Dr. Robert Morea is the Founder of The Physical Therapy Doctor facility that has become the largest physical therapy office in Bayside, Queens!

He has been a physical therapist for 18 years. He graduated with a Doctorate in Physical Therapy and achieved a Board Certification from the American Physical Therapy Association specializing in Orthopedics.

He worked in NYU Medical Center and RUSK Institute for 2 years after he finished college and then went on to work in outpatient orthopedics for 3 years.

He became certified in Manual Therapy from the University of St. Augustine, Florida and a provider for two Whole Body PT treatment’s called Advanced Bio-Structural Correction and Associative Awareness Technique.

Robert presently lives in Bayside, NY with his wife, Maria, their two active middle school children (Michael 12 years old and Matthew 11 years old) and their super dog, Hero (4 years old). Maria is involved in the community through the PTA at school, and their boys are involved in soccer, basketball, breakdancing, gymnastics, playing the guitar and playing with their friends. In their spare time…just kidding…there is no spare time.

See I told you… soft-serve…super-safe…

Now the REAL juicy stuff…

I’m a Queens boy, born and raised.

My parents are Brooklyn born.

Which made me tougher right from the beginning…just kidding…they are actually pretty easy going.

They have another son too…my brother…Richard.

Rather than getting into all the details of our growing up together…

I’ll just say that since he was two years older he enjoyed all the benefits that come with being bigger and stronger.

And I… spent many days trying to be…yes you guessed it…bigger and stronger.

I was a good student…but only because I had to.

(My parents said so…therefore I did so…no questions asked)

I didn’t like reading much…found it torturous.

I found it very difficult sitting with a book when I knew the fun waiting to be had with my friends outside playing ball.

Onto sports…I like all of them…particularly baseball and basketball.

I played since I was 5 years old.

Even though I was just not that fast or that big…and I had flat feet…(still do…)

And I would sprain my ankles every year.

One would think that I got physical therapy for my sprained ankles…right? …Nope…

Back then “rest” was more common…so I rested…

Then went back to playing…and then sprained my ankles again.

In between ankle sprains I trained my body…

Jumping drills…running drills…catching and dribbling drills… strength training drills… you name it…I did it.

I researched how I could improve my strength and speed… I had it down to a science…

I even was able to increase my vertical leap 4.5 inches… (This was huge…especially because my legs are shaped like question marks…)

This was the first time I saw my body change by performing exercises.

This was awesome.

The more effort I put in…the more changes for the better.

I loved this process.

Oh, I also played the piano and became an Eagle Scout.

This my parent’s loved… so I did it.

(Kids didn’t ask that many questions back then… you just did what you were told…you know …the “good old days”… I wrote this just in case my sons read this.)

Why am I telling you all this…?

…because these experiences shaped me.

I learned what I loved to do and what I didn’t .

I learned to not give up and not to settle.

Later on I played baseball and basketball at St. Francis Prep High School…

But it was my grades that ultimately proved to be my biggest strength…(And this I wrote in case my parents read this…no “I told you so’s” please.)

On my route to becoming a professional baseball player and basketball player I realized something important…

I wasn’t gifted enough…

But no regrets because I gave it my best shot and left no rock unturned.

However, I need a new goal…(I was like a fish out of water without a goal.)

And I refuse to sit at a desk the rest of my life…too much like homework and reading!

At this time my Grandfather had a stroke and was paralyzed on one side of his body…

I watched him train his body, through physical therapy…to the point where he went back to driving…

He even was able to drive from New York to Florida again… Amazing! (I’m very proud of him.)

Also at this time…

My mother set up a meeting with a friend who was a physical therapist.

I saw him do something that changed my life forever…

He took a ball and played catch with a client… (Yes! Thank God! A career I can relate to!)

I started volunteering at St. Francis Hospital and began the application process…

I chose to attend Touro College…and 3 years later I graduated with a Master’s Degree in Physical Therapy.

