Category: Back to Life

Our headquarters team in celebration mode!

We’ve got some exciting news: SPEAR has made the Inc. 5000’s list of the most successful companies in America for the 6^th time in a row, a feat only 3% of companies accomplish! Making it to Inc.’s annual list of the fastest-growing private companies is a distinction we are very proud to earn, and one we’ve carried with great honor since our first procurement of the award. The list is nationally considered to be a great indicator of success and growth. Per Inc.’s figures, companies that made the list on average have grown sixfold since 2015!

We are super enthusiastic about this recognition! Our driving factor, the basis of our “why” we do what we do, lies in our people. We are devoted to giving our patients a better quality of life. Since SPEAR’s founding 20 years ago, the soul of everything we do is to help people get back to life—that’s why we’ve adopted it as one of our mottos! And we aim to accomplish that mission, every single day. We commit to and carry out our vision through the heart and soul of SPEAR—our people. The culture of SPEAR is at the center of our values. We call it our SPEAR-IT for a reason! No doubt that the success we’ve seen is due to our team members, who come in day in and day out to prioritize their patients’ needs, and one another’s as well. Our physical therapists work daily to get each patient one step further toward better health. Each clinic staff member, from our care coordinators to our PT techs, work collectively to create an elevated experience for each patient. They also prioritize cultivating a warm, dynamic environment, one that works not only at each individual clinic, but also overall company-wide. It is this support system that keeps the lifeline of SPEAR alive.

As this year marks 20 years of SPEAR, it’s been an ongoing celebration of growth, success, and life. In our 20^th Anniversary Origin Story video, where we chronicled the origins of SPEAR’s story, CEO and Co-founder Dan Rootenberg made an influential point: “the most important responsibility that I have to this company is hiring A-Players.” The most essential component of SPEAR is having people who carry the passion close to their own personal “why”. We’ve been able to help our patients achieve remarkable results because of our team. In an open letter thanking our team members for choosing to be a part of SPEAR, Da

n affirmed: “We are fortunate to have humble, talented, hard-working, caring team members. For that, I am extremely grateful.” Gratitude is the name of the game—we are so thankful for the entire SPEAR team. Without them, we would not be where we are today.

A big thank you to Inc. 5000 for recognizing our dedication and passion. This award is for all of us at SPEAR!

August is National Golf Month! Before you head out onto the golf course, make sure you warm up properly first! Whether you’re a complete beginner, a competing professional, or somewhere in between, a warm-up routine will help you to stretch your muscles, prevent injuries and improve your form.

Watch as physical therapist and golf expert Jason Kang from our Chelsea clinic walks us through some movements to get you revved up and ready to go. The warm-up consists of five important stretches:

1. Wrist Flexor Stretch: loosens up the flexor in your forearm, especially important for those with golfer’s elbow
2. Hip Flexor Stretch: helps to prevent back strain and is especially vital for those who sit for long periods of time
3. Hip Abduction/Adduction Stretch: stretches out the muscles in your hips, which in turn will help you improve your golf swing
4. Dynamic Lat Stretch: improves the flexibility of your latissimus muscle,  allowing for more extension and rotation of the spine
5. Thoracic Rotation:  helps decrease lower back pain by utilizing your mid-back instead

Try this routine before your next golf outing and see if it helps you play a better game all around!

You can learn more about our golf specialty here.

On today’s Episode we have Kayla Kleinman. She is a Yoga/Barre Instructor in NYC and author of the Health and Wellness blog titled: Kayla in the City. Kayla in the City is an online platform that inspires millennial women to blend wellness and hustle. She teaches at Y7 Studio and Bar-Method Noho.

“At SPEAR, I found the motivation and drive that I needed to push myself in my recovery to become a stronger, healthier athlete.” – Devon Stuzin

SPEAR is always proud to see our patients reach new heights. This month, our featured patient success story is Devon Stuzin! She is an active player for Columbia University’s Lacrosse team. Devon was originally seeing a physical therapist in Washington D.C. near her hometown, when she suffered an injury that required an ACL reconstruction surgery.

After her surgery, Devon fully committed herself to the rehab process so that she could prevent the same injury happening again. However, when she tore the other ACL, her confidence was completely shaken and she began to question her abilities as an athlete. Gearing up to return to New York for school, Devon was referred to continue physical therapy at SPEAR by her doctor, who requested she specifically see an ACL Specialist.

Devon began her treatment at our 75^th Street clinic in November 2018.  “At SPEAR, I found the motivation and drive that I needed to push myself in my recovery to become a stronger, healthier athlete. I owe all of my success to the SPEAR staff, who supported me, challenged me and demonstrated a genuine desire to see me meet my goals!”

Devon’s progress is an incredible feat to what can be done with dedication. We’re excited to see her back out on the field again, doing what she loves!

Ever wondered how to improve your running? Well, there’s a specialty for that! One of our most unique programs available here at SPEAR is our running analysis. This special assessment uses advanced video technology that allows your physical therapist to fully assess how your body is working while you’re running. The test is available at our Chelsea clinic and run by Carley Schleien, PT, DPT; most recently, Carley was featured in SELF magazine online, providing her expertise on proper running form! Author Amy Marturana’s article, “Here’s What Proper Running Form Actually Is and How Much You Should Care About It”, talks about the negative effects poor running form can have, causing injuries and impacting strength and mobility. Carley notes there are many different factors that may affect your running form: “Issues can come from weak glutes, really tight hip flexors or quads, or you might just not have a sufficient range of motion in the hips.” Amy concludes that “weaknesses in any of the muscles from your core to your hips to your quads and calves can impact how you run, as can any imbalances between each side of your body.”

Luckily, these are treatable issues that working with a physical therapist may help you to overcome. Before jumping onto the treadmill, Carley asks her patients about their running history (including any injuries or pain), and walks the patient through some functional movements to test their body’s range of motion, strength, and flexibility, key indicators for an individual’s overall assessment. As Amy puts it: “A physical therapist, especially one who specializes in runners and running injuries, can help you figure out the source of your pain and give you exercises to correct the underlying weakness or tightness and improve your form.”

There are a multitude of reasons you may not be hitting those personal milestones, or why you’re experiencing pain in the first place. A running analysis is a great place to start in understanding your body’s needs. The session starts with a run on the treadmill equipped with the OptoGait technology, a digital video analysis program that allows us to measure several different factors, including cadence, flight time, and even asymmetries between the left and right leg. The technology works with LEDs that communicate with infrared frequency to measure the symmetry of each step you take, picking up on any possible abnormalities and thus allowing your physical therapist to create a personalized exercise program that’s right for you and your goals.

Want to learn more about a running analysis? Read more about this specialty, or watch Carley walking through the whole procedure with a patient.

You can also read Carley’s full feature in SELF magazine here!