What is physical therapy?
Physical therapy is the use of physical methods, versus drugs or surgery, to treat an injury, a pain syndrome, various diseases, deformity, or various physical dysfunctions. These physical methods include a variety of highly specialized exercises, both high tech, high touch, and much more. Many medical conditions cannot be instantaneously cured by surgery, and medication merely provides temporary relief. Patients can reap the benefits of physical therapy for years, live a more active and pain free life, move better, faster, and without pain, as it not only heals and mitigates pain, it teaches healthy habits that can help to avoid pain and other problems in the future.

What does physical therapy treat?
Physical therapy is designed to treat injuries that cause pain and/or dysfunction anywhere in the body, but predominately in the spine, back, and joints--essentially from head to toe. Physical therapy is extremely helpful in treating pain occurring at the joints and along the spine, places where abundant amounts of movement occurs. The most common points of pain and/or dysfunction include injuries to the spinal column, shoulder, elbow, knee, and ankle. Accordingly, this will slow down the aging process of a given area that's being rehabilitated.

Why does physical therapy work?
Expert physical therapy does not only work on mitigating the immediate pain, they provide techniques that ensure regular movement will be restored to a damaged body part. With merely drugs or surgery, the pain may be temporarily reduced, but it takes professional physical therapy to truly restore and rehabilitate a fully functional joint or body part. Physical therapists work with you to teach better and healthier practices in order to avoid injuries in the future. It is very important to see a professional to devise a specialized treatment plan for your injury, or other issue, so that the problematic body part does not continue to deteriorate--to a point where more invasive steps would be required.

Can physical therapy alone treat a condition?
In some cases, physical therapy alone cannot bring you back to full health. Every person and situation is unique; some injuries require surgery and medication, followed by extensive physical therapy. Others need physical therapy along with acupuncture and medical massage. Some injuries require only physical therapy. However, it is crucial to seek post-operative help from a physical therapist after a surgery. Physical therapists are experts about your body's limitations after a serious medical procedure and can help guide you through the recovery process to ensure a successful and permanent favorable outcome. Essentially, Physical Therapy is the "gold standard" of care for the above conditions.

Our Physical Therapy department is comprised of New York State licensed professionals with extensive knowledge and training in anatomy, physiology, and the biomechanics of the body. They know how to help you get out of pain and back in action. Our therapists use a hands-on approach in conjunction with specific modalities as needed. The most commonly used therapeutic procedures/modalities are:

Manual (hands-on) Therapy: Consists of myofascial release techniques, stretching of restricted structures and specific strengthening of weak muscles, soft tissue and joint mobilization/ manipulation, muscle energy and Mulligan techniques. They help restore your back, neck, or other painful areas to the youthful pain-free resilience.

Pain Management: Use of moist heat, cryotherapy, ultrasound, phonophoresis, Iontophoresis, and massage.

herapeutic Exercises: Customized for each condition including strengthening, stabilizing, and stretching restricted structures to restore normal pain-free range of motion. The exercises improve movement and proper muscle balance.

Postural Corrections: This addresses behavior modification, postural exercise, and self-awareness. We concentrate on correcting musculoskeletal derangements.

Home Management Program: A short and detailed home exercise program corresponding to the appropriate stage of condition, including the do's and don'ts of self-management.

Physical Therapy department treats common problems and conditions ranging from sprains and strains, to headaches, back disorders, sports injuries and sports medicine, tendonitis and spinal conditions (such as scoliosis, spinal stenosis, herniated discs of the cervical spine) or lower back (lumbar spine), post-operative surgery, sciatica and acute and chronic pain. 

Also treat most orthopedic conditions including arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, tennis elbow, chondromalacia patella, ACL and PCL knee reconstruction, meniscus/ ligament injuries, fractures, gait abnormalities, cervical and lumbar radiculapathy (pain that travels to either the arms or legs), adhesive capsulitis, rotator cuff tear, reflex dystrophy and de Quervain's syndrome. 

We have a Dr.Yoon and Dr.Won on our staff in our Bayside and Brooklyn office. While receiving treatment from the physical therapy and acupuncture team, you will be instructed on how to use your body properly to gain strength and mobility to prevent recurring injuries. The Physical Therapists work closely with our Physiatrist, your referring physician, and other members of our health care team. Our physical therapists and acupuncturist are not just knowledgeable in anatomy, physiology, and the biomechanics of the body, but they are dedicated licensed professionals highly trained to deal with people who are experiencing a variety of physical complaints, including neck, mid and low back pain, herniated discs, arthritis, and painful accidents, in addition to pain that radiates to the arms and legs.