Rebuild strength and mobility after an injury disrupts the way you move. Dr. Stephanie Buza, our board-certified orthopedic surgeon, incorporates physical therapy referrals into individualized, whole-patient care plans to help athletes, dancers, and active people return to what they love.
Restore Movement and Rebuild Strength
Physical therapy is a personalized form of rehabilitation that uses movement, exercise, and progressive loading to improve how your body functions. Depending on your injury, therapy may address strength, flexibility, mobility, balance, coordination, and movement mechanics. Dr. Buza may refer you to physical therapy as part of your overall orthopedic care plan, with rehabilitation shaped around your diagnosis, abilities, and the activities you ultimately want to return to.
Physical Therapy May Help With:
- Hip, knee, and shoulder pain
- Sports and overuse injuries
- Dancer’s hip and other performance-related injuries
- Runner’s knee and kneecap instability
- Joint stiffness and reduced mobility
- Muscle weakness and movement limitations
- Recovery after ACL reconstruction
- Rehabilitation after meniscus surgery
- Recovery after hip or shoulder arthroscopy
- Rehabilitation after tendon or soft tissue repair
- Non-operative management of certain orthopedic conditions
Whole-Body Approach to Physical Therapy
An injury rarely affects just one part of your body and how you move. Dr. Buza takes a whole-patient approach to your care, considering how your strength, mobility, balance, biomechanics, and joints may influence your symptoms and recovery. Your physical therapy referral can address these factors rather than focusing only on where it hurts. This helps prepare your entire body for the specific movements, loads, and physical demands you need to return to confidently.
Benefits of Physical Therapy:
- Individualized rehabilitation based on your injury and goals
- A non-surgical treatment pathway when appropriate
- Improved strength, mobility, balance, and movement control
- Progressive loading that prepares your body for greater demands
- Attention to movement patterns that may contribute to your symptoms
- Activity-specific preparation for athletes and dancers
- A gradual, structured transition back to exercise and performance
- Whole-patient care that considers how you actually use your body
Your Physical Therapy Referral and Treatment Plan
Physical therapy begins with figuring out what’s actually causing your pain. Dr. Buza looks at your symptoms along with how your joints are moving, your strength, mobility, and the demands of your daily activities. When physical therapy is the right next step, she weaves a referral into your overall orthopedic care plan, so your rehab not only treats the issue but also helps you get back to the activities you love.
Non-Operative Rehabilitation
Physical therapy is often the first line of treatment. Your therapist may guide you through strengthening, stretching, mobility work, balance training, and gradual loading to address areas of weakness or restricted movement. As you improve, the exercises are progressed to become more challenging. The goal is to help your body handle the increasing demands and to see whether you can safely return to activity.
Rehabilitation After Surgery
Physical therapy is also a key part of recovery after procedures like ACL reconstruction, meniscus surgery, tendon repair, or hip and shoulder arthroscopy. Early on, rehab focuses on protecting healing tissues while gently restoring safe movement. In later stages, the emphasis shifts to rebuilding strength and balance gradually, so that repaired structures have time to heal before being exposed to higher loads.
Sport and Performance-Specific Rehabilitation
Returning to everyday activities isn’t always enough if your goals involve running, cutting, jumping, dancing, or performing at a higher level. In the later stages of rehab, exercises are advanced to mirror the real demands of your sport or activity, moving from foundational strength work to more dynamic, high-level drills as your body is ready. This can also include movement patterns specific to your discipline.
Let’s Get You Moving Again.
Schedule Your Consultation for Physical Therapy in NYC
Dr. Stephanie Buza is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine and performing arts medicine. As a former classically trained ballet dancer, she understands that recovery should reflect the way you actually want to move. Her whole-patient approach incorporates physical therapy referrals when appropriate into care built around your injury, body, and goals. Schedule a consultation with Dr. Buza in New York City to discuss whether physical therapy should be part of your orthopedic care.
