SPEAR is continuing our expansion in New York —we are pleased to announce the grand opening of our brand-new clinic right in Union Square!

Conveniently situated in the 1960’s classic building The Victoria at 7 E 14th Street, our newest location is over 4,000 square feet of space, providing ample room to give you the best treatment in comfort and style. The clinic is located right in the center of one of NYC’s most popular neighborhoods, making your treatment more easily accessible than ever before. It’s a hop and a step away from many major trains, including the 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, A, C, E, F, M, L, N, Q, R, W and the Path trains to various parts of New Jersey, including Jersey City, Hoboken and Newark. Union Square Park, just one block east, is a landmark area with plenty of fun, food and activities, including Barnes & Noble, the George Washington Statue, monthly Farmers’ Markets and the Annual Union Square Holiday Market.

Our stunning new clinic is led by Michael Virgile, PT, DPT, CSCS. Mike was previously the Clinical Director at our 75^th Street location, shifting his focus to spearhead and manage our newly built space. Mike grew up an avid soccer player and has a specific interest in sports medicine, focusing on helping others achieve their rehabilitation goals and on helping his patients improve their function and health.

“I’ve grown so much since I started with SPEAR, pushing out of my comfort zone to learn something new each week. I’ve learned how to put the right people in place to grow our (75^th Street) clinic from three team members, to 22 and counting. It was really cool to see the growth of the clinic, the growth of all our team members, and the growth in myself.”– Mike Virgile

We are so honored to be able to bring you this incredible new space! This clinic marks our 19^th location, specifically designed to create more opportunities for our incredible team of talented therapists to bring more New Yorkers back to life.

If you’re ready to schedule an appointment, you can do so by using our online request form, or by calling us at 646-973-5438.

Warm Up Dynamically Before You Run!

Most of us don’t like to warm up before we run. However, research has shown that a dynamic warm up is most effective in improving quadriceps strength, hamstring flexibility, and even vertical jumping ability.What is a dynamic warm up? It is series of sports specific movements that prepare the muscles for performance. Here are some ideas for what you can do on the streets of Manhattan before you run.

Getting ready for your next running event? Take these tips into consideration! Curated with the help of Meghan King, PT, DPT, this fast fact sheet offers some great information to help you before you hit the pavement or treadmill!

Download the PDF here!

Here are 8 Tips to Get You Started:

Tip #1: Take it Easy

After you’ve been training for months, remember that in order for all your hard work to pay off, you won’t want to exhaust yourself in the days immediately leading up to a race. Keep your routine to a light jog for only a mile or so.

Tip #2: Stay Off Your Feet

As much as you can, try to rest up and reserve your energy. Have family in town? Send them off to go sight seeing and join them later for a full, healthy dinner!

Tip #3: Carbo Load

To maximize the benefits of carbo loading, start 3 days before and continue until race day. Consult a sports nutritionist a few weeks before to come up with a plan that will keep you going and prime your muscles to store helpful glycogen energy sources.

Tip #4: Have Dinner

Don’t restrict! Eat what you normally would the night before a long run, several hours before you go to bed and give your body a chance to digest before getting a good night’s rest.

Tip #5: Stay Hydrated

Drink plenty of water beforehand! Give your body a chance to absorb fluids into your system, so you don’t overheat, and monitor your sweat loss throughout your training to figure out how much you need.

Tip #6: Prepare

Lay out everything you will need the night before a race, so you can be ready to go in the morning and not have to worry about forgetting anything. Pack a warm layer you can wear at the start to keep your muscles warm, as well as something to sit on.

Tip #7: Sleep Well…Two Night Before

If you don’t sleep well the night before, that’s ok! It’s more important to get a good night’s sleep 2 nights before the race to feel awake and ready to go.

Tip #8: Talk to Your PT

Lastly, let your PT know about your athletic goals! We’re here not only to help you recover from injuries but also prevent them and work with what you have to reach where you want to go!

Stay connected for more tips and tricks by signing up for our monthly newsletter, and following us on our Instagram and Facebook pages!

Six years ago, during a game, Kristen Markoe was dodging a trap at half court when she heard a sharp pop and felt her knee give out. Her left ACL had torn. She was out for the season and would require reconstructive surgery. But her experience of being sidelined and undergoing extensive physical therapy would go on to inspire her to become a physical therapist and coach who is dedicated to helping other athletes not only recover physically and mentally, but also focus on injury prevention.

