Hello, I'm Dr. Dave.
I’m kind of obsessed with watching people move. It started in my childhood as a competitive gymnast and then through my teen years as an aide in my mother’s physical therapy practice and throughout my own career as a Physical Therapist. I just really enjoy discovering all the different ways people come up with to achieve their goals, whether its swinging a golf club, or simply rising from a chair. I’m extremely lucky to have been able to turn my passion into my profession and help so many people along the way. I am really excited to be able to share my knowledge with you and help you move with comfort and confidence.
Athletic Influences
At the age of 3, my parents enrolled me in gymnastics classes to help burn off some of that youthful energy. My love for all things athletic grew from there. I played a variety of sports growing up but gravitated most seriously to gymnastics and soccer. At age 13 I won the 7 state northeast regional gymnastics championships in my age group. At age 16 I was a member of the NYC public high school soccer championship team (Go Hornets!). In college, I walked on to the SUNY Buffalo Diving team and won the NCAA Division 1 Mid-Continent Conference championships for 1 and 3-meter springboard.
I tended to gravitate toward individual sports that had a heavy influence on body awareness and control. I believe my decades of athletic training have given me unique insight into how people use their bodies and how to coach them to move differently. While I worked with many athletes at high school, college, and professional levels throughout my career, I soon realized that the same principles I used for my high-level athletes could be applied to my non-athletic and even geriatric patients. That's when I began identifying the foundational movements that support all activities.
I developed a method that has proven to be a comfortable and effective way to treat my patients at any stage of arthritis. I believe the non-athlete and senior populations are underestimated and underserved by most conventional treatment paradigms. It is my passion to help these clients discover their unrealized potential.
Professional Journey
My formal training began at SUNY Buffalo where I graduated with my bachelor's degree in Physical Therapy in 2000. I remained at the University for the next 2 years working at University Sports Medicine where I treated numerous athletes of all levels and all sports.
I then moved back home to NYC to work alongside my mother in her private practice. It was here I learned not only how to treat injury and illness, but also to treat people. I learned the virtues of empathy and kindness and what it means to truly care. In addition, I got my first taste of what business ownership was like.
Armed with the naivety and hubris of a 25-year-old, I set out to found my own practice in 2005. With more ambition than acumen, I managed to bootstrap that business from a part-time solo operation to a robust multi-therapist office, ultimately selling it in 2016.
In 2010 I joined the SUNY Downstate Physical Therapy Department as an Adjunct Professor and continue to enjoy influencing the next generation of PT professionals.
In 2012 I earned my Doctorate in Physical therapy from EIM Institue of Professional Education in Louisville Kentucky.
Along the way, I have held many positions of leadership within professional organizations including chapter director for the New York Physical Therapy Association, Chair of the Alliance of Independent Physical Therapists, Member of the NY Council of Licensed physiotherapists and patient rights lobbyist and activist.
During the global pandemic, I realized the need for people to be able to manage their arthritis symptoms from the safety and convenience of their homes. In 2020 I founded Arthritis Management and Prevention Systems with the mission to empower people to do just that.
I am very lucky to have found a calling that I am passionate about and helps people. Whether I'm working with people in person, remotely from my home, through my online courses, my weekly livestreams, Facebook group, or teaching at University, I am honored that so many have allowed me to help them along on their life's journey.
