Today we’d like to introduce you to Katherine Rush.
Hi Katherine, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I got started in pelvic floor physical therapy almost by accident. When I first went to school to become a physical therapist, there weren’t any courses or even much awareness about pelvic floor therapy — I didn’t realize it was even a specialty.
After graduation, I was working in a hospital system when two of my colleagues completed additional training and started a pelvic health program. I remember thinking, “Good for them,” but I had no plans to join in. Then, unexpectedly, both colleagues had to step away from the program, and my supervisor nominated me to take it over.
Honestly, I wasn’t thrilled at first. Pelvic floor therapy involves performing internal vaginal treatments, and part of the training includes practicing techniques on one another — which was not something I was eager to do in a room of forty people. But I also knew the work was important, so I pushed through the discomfort and completed the training.
Once I began practicing, everything changed. I saw firsthand how transformative pelvic floor therapy could be. I treated patients who had been living with severe incontinence — some who were so isolated and hopeless they were contemplating suicide — and within a few sessions, they were back to living normal, active lives. I worked with women whose pain during intercourse had strained their marriages, and after treatment, they were able to reconnect with their partners without pain.
It was eye-opening to realize that this wasn’t just about physical function — it was about restoring confidence, relationships, and quality of life.
Eventually, I decided to leave the hospital setting. Hospitals have many priorities, and pelvic health wasn’t high on the list. I wanted to be somewhere I could dedicate myself fully to this life-changing work — but I couldn’t find the right environment. So, in 2018, I decided to create it myself.
Since then, I’ve built my own pelvic health practice and have had the privilege of helping several thousand people reclaim their lives. What started as a reluctant assignment has become one of the most meaningful parts of my life’s work.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road getting here. I had already been working as a physical therapist for about twenty years before starting my own practice, and while I was very confident in my ability to help people heal and make life-changing progress, I had absolutely no business training.
It was a huge surprise to realize how different the skills are between being a great clinician and running a successful business. I suddenly had to learn everything from managing finances to hiring staff — and especially marketing. I had never done any kind of marketing before, so figuring out how to reach people or finding the right company to help me spread the word about pelvic floor therapy was probably my biggest challenge.
The thing I hear most often from my patients now is, “I wish I had known about this sooner.” That’s what keeps me motivated. I’ve made it my mission to educate not just patients, but also other healthcare providers, about the power of pelvic floor therapy and how much it can truly change someone’s life.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
At The Perfect Pelvis, we specialize exclusively in pelvic floor disorders. And while most of our patients are women, we do see men and children too. Everyone has a pelvic floor! We’re physical therapists who focus on a very specific and often overlooked part of the body. When the pelvic floor muscles aren’t working properly, it can lead to all kinds of issues — things like urinary or fecal incontinence, urgency, pain with intercourse, or even back and tailbone pain.
Our goal is to help restore balance and proper function to those muscles. Sometimes that means helping them relax, sometimes it means strengthening them, and most often it’s a combination of both. We also work on improving coordination throughout the core — and that often includes retraining how to breathe correctly and teaching people how to use their muscles at the right time.
What makes us different — and what makes me most proud of this business — is that pelvic health is all we do. Many physical therapy clinics might treat shoulders, necks, and knees most of the time and only occasionally see pelvic floor patients. But at The Perfect Pelvis, we focus on pelvic health all day, every day. We do this work forty hours a week, which means it’s rare for me to see a condition I haven’t treated before. That level of focus and experience allows us to be incredibly effective in helping our patients get their lives back
Who else deserves credit in your story?
I’ve been really fortunate to have several incredible mentors over the years who’ve shaped both my career and my business. I’m especially grateful to my boss from twenty years ago who first put me on this path — even when I didn’t realize it was the right one for me yet. And my colleague, Melissa Morris, deserves so much credit for encouraging me and mentoring me when I first took over her program. Her guidance gave me the confidence to step into this specialty and make it my own.
On the business side, I owe a lot to Paul Gough and Joey Allbritton. They helped me understand what it really takes to build and sustain a successful practice. I honestly don’t think I’d still be in business today without the education and support they provided.
And I absolutely have to mention Laura Tyre, who truly runs the front office with so much care and ownership. She makes sure every patient is scheduled appropriately and understands their insurance — which is no small feat. Insurance can be so complicated, and having Laura there to explain what’s covered and what’s not has been invaluable for both our patients and for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theperfectpelvis.com
- Instagram: @theperfectpelvis
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/16cDX5pDY6/