As part of the Hunter College Women’s Basketball team, Kristen was a star player and team captain who broke numerous records, becoming the first player at Hunter ever to record over 1,000 rebounds and earning the second all-time career points in women’s basketball. She was named CUNYAC Rookie of the Year and then Player of the Year three times. Now an Assistant Coach, Kristen remains heavily involved in developing the team’s conditioning program, emphasizing proper warm-up body mechanics and strength/agility/stamina workouts to improve performance. Have a seemingly inexplicable pain? Coach Kristen’s the first point of reference. Don’t have access to the department’s PT/conditioning staff during off-season? Coach Kristen’s door is always open.

This October, she hosted her third injury prevention screening for Hunter’s basketball teams, focusing on familiar foe and the number one culprit for sidelines: ACL injuries. Rallying over 15 SPEAR Therapist and Tech volunteers, Kristen designed eight stations for over 20 participating players to provide assessments that were unique both to each player and their athletic goals. Players were able to get direct feedback on their leg stability/ROM, landing control, push-off and landing, running/cutting mechanics, and more. Throughout the event Coach Kristen poked, prodded, demonstrated, and encouraged before sending each student home with an individualized exercise program to help them work on any weaknesses and avoid potential injuries.

Having organized the event a couple times now, Kristen says she’s gotten to learn and improve a lot. When first bringing up the idea to her SPEAR director, Joe Costello, last year, it was just an idea, something she’d tried as a PT student. But by the end of her meeting, “Joe was giving me deadlines to make things happen.” There were people to coordinate with, spaces to reserve, clinical exercises to design, materials to gather. Before she knew it, Kristen’s passion for bringing physical therapy to student athletes before they’re injured, and the experiences that allowed her to empathize with her team, turned her into a SPEAR leader.

In addition to providing SPEAR the opportunity to connect with more patient athletes, Kristen says these injury prevention screenings also “allow [therapists] to hone skills in movement assessment at high levels of athleticism.” Not only do these outreach efforts provide us with opportunities to connect with our communities, but they also help us develop as healthcare providers.

When asked about her next goals, Kristen says, “I am definitely looking to hold a screening for other teams at Hunter College—the women’s volleyball team, men and women’s fencing team, and men’s soccer team coaches have reached out with interest. Within SPEAR I am interested in becoming Assistant Clinical Director.” On November 6^th, it was announced that Kristen Markoe would be promoted to Assistant Clinical Director of our W 57^th clinic.

Thank you to all the Hunter College basketball students who joined us at Kristen’s ACL injury prevention screening–stay safe!

SPEAR is continuing its expansion across the most bustling city in America! We’ve now opened our second location in the world-famous neighborhood of Tribeca, right on Chambers Street! This brand new, state-of-the-art clinic is a stunning 5,000 square foot, two-floor space with ample room for all of your physical therapy and occupational therapy treatment needs. Built out by our award-winning architectural experts, the space has been skillfully designed with you in mind, fusing together elegance, style and practicality to bring you an inviting environment to get you back to your best self. With brand new equipment and plenty of space, it truly allows our team of talented therapists to provide you with physical therapy and occupational therapy treatment, as well as a multitude of specialties including hand therapy, vestibular therapy, and return to play testing.

Leadership Done Right

The new clinic is led by Lauren Carleton, PT, DPT, CHT. A SPEAR veteran, Lauren previously led the team at our Tribeca–Park Place location, just a few short blocks away. Lauren is a certified hand therapist, as well as involved with women’s health, chronic pain patients, and a wide range of post-operative care.

Watch as Lauren details her journey as a physical therapist below:

“As a physical therapist, my favorite part of my job is being able to help people get back to doing things they love. It’s a very personal job; you have to take things home with you, and now it’s great to give that same effort and energy to building a team of others around me so we can reach more people.” – Lauren Carleton

Located in a New York City Historical Landmark building, the clinic is just a few blocks away from several MTA subway lines (R, W, A, C, 1, 2, 3, J, Z, 4, 5, and 6). It’s a short stroll from some of Manhattan’s most renowned attractions, including Battery Park, the World Trade Center, the Woolworth Building skycraper, the New York Evening Post Building, Zuccotti Park, and Pace University.

We are elated to be able to bring this newest location to such a bustling neighborhood. With so many New Yorkers to bring back to life, we want to ensure we are always able to accommodate our patients’ and physicians’ needs.

Ready to Try Out The Space for Yourself?

You can schedule an appointment at our gorgeous new clinic at 646-973-5437, or by using our Request an Appointment form online.