My first job was working for NYU Medical Center and RUSK Institute.

At this time my interest with the inner workings of the human body continued to grow.

So I studied Manual Therapy while I worked, which led me to go further and achieve a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of St. Augustine, Florida.

The amazing benefits I saw with Manual Therapy really opened my eyes…

And I built up a list of many loyal clients while I worked under my first mentor Steve Pantel at an outpatient spine and sport clinic.

It was there that I learned the effectiveness of a hands-on Manual Therapy approach.

I also did home care physical therapy through Parker Jewish Geriatric Institute…while I looked to open a facility of my own.

With my wife being 7 months myfastpregnancy.com pregnant with my first son (literally)…and I’m a month from finishing my doctorate … and I’m studying to take the orthopedic specialist exam in a few weeks…I thought it would be a good time to open a business of my own. (What am I insane!?)

I have a habit of putting myself in uncomfortable situations and then just saying to myself “Ok, now figure it out”.

(With that being said…I apologize to all family and friends that have had to live with me through these times, most specifically my amazing wife Maria.)

Everything turned out okay. My son was born…I finished my doctorate…passed the Orthopedic Specialist exam…and opened The Physical Therapy Doctor (which was first called Bay Terrace Physical Therapy).

I still have many people who say “I used to come to you when you were down at the bottom of the hill in that house on the corner by Fort Totten.”

That’s right…that was me.

Now I’m at the top of the hill in the Bay terrace Shopping Center…with five Doctors of Physical Therapy and I owe it all to the great people around me.

And now looking back I have to say that our success here is based on 3 types of people in my life…the people that helped me when I started out… a world-class staff that cares … and the clients that we have the privilege and honor to serve.

Even yesterday a client that just finished her first treatment approached me and said, “You have the nicest staff here. They are all so thoughtful and caring. I am so glad you’re here.”

Each staff member has one thing in common…they all want to see positive results in the lives of the people that come to us.

(We have even perfected the music selections as we have something for every generation.)

It hasn’t always been easy or perfect….

But it’s been an amazing journey.

Now if you’ve made it this far…I promised you I’d reveal some dirt…so here it is:

#1—-I’m a bit naïve. (No laughing those who know me.) Ok maybe more than a bit. I have a “nack” for seeing the best in people, even if it is covered up by obvious “other stuff”. Maybe a little too trusting.

And I see potential…right away…I enhance my view of that person immediately and develop the good image to the max of what could be…even if that person isn’t there yet. (This has gotten me into trouble, because on occasion, I’ve gotten taken advantage of.)

Seeing things this way has helped me to bring out the best in people, whether it’s patients, staff, family or friends. Besides, I like seeing the best. It is really there. I just think we all need encouragement… some people more than others, but encouragement none-the-less.

So I have… I think… subconsciously surrounded myself with gatekeepers that keep me in check …so-to-speak …or keep me checking in with reality.

#2—-I take on more than I can chew.

(My parents always said I had a big mouth…so why not then?)

I recently had someone say, “ Why do you take on so much?”

I guess I’m used to it now, but I have to say that each time I do…I really do think I can accomplish it!

I’ll leave you with a quote from another former Alumni of St. Francis Prep. Vince Lombardi, the former hall-of-fame NFL football coach, once said, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”

So I dream BIG… and say “why not me?” and “why not today?” a lot to myself…so far I haven’t come up with any good answers…and I don’t intend to.

In ending, as I shared above, my World Class Team and I are super focused and committed to creating an Amazing Experience for the Clients we work with. Why not? You all deserve it!

Are you looking for an Amazing Experience? Or know some who is?

If you are…and you’d like to share your story…email me at robert@theptdoctor.com

In the subject line write “My Story”.

When you do, I’ll have a special gift just for you.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Robert

PS – Again the easiest way to reach me is my email, robert@theptdoctor.com. I’d love to hear your story…