Category: Sports

The lights of Times Square are no longer dimmed— Broadway is back! After a year-and-a-half long shutdown that saw the closing of New York City’s famed Theatre District, the Spear team celebrated the return of Broadway, arts, and culture to the city, serendipitously coinciding with the grand opening launch of our Times Square – Center for Performing Arts clinic, with a grand night of emotional stories, celebratory hugs, epic performances, exciting productions, and of course, much love.

Situated right in the heart of Broadway, our Times Square clinic was born from a desire to provide a special space specifically for dancers and performers, an innovative idea brought forth by the location’s Clinical Director, Ninia Agustin, PT, DPT, during her very beginnings at Spear.

Growing up performing and competing as a dancer, Ninia has held a long-time love for the art of movement, evolving into a passion for helping performing artists rehabilitate and treat their bodies. Ninia was clear on her vision: bridging the world of dance with the science of physical therapy, her two passions, to create a space that catered to the physical needs of performers. Today, that dream is alive and well.

Spear’s Times Square clinic is a location created with the performer in mind. Our clinic works hand-in-hand with other like-minded organizations such as Mt. Sinai’s Samuel J. Friedman Health Center, a medical care provider that is focused on the particular healthcare needs of the entertainment and performing arts community, and The Actors Fund, a national human services organization created to meet the needs of our entertainment community. Together, we’ve formed an amazing support group for artists.

When the pandemic closed the city, Broadway, and our Times Square clinic down in March of 2020, just weeks after our opening, it was an unexpected and difficult time for everyone. This clinic was thoughtfully planned to serve as the premier location for performing artists and creatives to receive the therapy treatment they need. The vision suddenly seemed shaky, and the team struggled to find their footing.

Last month, with Broadway re-opening, we were given an opportunity to celebrate our team and their dedication to the artists who were finally getting back on stage. To commemorate such a momentous return, we created a truly magical night to honor the return of the culture, love, excitement, and emotion that art awakens for us all. We gathered together to celebrate in style with live performances, most notably from Scott Sussman, Spear patient, former Broadway actor, and Speech-Language Pathologist specializing in Singing Voice Rehabilitation. He wowed us by performing “Something’s Coming” from West Side Story and “Help is On the Way” by David Friedman, a beautiful track about maintaining faith through hard times, much like what we experienced right here in the city.

The return of Broadway marks a massive win for the performing arts community as a whole.

Over the last few weeks, our incredible Spear team members, with the addition of some special guests, joined together in creating our mini-documentary above. Serving much emotion and heart, it is our love letter to the city, an homage to the arts, culture, and performing arts of the city we adore so much.

The evening was a celebration, as well as a moment to reflect on the journey we’ve walked together. CEO and Co-founder Dan Rootenberg shared his deep appreciation for the dedication the team has. “Everybody is passionate about the arts, and that’s what it’s about,” Dan shared. “If you love what you’re doing and are passionate about what you’re doing, you know it’s sure to work.”

Ninia also acknowledged the trials, tribulations, and triumphs the team faced together. Thanking her teammates by name, she graciously recognized the efforts of every single Spear member, from the Front Desk Care Coordinators to the Therapy Technicians and Physical Therapists, for turning a vision into reality. “Five years ago, I said I wanted to build a niche practice working with dancers,” Ninia shared. “This is my background, this is my passion, and I would love to do it—and here we are.” Today, the clinic sees all kinds of performers, from Broadway actors, to dancers, to musicians. The Times Square team, who are all performers, artists, musicians, and dancers themselves, are a group of truly passionate members dedicated to what they do. The closeness to the craft really allows them to connect more with our performing patients, creating a truly special bond.

With large red scissors in hand, Ninia stood with the rest of the team, standing tall in support, as they cut the ribbon to mark the “grand opening” of the clinic. The joy and elation in the room was electric. As Dan said: “the lights are back on Broadway, and it’s very special.” We cannot wait to continue living our vision, and keep New Yorkers moving.

Summer is heating up: the world has got its eyes on the 2020 Olympic games starting this month. Our very own CEO and Co-founder, Dan Rootenberg, jetted off to Japan to continue his work with the Israel national baseball team as their official physical therapist!

Team Israel is up against some of the biggest players in the world, with a need to be physically ready to perform at optimal levels for the international sporting event. Holding a true passion for baseball, Dan is excited to be able to help rehab and guide the all-star players. “It’s just about putting these professional athletes in the best position to be successful,” he says of the importance of his role.

