JUSTIN FELDMAN, PT, DPT
On Becoming a Physical Therapist and Forming Feldman PT & Performance.
As a young boy, and much to my chagrin, I often accompanied my mom to her physical therapy sessions since leaving an eight year-old home alone was not an option.
Turns out joining her for these sessions was entertaining and amusing because for once, someone else got to boss my Mom around…a role she typically assumed in grand fashion on the homefront.
As I watched her go through each PT appointment I became intrigued by the process. The PT would start by having a candid chat with my Mom then systematically take her through various exercises, which she loathed, but would power through them…Mom got stuff done!
Over time, I started noticing her doing things she was previously unable to perform. Navigating stairs became easier, walking longer distances wasn’t an issue, unfortunately none of her exercises helped keep my younger sister from causing trouble.
Turns out when I reached middle school we had to take one a career aptitude test. I looked at the back of the test packet trying to figure out how many questions there were and I quickly found the profession it recommended was based on the total number of points you got from the series of questions. I reflected back on the memories of Mom doing physical therapy and started to realize perhaps becoming a PT was my calling.
So…I’ll come clean and confess to cheating on the test. I found physical therapy in the list of professions, and I made sure I got my answers summed up to the number that would give me physical therapy. Interestingly it also gave me a trash collector and air traffic controller.
I got to write a report on the profession, and it only made me love it more. I loved sports as a kid, and still do, but it took me a bit to find, “my sport”. With physical therapy though, I found that I could work with athletes of all types, and help them achieve their goals whatever they may be.
If you saw me playing sports as a child it was obvious I wasn’t destined to become a professional athlete. I gave soccer a shot, but it was hard and confusing, halfway through the game they would switch directions and I could never get that straight. Plus the field had weeds and someone had to pick those, so that was my self-appointed role. I later learned that my issue with soccer was that I just hadn’t perfected my acting skills yet.
I played baseball but someone gave me the only glove on the field with a hole in it. Even worse… every time the ball was hit to me it found that exact hole. What I needed was a sport that let me get started early in the day, could have schedules change with the wind (quite literally), and would force my family to endure cold rainy days to witness my athletic prowess. Enter rowing!
In graduate school I was lucky enough to spend time working with the Hershey Bears, a minor league hockey affiliate of the Washington Capitals. As I began my career as a physical therapist, I was struck by the difference between the care the “average” person received relative to professional athletes. Talk about two opposite ends of the spectrum. This never sat well with me. I narrowed down the major difference to attention…the professionals got my undivided attention, but I was being forced to divide my attention among too many patients, and no one was getting the care they deserved. I eventually complained to my wife, Stacey, about this enough that she told me to stop complaining and create the environment I wanted to work in, and thus Feldman Physical Therapy and Performance was born!
I was lucky enough to convince John that we would make a good team. John initially had other plans after graduating from PT school, but we met for coffee at a Dunkin’ Donuts surrounded by 16 year old kids vaping and showing off their souped up Honda Civics. I explained to him that I’m never wrong and that joining me at Feldman PT was going to be a lot of fun. I could spend all day telling you about the high quality care we deliver and the countless certifications we have though the best part about our team is that we have fun and love creating an exceptional patient experience while giving you the care and attention you deserve.
When I’m not in the clinic you can usually find me working on ski patrol at Mount Snow in Vermont, rowing, running, biking, swimming, rock climbing or chasing my 2 amazing kids Hayden and Madison around.
From an early age growing up in the Hudson Valley my parents instilled in me the importance of giving back to the community we live in. This has been an amazing place to grow up, start a business and begin to raise a family, and I feel fortunate to have the time to and resources to give back to the community. I am proud to have served as both the President and Treasurer of the Hudson River Rowing Association, I am currently the President of the Mid-Hudson Road Runner’s Club, and a board member of the American Heart Association of Dutchess and Ulster Counties. You can always find our entire Feldman PT team out at local running events, make sure to stop and say hi!
First AOL Screen Name: NYBombers7
Vacay Spot: Top of any mountain
Hate: Being awake past 9pm, accidentally sleeping past 5am
My Wife Hates When I: Point out how amazing at everything I am (I never understand why)
Bad Habit: Easily distracted
Super Power: Calming little kids down (just not my own)
If I Wasn’t a PT: Weatherman
Guilty Pleasure: Ice cream
Not-so-obvious guilty pleasure: Coffee
High or Low Maintenance: Require just the right amount of maintenance
Favorite Time of Year: Winter!
Zero Tolerance For: People who move slow for no reason…Everything is a race!
Retirement Plan: Ski Patrol
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