘌𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 ⁣
𝘌𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵⁣
𝘌𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘺 ⁣
𝘌𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦 ⁣
𝘌𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 ⁣
𝘌𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 ❤️ ⁣
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𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿? ⁣
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12/30/2021

👊🏼Empowering mamas to own and love their post partum bodies⁣
🤲🏻Helping women recover from pelvic health conditions ⁣
✊🏼Demanding better post partum care ⁣
✊🏼Demanding more support for parents ⁣
❤️ Celebrating motherhood with all its challenges and joys.⁣
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Here’s my ⁣
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12/24/2021

I’ve always loved decorating the Christmas tree. This year , my tree may not the prettiest but it definitely is the merriest 🥰🥰🥰⁣
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Merry Christmas !!! ⁣
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🎄 💙

12/16/2021

🧑‍🎄 I’ve been pregnant , given birth, sustained childbirth injuries, been dismissed by my OB, struggled alone with breastfeeding, stayed home unpaid , seen therapist for mental health and shopped around for childcare ( that doesn’t make going back to work pointless) this year. I’d say I’ve been good ⁣
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12/03/2021

Of all the things that are wrong with the chair, this one annoys me the most.


The future of healthcare, whether it is nutrition, mental health or physical wellness– the future is self-care. Empowerment .

If the treatment is passive , get ready to sign up for lifetime membership.

Instead of looking for quick fixes and spending 💰, do the real work in PT and get better for life 👊🏼

11/30/2021

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱? 𝗜𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘆 sound far reaching If I said YES. So hear me out 🤷🏻‍♀️⁣⁣
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Body is really cool, especially when it comes to nerves. Most nerves starts in your spinal cord and go down into your leg, arms, pelvis etc⁣⁣
Now the nerves that go into your pelvic floor start at lower end of your spine ( S1-S4). The nerves that go into your feet ( mostly branches of Tibial nerve) ALSO share these same levels (lower Lumar and S1-4) . Due to close proximity , these nerves can get chatty and cross refer pain 🤔🤔⁣⁣
In a study** of men with , researchers found that the ability to spread toes in these men was limited 🤯. They hypothesized that this maybe due to subtle deficits of the lower end of spinal nerves caused by chronic pelvic pain!⁣⁣
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In another research***, it was found that the ability to engage pelvic floor changes with the position of ankle in standing🤨⁣
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Sounds crazy right! WHY is our pelvic floor muscles sharing nerve supply with our feet? Maybe there is a method to the madness of nature🙏🏻⁣⁣
One theory is that it’s because both of these parts ( pelvic floor and foot) work as shock absorbers for our body.. 𝘞𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘤 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 “𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘬” 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯 “𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩”. 𝘉𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 “𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦” 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘣 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 , 𝘫𝘶𝘮𝘱, 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘦𝘵𝘤 ⁣
Close proximity of nerve supply may mean that the timing of their engagement is perfect. If two things are going to do same job, shouldn’t they be able to communicate? Nerves are our body’s messengers. More messengers means better communication⁣⁣
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To conclude, I will leave you with this thought today. How many times did you think about your feet when you thought about your pelvic floor ? Did anyone evaluate your feet when treating your pelvic pain? Has the way you put your foot on the ground changed since your started having pelvic pain?⁣⁣

11/15/2021

I recently “celebrated” my “post partum visit anniversary” ⁣
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That ONE visit ⁣
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The one after many months of pregnancy⁣
After many hours days of Labor ⁣
After tears and mesh underwears ⁣
After so much pain, anxiety and apprehension⁣
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I had so many expectations. I had so many questions. I had so much I wanted to know.⁣
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They were the most disappointing 20 minutes of last year. ⁣
Let’s do better for moms. ⁣
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Let’s give them REAL healthcare. ⁣
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The care that considers them more than a uterus ⁣
The care that helps them thrive physically and emotionally ⁣
The care that makes them feel strong and powerful. ⁣
The care that helps them live HEALTHY ⁣
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Let’s give them REAL HEALTHCARE. ⁣
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11/05/2021

A lot of new faces here so I thought it’s time for a quick 👋🏼

My name is Nidhi and ☝️ is Ishaan. I am a (new?) mama and a pelvic health Physical therapist.

Here are few Fun facts about me :

1. I broke my tailbone Twice ( because once wasn’t enough 🤷🏻‍♀️😂)
2. I went to school in Texas and my first job was in a small rural town where I treated everything from stroke to babies. But NOT pelvic floor 🤪
3. I decided to specialize in pelvic floor rehab in 2013 after treating post partum women for back pain, SI joint pain that just kept coming back ( pelvic floor was the missing piece ). Once I saw that making leaking better made back pain better as well, I never looked back.
4. I wear black leggings 90% of time 🤓
5. I hate Tea ( Americans don’t care for tea , that’s why I moved to America 😬)
6. I like logging my workouts in but keep it private ( anyone else ? )

Welcome !!

