About Dr. Emily Shields, PT
Hi, I'm Emily.
I'm here to help you better understand your equestrian body mechanics.
Your Secret Weapon to Better Understand Your Body Mechanics
When I came back to the equestrian world after too many years away, I realized I had the opportunity to impact the equestrian community as a physical therapist. I know how it feels to struggle in the saddle. And with my physical therapy education and clinical decision-making skills, I can assess your whole-body movement, treat your underlying limitations, and develop a progressive training program tailored to you — the equestrian athlete.
If you’re here to learn how to train your achy body to overcome your limitations and become a stronger, more effective rider, you’re in the right place. Whether your pain comes from falling off a horse or tripping on a shoe lace, your achy and limited body movement will affect your riding.
So let's be clear, I'm not an elite rider. I’m also not going to teach you how to ride a horse; I will leave that to the professionals. I am an average adult amateur, working on my riding position, doing corrective exercises to be strong enough to get out of the horse’s way of moving.
Who am I as a Physical Therapist?
I’ve been a Doctor of Physical Therapy for over 20 years.
The first 15 years of my career were at a large urban, Level 1 trauma hospital. I started working there after graduating from Physical Therapy school. I started as a staff therapist, where I was privileged to be mentored by some of the most knowledgeable Physical Therapists across the continuum of care.
Over those years, I built my physical therapy knowledge, treating various orthopedic, neurologic, cardiac, amputation, and spinal cord injuries in both the medical and surgical populations. I quickly became passionate about collaborating with comprehensive medical teams in the rehabilitation of the cardiac and critical care population.
As I began to specialize, I started mentoring physical and occupational therapists throughout the hospital. If there is one thing I miss about my career, it would be the mentoring. I was fortunate enough to become one of the Clinical Supervisors managing physical and occupational therapists.
How Did I Start?
At the time, I was working as a Clinical Supervisor. I was at a national physical therapy conference, wondering what lectures to go to. I saw “Olympic equestrian show jumping: physical therapy, assessment, conditioning, and rehab, rehabilitation of horse and rider” presented by Sharon Classon, PT and Mark Revenaugh, DVM. It was the first meeting of the first day, so it wouldn’t conflict with my planned itinerary. Before I even sat down, I was hooked. And that was the pivotal turning point in my physical therapy career. Since then, I have focused on my Physical Therapy continuing education and acquiring skills to better understand how to assess the equestrian’s body mechanics.