Dan has been involved with the team since 2012, during the World Baseball Classic qualifiers. He also offered his attention and rehabilitation skills at the 2017 World Baseball Classic in Seoul, South Korea, helping the players by providing strength and conditioning and physical therapy guidance. “I played in the Israel baseball league, a pro league in Israel in 2007. My first son, Jack, was just born. I went out there and the relationships that I established there, that’s where a lot of this really came from. It started there during that league,”  Dan recalls of his time. “The manager of the team, Eric Holtz, was a good friend of mine. Nate Fish [Third Base Coach] was another guy—we all played together. Shlomo [Lipetz], who’s a pitcher here, was a teammate of mine; Peter Kurz, who’s the general manager— his son was a teammate of mine. There’s a lot of personal connections here, and it’s amazing to see how much the sport of baseball has grown.”

Growing up playing baseball, Dan has maintained an elevated level of excitement, passion, and fervor for the sport. The love of the game has translated into more than just playing—he has also participated on the board of two little leagues and donates his time coaching and guiding inner-city children, coaching more than 200 kids in the past decade alone! He has collaborated with Pitch In For Baseball (PIFB), pledging a sizeable donation to the organization to purchase baseball and softball gear for underprivileged youth players.

SPEAR is always passionate about giving back to our community. Our teammates have amazing empathy, one of our core values, and are often looking for ways to contribute their knowledge where it is needed most. Our team is heavily involved with the youth community, particularly working with local little league baseball teams to offer free screenings to the youth players to ensure a smooth (and fun!) season. Partnering with local youth athletes is just one way we like to give back to the community. We even had our own teammates participate in the exhibition games: Tom Barcia, PT, DPT, ATC, and Clinical Director of our Midtown- W 44^th St clinic, joined Dan during the team’s exhibition games to get them properly warmed up and ready for some practice games.

SPEAR has been involved in the treatment of Team Israel players in the past as well. “We’ve treated a number of players in our SPEAR facilities; different physical therapists on the team have worked with a lot of these guys,” Dan recalls. “It’s nice to have that continuity because then they come here, I can talk to the therapist that treated them and then have a continuous program for them…it’s helpful to be able to take whatever they’ve been doing in the clinics, pair it with what they have to do on the field and then help them here…really it’s just about putting these professional athletes in the best position to be successful.”

Team Israel is up against some big contenders this summer: the United States, the Dominican Republic, Japan, Mexico, and South Korea. Currently ranked 24^th in the world and 7^th in Europe, the team is the competition’s endearing underdogs. The full roster consists of 12 pitchers, 3 catchers, 6 infielders, and 3 outfielders. The world’s got their eye on second baseman Ian Kinsler, former MLB all-star, who played for 14 seasons for the Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Angels, Boston Red Sox, and San Diego Padres. The Summer Olympics are bound to be a hot one! Team Israel’s first match kicks off next Thursday, July 29^th, against South Korea.

“Nobody expected us to be in the Olympics,” Dan says. “The fact that we’re there is pretty incredible in and of itself, and we’ve got a lot of a lot of high hopes about coming back with a medal.”

We are so proud and honored to have Dan there representing the field of physical therapy and its vital importance in the competition and the overall health and safety of the athletes.

Here’s a teaser of some awesome content we got on the pipeline, sure to be a home run:

Recent times have called for us to pay more attention to important social causes. One thing that has been highlighted is the lack of diversity and inclusion in the physical therapy and occupational therapy fields. At SPEAR, we are committed to to serving diverse communities, and want to ensure we are doing our part to contribute to a community of clinicians that come from different backgrounds and experiences. We wanted to find an actionable, direct way to help transform the profession—and so we created a fundraiser: our Miles Toward a Movement Virtual 5k Running Event!

Running from June 3rd to June 7th, the virtual marathon was created to help improve diversity within the physical therapy and occupational therapy fields. Runners, joggers and walkers alike had the opportunity to pledge their miles and donate to a good cause, with all proceeds going to the APTA’s Minority Scholarship Fund. This 5k event allowed us an opportunity to support the APTA’s mission to foster the long-term sustainability of the physical & occupational therapy profession by making APTA an inclusive organization that reflects the diversity of the society the profession serves with therapists from various races, backgrounds and experiences.

