Sports Rehabilitation Services

NYU Langone’s sports rehabilitation team, part of Rusk Rehabilitation, is renowned for their skill and expertise in helping athletes and active people of all ages return to their chosen sport or activity after a musculoskeletal injury, surgery, or other procedure. For every person we see, our physiatrists—doctors who specialize in physical medicine and rehabilitation—collaborate with our psychologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, or certified hand therapists, to create a treatment plan that helps you recover strength, agility, and overall fitness, and prevent future injury. We also provide pre-surgery treatment plans designed to make recovery after surgery easier and faster.

Our experts provide care to children and adolescents through the Center for Young Athletes, part of Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone. We provide care to dancers and dance companies through our Harkness Center for Dance Injuries.

Our physiatrists use the most sophisticated diagnostic tools, including musculoskeletal ultrasound, nerve condition studies, and electromyogram. These tests help doctors discover the source and extent of your injury or condition, measure the electrical activity in a nerve, and test how the nerves and muscles work together. In addition to working with our rehabilitation team, your treatment plan may include image-guided injections, acupuncture, bracing, and medications to reduce pain and inflammation or speed healing.

We also provide guidance about how to manage changes to your training regimen caused by injury, surgery, or pain, and offer guidance about how to avoid future injury. Experts at our Sports Performance Center provide world-class conditioning and strength-training expertise to help you return safely to your sport at peak physical and mental readiness.

Our team offers video visits if you prefer not to travel or would rather receive care in the comfort of your own home or another location that is most convenient for you.

Sports Injuries We Treat

Our team provides rehabilitation services for a complete range of musculoskeletal injuries and conditions. Below are some of the most common we treat.  

Head, Neck, and Spine Sports Injuries

• compression fractures
• concussion
• degenerative disc disease and herniated disc
• neck pain
• nerve impingement
• radiculopathy
• spondylolisthesis

Shoulder, Elbow, Wrist, and Hand Sports Injuries

• biceps and triceps tendon tears
• shoulder labral tears
• elbow sprains and strains
• rotator cuff tears and tendinitis
• ulnar collateral ligament tears, or Tommy John injury

Hip, Knee, Ankle, and Foot Sports Injuries

• Achilles tendinitis and Achilles tendon rupture
• anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), and medial collateral ligament (MCL) injuries
• foot and ankle sprains
• iliotibial band syndrome
• hip labral tears
• knee dislocations and fractures
• meniscal tear
• patellar tendinitis, also called jumper’s knee
• plantar fasciitis
• runner’s knee

Our team also provides rehabilitation services for sports injuries and conditions of the hips, shins, feet, and ankles, including bursitis of the shoulder, elbow, knee, and hip. In addition, we provide rehabilitation services for illness or injury that results from overtraining or overreaching, which is a period of increased training. We also provide care for people with osteoarthritis of the hip, knee, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hand or spine; stress fracture or stress reaction, which is an injury to the bone that occurs prior to a stress fracture; and tendinopathy in the heel, knee, shoulder, ankle, elbow, wrist, or hand.

Additional Resources for Sports Rehabilitation

NYU Langone’s Sports Health team regularly presents lectures and workshops that highlight ways for athletes to recover from and avoid injuries. Learn more about our Sports Health events.