🤔

10/31/2021

For a country thats obsessed with pro-life debate, we sure as hell don’t give a F*** about the “life” that we are apparently so desperate to protect. It is appalling at all levels. No I am not pro-life (which is better described as “pro-control” btw) but the hypocrisy of this situation is not lost on me. I avoid talking about political issues on this page but this is INHUMANE.⁣
It enrages me every time I hear about it. ⁣
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Dems are a disgrace , reps are a disgrace. Everyone who makes this political is a disgrace. This is a healthcare issue. ⁣
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10/25/2021

PRIORITIES ⁣
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The 60 minute nap that my baby took today was the first time in last 10 days that I had any time to think about myself. ⁣
He has been sick since last weekend and I have been living on survival mode. So when I had these heavenly 60 minutes , it all came crashing down:⁣
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The messy house ⁣
The piling laundry ⁣
The forever paperwork and bills⁣
The cooking / meal planning ⁣
Patient notes ⁣
Instagram content - I haven’t posted much this week, algorithm Gods already hate me ⁣
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But you know what I did with my 60 minutes ? I worked out. I tended to my body. I prioritized my health. ⁣
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House will wait. Laundry will be managed in a rush. Meals will have to cooked with baby in carrier. I chose ME ⁣
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Motherhood is always a balancing act but after the baby is fed and safe, know that YOU are the most important thing.⁣
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Everything else can wait.⁣
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🌟

10/19/2021

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I got thinking about these two terms after two patients I saw recently. ⁣
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Both hospital births. Both with same type of practitioner.⁣
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One where an episiotomy was performed that lead to a Grade 2 tear. Patient was not informed that an episiotomy was being performed on her. And when patient questioned the practitioner about why she wasn’t informed, she was told “you should be thanking me I saved you from tearing your urethra” ⁣
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Second/practitioner asked the woman if she should perform an episiotomy should there be a need. They both agreed to do it. Patient sustained a grade 3 tear and a prolapse. ⁣
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Reality is the birth is often truly out of our control and there aren’t exact metrics for who gets a tear and prolapse. When a woman is left asking and needing support, she always questions the decisions that were made. On the other hand, when support is provided and communication is clear, it is easier to accept the unpleasant realities of birth injuries. ⁣
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I have shared my birth story many times on this account. I sustained a grade 3 perineal tear and an vaginal internal tear. But it wasn’t traumatic for me. My doctor respected my wishes, asked for my permission and often gave me time to think over things. ⁣
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We can’t always prevent birth injuries but we can surely prevent some birth traumas.

10/19/2021

⁣
I got thinking about these two terms after two patients I saw recently. ⁣
⁣
Both hospital births. Both with same type of practitioner.⁣
⁣
One where an episiotomy was performed that lead to a Grade 2 tear. Patient was not informed that an episiotomy was being performed on her. And when patient questioned the practitioner about why she wasn’t informed, she was told “you should be thanking me I saved you from tearing your urethra” ⁣
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Second/practitioner asked the woman if she should perform an episiotomy should there be a need. They both agreed to do it. Patient sustained a grade 3 tear and a prolapse. ⁣
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Reality is the birth is often truly out of our control and there aren’t exact metrics for who gets a tear and prolapse. When a woman is left asking and needing support, she always questions the decisions that were made. On the other hand, when support is provided and communication is clear, it is easier to accept the unpleasant realities of birth injuries. ⁣
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I have shared my birth story many times on this account. I sustained a grade 3 perineal tear and an vaginal internal tear. But it wasn’t traumatic for me. My doctor respected my wishes, asked for my permission and often gave me time to think over things. ⁣
⁣
We can’t always prevent birth injuries but we can surely prevent some birth traumas.

10/12/2021

October is 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 ! ⁣
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What should a GOOD physical therapy session look like?⁣
Usually ( not always) , it is a mix of these four things: ⁣
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𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝘆 🤲🏻 𝗶𝘀 powerful because changes are often instantaneous . We stretch the muscles, mobilize the joints, tame the nerves and make your tissues less angry —-> Less pain🥳🥳. You can suddenly move further, with less pain and changes are sometimes “like magic”. 🤩⁣
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𝗡𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗼-𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗿𝗲-𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻- this is perhaps my favorite part of PT. This is just a 𝗳𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘛 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘏𝘠 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘤 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘞𝘏𝘠 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘤 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 ? 𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘨𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 ? 𝘍𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 ? 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 ? 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵 😜⁣
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𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲 - ‼️You should never receive just a piece of paper with some drawings of exercises or be in a corner just pedaling away your 20 minutes on a stationary bike‼️ Your therapist should look at you doing those exercises, explain how it should feel, and how to modify/ progress if you need it⁣
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𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 / 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲- this needs to be emphasized MORE. So you learned why it happened , how it happened and how we fixed it. 𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝗪𝗡 𝗶𝘁! 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁. 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻. Learn some self treatment skills to handle it yourself. UNDERSTAND your body. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴🙌🏼⁣
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10/08/2021

❤️ Read about my breastfeeding journey ❤️

Breastfeeding was awkward, unnatural, uninstinctive, and worst of all, uncertain. Did he nurse for long enough? Did he get enough? Am I making enough milk? Is he gaining enough weight?

10/06/2021

My New blog post for is up.
Closing this chapter of my life has been emotional and writing about it was therapeutic ❤️

🌸 Link to read is in my bio 🌸