NYSportsMed and Physical Therapy

I saw Laurie here for occupational therapy. My hands and arms were in so much pain I was crying myself to sleep. I’m a writer and it turns out I typed myself into cysts in both wrists and possible thoracic outlet syndrome. With limited mobility and being unable to work I was really nervous about my future.
Thanks to Laurie my hands are fully recovered now. The exercises she prescribed for my hands and wrists really helped. She helped me re-​learn posture, find ergonomic solutions to write, and helped relieve pain each time I went to see her if I irritated something outside of the office.
I’m seeing Eduardo now for my arms/​neck area for possible thoracic outlet syndrome. He’s wonderful as well. I feel so much improvement. He’s great at helping relieve pain and constantly reiterates what I need to do to get better if I start to fall off the wagon, as it can be a long process. However, I feel better than I have in months and would highly recommend Laurie for anyone seeking an OT and Eduardo for PT.

The people who work at the front desk make it not worth it to come back here. They are incompetent when it comes to scheduling appointments and confirming appointments based on your insurance.

Can’t say enough good things about the OT, Laurie. She’s been working with my tennis elbow… a very stubborn injury. She’s smart and skilled and definitely knows what she’s doing. She truly cares about her clients and the fact that she’s warm and kind with a sense of humor made a challenging experience very pleasant!

Back in January of 2015 I experienced a really stupid and absurdly expensive wrist injury that ended up requiring surgery to resolve. Once the cast came off, my wrist was essentially rigid, weak, and useless. I struggled with things like door knobs, faucets, and holding hors d’oeuvres plates. I was pointed in the direction of NYSportsMed by my surgeon and referred to a fantastic OT, Lauri Pacheco.
Like another review I read, I balked at the idea of coming in 3 times a week. How am I supposed to have time for this AND my daily overpriced coffee beverage before work three times per week? After my first session I understood why I needed to suck it up and deal with it. I quickly came to terms with the fact that unless I put the work in, I wasn’t going to recover. Your wrist is an incredibly complicated and slow-​healing clump of bones and tissue. It wasn’t easy, it wasn’t comfortable by any means, and I certainly wasn’t enjoying the process. Every minute of squirming and discomfort was absolutely worth it though. Thanks to my OT I’ve regained all of the mobility that I had pre-​op, and I have zero pain. I can say with 100% confidence that without Lauri’s excellent care, extensive knowledge and understanding of the train wreck that was happening inside my wrist, and drive to push me further than I could possibly have gone on my own, I’d still have limited range of motion and constant stiffness.
After graduating from OT with Lauri, I moved to PT with Sapana Kanojia. Again, I thought «great, I thought I was done with all this». Nope. Sapana quickly made it clear to me how weak I had become in the months that I was recovering from the original injury. I’ve only been in PT for a week or so, but I am quite happy with the direction things are going. I really appreciate the approach of resolving the issues that this has triggered all the way through my shoulders and back, and am confident I’ll be leaving NYSportsMed in better condition than before my injury.
As far as everything else goes… The facility is convenient, lovely, clean, and well lit. The elevator is about 200 years old, but who cares. We’re in NY. If that elevator is the scariest thing that happens to you all day, you’re soft and don’t belong here. I’ve never had an issue with billing or insurance. Even if I did, as with every other medical or dental establishment, you could bet your last dollar on it absolutely not being NYSportsMed’s fault. Go leave lousy reviews on your Insurance provider’s page. It’s their fault.
TL;DR — This is recovery. It isn’t going to happen overnight, it’s going to be a bunch of work, and you’re probably not going to love every minute of it. You get one body though, so you may as well take care of it. Let the professionals at NYSportsMed guide you through it because chances are, unless you’ve got a masters or PhD in this, they what you need to be doing a whole lot better than you do. I’m incredibly fortunate to have had a great surgeon, a phenomenal OT, and now an excellent PT. Thank you NYSportsMed!

