Access Physical Therapy And Wellness, Armonk
When Neil Chernick was ready to graduate high school and began searching for a career that would appeal to him, he thought about medicine. But he also wanted to combine his enjoyment of health, fitness and sports into his work.
He entered the five-year masters program at Ithaca College for physical therapy where the undergraduate portion of the studies is similar to a pre-med course.
It was as a third-year student when he began working with patients that it struck him how much he can improve people’s lives and how gratifying that can be. One of his first patients was a woman in her 70s who was suffering from an excruciatingly painful hip.
“She was in a ton of pain, she had a bad hip, her husband had just passed away about two weeks before,” Chernick recalled. “As a student at that point you only know so much but I picked the right treatment at that time and she walked out and put the cane under her arm not using it.”
For the past two and a half years, Chernick has been the owner and director of Access Physical Therapy & Wellnesson Main Street in Armonk, a roughly 2,000-square-foot office. Recently, he opened a second location on Route 22 in Bedford to handle the increased demand, catering to patients referred from area physicians and those who come in on their own seeking relief to lingering pains or other physical problems.
Chernick and his staff of five physical therapists at the two locations see patients recover from accidents and injuries and treat many local high school and college athletes looking to get back to action and return to form.
But physical therapy can also be used as a preventative measure, Chernick said, something that many people overlook.
“We’re trying to educate the public that it’s more than just car accidents and surgeries,” he said. “The most common thing we treat is back pain, lower back pain. It’s just anything that’s causing you pain or limiting your day-to-day activities or just your life in general.”
Chernick said that what differentiates Access Physical Therapy & Wellness from some other practices is the personal attention he and his staff provide.. Each patient receives at least 30 minutes of one-on-one treatment with the therapist, and in many instances more than that, to provide more personalized care.
“I think physical therapy gets a bad rap sometimes because there are places out there that seem like they don’t spend the time with a person to see what’s going on to help them,” Chernick said. “Everyone gets the same exercises regardless of what your problem is. That’s not what we’re about.”
He also stressed that successful physical therapy is the product of plenty of teamwork involving him, his staff, the patient and the doctor. An increasing number of physicians in the area have grown to trust Chernick’s practice and having the respect of the local medical community is highly rewarding.
Chernick said Access Physical Therapy & Wellness is also the only practice in Armonk, Bedford, Chappaqua, Katonah and Mount Kisco that accepts most insurances, has Saturday hours and provides the extensive one-on-one treatment.
In addition to the conventional treatments, Chernick also employs a specialist at the Armonk practice to help those suffering from lymphedema.
Access Physical Therapy & Wellness is located at 530 Main St. in Armonk and 649 Old Post Road in Bedford and is open Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., on Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon. For more information, contact 914-273-9100 or 914-234-4445 or visit www.AccessPTW.com.