Race participants got running ready by sporting their shiny digital race badges on their social feeds, and shared their running journey on social media! To say “thank you” for the donations and commitment, we also gifted our runners with cool SPEAR gear, swag, and gifts, including t-shirts, bags, phone clips, and masks!

SPEAR’s Diversity and Inclusion Council, which includes a team of dedicated physical and occupational therapists, also contributed their expertise, knowledge and personal experiences to raise awareness for our cause—you can check out all our videos on our IG TV and Facebook video pages! From warm-up videos to personal life stories, there’s something for everyone!

SPEAR teammates were definitely in the spirit, too: across all our clinics, we hosted a Community Run Day. Each location had a fun time posing for photos together to build excitement for the event, and of course, letting our patients and visitors know how they could help support our cause!

The virtual marathon proved to be a great opportunity to do something collectively as a community, while still maintaining a safe social distance. With everyone’s donations, together we raised over $1,200 for the fund!

We are so excited to have created such an awesome impactful event that benefits a cause bigger than just running. We would like to thank everyone who donated, shared, and participated. We appreciate the contribution of your time and energy to such an important cause. As always, we will continue to look for ways to continue elevating our community and finding ways to create a more diverse, inclusive environment for all!

If you’d like to donate to the APTA’s Minority Scholarship Fund, or would like to learn more about their efforts, be sure to visit their website!

Check out some of our helpful running advice videos below:

Last week, the team at Brooklyn – Park Slope congregated to commemorate the one year anniversary of the clinic’s launch! The team excitedly celebrated the eventful occasion with many laughs, pictures, cake, and of course—ribbon cutting!

Opening up just two months into the pandemic in April 2020, it was a tough (and admittedly scary) time to try new things. There were many questions up in the air about whether or not it was the right moment to make such a big decision.

Now, one year later, it’s clear our leadership team made the right choice. Park Slope has evolved into a beaming example of where hard work, determination and grit can take you. With the leadership of  Clinical Director Austin Afshar, PT, DPT, CSCS the clinic has already become a beaming illustration of our company values and community impact. Austin addressed each team member directly at the ribbon cutting event, thanking each individual person for their specific contribution in the clinic’s success, and that of our patients.

CEO and Co-founder Dan Rootenberg also spoke to the team, admitting he had his doubts about taking such a big jump during a volatile time. Ultimately, he learned the leap was in good faith. Speaking of the clinic opening, Dan expressed: “It brought hope. It brought inspiration. This was the team, that showed everybody the future, and the positivity—knowing it’s going to be okay.”

Park Slope has been a successful venture thus far because of the dedication of the team. Everyone has input much soul and passion into making the clinic great, and that’s why it will continue to grow and progress. We’re so proud to reach more patients in Brooklyn who need our care. Congratulations to the entire Park Slope team—we know the future is bright!

You can learn more about our Brooklyn – Park Slope clinic, or request an appointment here!

The Union Square team stands ready to cut the famous big red ribbon!

The unexpected arrival of the pandemic last year put many of our lives on pause. With New York at a standstill, plans and ideas were forced to be placed on hold. For our newly opened Union Square – 14th St clinic, this meant postponing our ribbon cutting ceremony, meant to celebrate the launch of the location, leadership and team.

A year and a half year later, on May 6th, 2021, we were finally able to properly celebrate the opening of this amazing clinic! Led by Clinical Director Michael Virgile, PT, DPT, CSCS, Union Square has already made momentous progress in helping bring New Yorkers back to life. The team has built a close rapport in such a short amount of time; the camaraderie is palpable, and stands a true testament to the fantastic care they bring to patients each day.

Centrally located, the clinic is conveniently situated in a commutable area of Manhattan for ease of accessibility and convenience for our patients. With over 4,000 square feet of space, the clinic provides ample room to give patients the best treatment in comfort and style. The clinic is located right in the center of one of NYC’s most popular neighborhoods, making treatment more easily accessible than ever before. All areas, equipment, rooms, etc. are also always thoroughly cleaned and sanitized per CDC guidelines.

It was amazing getting our team together to celebrate this momentous date together (safely, of course!). We’ve got one and a half years in the books, we can’t wait to see what else our clinic accomplishes!

You can learn more about our Union Square – 14th St clinic, or schedule an appointment here!