My experience was negative.
The gals at the front desk were cold, unsmiling, and perfunctory.
The OT was very insistent that I see her 3x a week for the first 2 weeks and then 2x a week after that. She said scar tissue would be building up and I had a small window of opportunity to get my mobility back so it was important that I make these appointments.
I had vacation plans but I took the train back into town so that I could do as she said.
On the third week when I called Monday to make two appointments I was told that she was already booked up except for one appointment. It seemed odd that she would take on more clients than she could handle and asked that they double check since she was so insistent that I see her 2x. They left a message for the OT but I did not hear back from her. I only got the one appointment.
The OT, like the gals at the front desk, was cold and unsmiling. That could have just been her personality but it became a problem when she was terse with her instructions. She very rarely explained the reasoning behind the rules. As a result I followed her rules literally but still did things that she thought could have hurt me, for example, I didn’t do any lifting as instructed but dug a moat for a sand castle which she then said was against the rules and I shouldn’t have done it. There was no way I could have known.
She was stingy with her words generally. Because I am a nervous talker and the treatments were very, very painful this made for a lot of uncomfortable silences for me.
In the end, the silences was so unpleasant that I decided to find another therapist and that’s when I discovered I may not have been getting the proper treatment for my injury as well.
It’s difficult to write a review of a therapist if you don’t know the medicine yourself but there were significant contradictions between the therapy that I’d gotten from the Occupational Therapist at NY SportMed and the Certified Hand Therapist that I’m seeing now.
NY SportsMed OT: Instructed me to use ice, not heat. Only heat from the shower was allowed.
CHT: Use a moist heat heating pad often
NY SportsMed OT: Don’t use ScarGuard.
CHT: Use ScarGuard all the time.
NY SportsMed OT: treatments were incredibly painful (I took Ibuprofen 600mg and a Percocet before seeing her and she still made me cry)
CRT: said it shouldn’t be painful, that that would build scar tissue not break it down.
NY SportsMed OT: Said I couldn’t exercise. I wasn’t ready.
CRT: The advantage of a having a metal plate in my arm is that I could exercise immediately.
NY SportsMed OT: Had me come in from my out of town vacation for 3 sessions
CHT: Would have had me do exercises while on vacation.
NY SportsMed OT: Rubbed scar deeply w/​lotion. Instructed me to do the same.
CRT: Rubbed scar lightly and insisted on no lotion. Instructed me to do the same.
UPDATE:
I spoke with my surgeon’s PA and she spoke well of this OT and her treatment.
Perhaps the OT just took a dislike to me personally. That sort of things happens.
But more importantly I trust my surgeon. He did the surgery on my broken hand years ago and I loved the CHT he sent me to then (practice now closed). I have no arthritis, no pain, and full mobility in that hand. So I upped the # of stars/​rating in deference to my surgeon’s endorsement.

I had such a positive experience.
I have three herniated disks, experienced a number of accidents, and as a result laid around for too long and got out of shape. After a over a year of chiropractic and acupuncture treatments and continuous, severe pain, I started physical therapy at NY Sports Med.
Dr. Gutierrez is great, she has an excellent bed side manner, listens throughly, and leaves no stone unturned (even if it means recommending you to another doctor and getting you rush treatment/​evaluation). Her assistant, Leah, is also on top of her game.
Eric Munoz PT, DPT, NASM-​CP was my physical therapist and he gave me my life back. When I started going, I couldn’t sit or stand without severe pain and being hunched over (this was a challenge both physically and psychologically since I’m in my early 30s). After the first visit, I felt remarkably better and saw nothing but improvement from there. He also works with you on breathing techniques, so if you are into yoga, you will hit it off with him. Eric has a great personality, is very funny, and is highly skilled. I can’t recommend or thank him enough.
The facilities are clean, it’s in a convenient location, and they have plenty of clean clothes for you to change into if you don’t want to/​forget to bring your own.
The reception staff and everyone else are very courteous and seem to operate on a higher level than what you see in most healthcare offices.
To give a fair review, I’ll point out what I wish was different:
1) Trainers (not the physical therapist) often seem to work with more than one patient at a time (meaning they walk you through the exercise, watch you do it, then go on to the next person and come back to you), so if you don’t pay attention when they show you how to do the exercises or have a question about your form (though they often do seem to watch you from across the room), you will have to call them back over or wait for them to come back and show you again. Maybe they need to hire more trainers.
2) It can sometimes be hard to get appointments on week nights, because they are in high demand. My advice is to book your appointments as far in advance as possible.
Overall, this place is great, and if you are in need of a PT, this is a great place to go.

My experience with NY Sports Med has been overwhelmingly positive. I went in for a shoulder injury and every aspect of my care was superior to what I experienced at other practices.
First my PT (Will) took a very total-​body, holistic approach. For my shoulder injury, we addressed not only on the surrounding muscle and body mechanics, but interrelated aspects like breathing, posture, even the way I’ve been sitting in front of my computer at work. He also spent a half hour with me, which is longer than other places I’ve been to. When it came to the exercise portion of the session, my trainer Vic (and sometimes Will) would supervise and make corrections to my form throughout my routine.
In contrast, when I sought therapy at a different facility for an earlier elbow injury, all the treatment was localized on alleviating the muscle strain. I saw two therapists there. They would work with me, drop out to assist other people, come back to work with me, but then aggressively socialize with people around us, etc. During my exercise routine, i was run through the motions in the beginning but then was left without supervision for weeks. I just didn’t feel like the attention to detail was there.
So NY Sports Med PT, at least for me, set the bar for how a well-​managed, enlightened, modern physical therapy practice should be. The one downside is that the two locations I’ve visited are on the small side so there were times when everyone was getting in each other’s way.
In regards to some of the Unilocal complaints about billing issues and paperwork, I didn’t experience anything that seemed unusual or onerous so I can’t really speak to that. I feel like every new doctor’s office I go to has a ton of paper work. And never had billing issues at NY Sports Med. Nonetheless, regardless of billing or facility size, what matters is the quality care you’re getting and these guys are great.

I stopped in tonight for a last-​minute, emergency visit after a weekend snowboarding accident. While most other doctors were closing early for the winter storm, NY SportsMed stayed open late, gladly scheduling me for a 6pm appointment. The phone conversation was easy, and I was greeted with a smile when I arrived. As soon as I finished the short, simple forms, I was called into an examination room. NO wait. The PA was very kind. She asked me about the injury and my symptoms, then proceeded calmly and empathetically with a series of physical tests to determine the next step. She took time to call around for open radiology centers and promised to contact me later in the evening to check in. Sure enough, I received a call late at night, WELL beyond working hours, just to see how I was doing. I am thoroughly impressed by the honest care that I received during AND after my visit, and I would be more than happy to return for therapy or follow-​up appointments. Thank you, NYSM!

I recommend this organization without reservation. Stenosis 2.5 years ago – fixed it over the course of 3 months. Bad left knee 1 year ago. Fixed it. Now recovering from right knee surgery, and progress is very positive. Staff, especially Eric and Shelby, are extremely knowledgeable. And I’ve NEVER had a problem with front of house staff. Everyone at this facility is cordial, responsive, professional, intelligent, hardworking. (And the «homework exercises» prescribed are all on point and helpful).

Easy to get to location
The office is pretty small, but I guess you don’t need that much equipment. It makes it easy to translate work outs outside of PT.
Will is a great PT and I’ve enjoyed working him so far! After 3 sessions, my knee is much less swollen and am able to bend at better degrees.

Pro: my therapist was very good, thorough and seemed knowledgeable. My injury improved slightly after just one treatment (and it had been lingering on for three months before the visit).
Cons: the paperwork/​front desk/​booking system was complicated, required even more than the usual amount of form-​filling, duplication (providing my insurance three times; asking me to sign two separate pieces of paper to acknowledge and agree to the no-​show fee) and additional annoying extras like asking for my photo ID. I also received six separate reminders — by phone, by email and by text — for my appointment in the 24 hours before it. When I raised this with the receptionist she had no solution as to how this could be reduced.
On balance, I would like to go back to see the therapist, but don’t think I want to go through their administrative process again.

The physicians and therapists there are great and above reproach. They treat you with respect and take personal interest in your well being.
The clinic needs some cleaning up in the back of the office and front of the office but I’m confident that they will address those issues.

If you have an ailment and can’t find a cure, go here. They find the cause and get you back on track. See Luke or Adyta.

This review is for the facilities and business — physician and therapist ratings go on ZocDoc.
Pros: Amazing space in a convenient location. Therapy areas have a good view of Union Square.
Cons: Payment and billing practices are horrible. The front desk insists on collecting a full payment for all «out of network» visits, regardless of whether they are covered under a patient’s benefits. This results in having to prepay for all services and eventually getting a refund from insurance or the office (if they don’t mess up).
On my first visit, they allowed me to make the $ 300 payment via credit card. The next visit, they said «we only accept cash or check.» When I told them I paid by credit card last time, they said they «only do that for the initial consult». Seriously? This is a healthcare facility, not a strip club, and we are in the 21^st century.
I’d understand if we were dealing with top of the line physicians and high dollar services that are typically non-​covered, but this is just too much.

I had a severe sprain and hairline fracture that was missed by a physician at an urgent care center. Thankfully I found this place and got a proper diagnosis and great treatment. They have early morning hours (meaning I could go before work) which really helped since I needed physical therapy twice a week for two months. The deep tissue massages were the best part!

Great service. Clean facility. Knowledgable therapists. I went for an ankle injury. I had been with another therapist and was seeking a new opinion on my injury and steps toward recovery. I am so glad this office takes my insurance. Everyone is polite and takes their time to explain what’s going on with your body and what needs to be done to improve your health. If you are suffering from an injury go here and seek help.

Returned for follow up, reluctantly after the last encounter, partly because I didn’t have time to search for a new doctor, also because the other doctor, Chris, was so nice and I wanted to give him a chance.
Chis was fantastic. He broke down everything really well, told me the game plan and Plan B if the first attempts didn’t alleviate the problem. He also gave me the info on everything I had to buy and told me to search online for the cheapest price. Saved me 200 $ in the end, so yay! He also apologized for the previous incident. I was also contacted by the CEO, i believe, about my previous review, giving me an opportunity to further explain my concerns.
I have no idea if the problem stemmed from the individual doctor or the expectations/​quotas of the practice, so I’m still a little skeptical, but I’m very happy with the care from Chris thus far, the quality of their facilities, and their value of my opinion and review, hence this updated rating/​review.

The facility and trainers are fine. But had so many problems with front desk, booking, the desk setting up wrong times and days, never getting cancellations, the desk booking me 30min when I requested an hour. They lost a customer and I’d avoid this place. The front desk people are untrained and incompetent. It’s nearly impossible to function as a customer.

I like the fact that they are very helpful and accommodating to my schedule. The staff is knowledgeable with a great personality to boot. I did not feel rushed when I saw Chris Allison (PA) for the initial consultation. The follow up was a little cumbersome to set up, but the matter was resolved relatively quickly. Overall, one of my best experiences when it comes to doctor visits.
I would definitely recommend this practice for sports medicine and therapy.
The subtraction of one star is for the obsolete website information. The first appointment was a little confusing because I went to the address that was on their website as well as on their email signature. Once there, I found that I walked to the wrong address and they had to direct me to the proper address. Updating the website information is crucial for a person on the go.
I’m still going to say that if you are in search of a sports medicine and therapy group, try this one. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

I’ve met a few times with Dr. Allison here for back pain. The office itself is open and clean, and the staff is very friendly. It was very easy to get an appointment and their office locations are very convenient.
Dr. Allison has been fantastic, helping me not only to get a diagnosis (and dealing with my insurance company to get an MRI), but also recommending a great PT when my insurance wouldn’t cover the in-​office PTs and getting me started with some stretches prior to PT.
I’d highly recommend to anyone looking for a sports medicine doctor, particularly runners. They’re especially sensitive to runners, and offer several free clinics on form and preventing injury.