Dr. Ovadia graduated from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev - a world-renowned institution of research and higher education - in Beer Sheva, Israel, in 1990, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy. She was the first in her class to be offered a position at a large outpatient orthopedic clinic in Tel Aviv, where she began working prior to graduation. During her first 5 years of practice she also worked part-time in pediatrics, geriatrics, and subacute rehabilitation. Choosing Manual Therapy as a specialty, she pursued independent post-graduate training and certification in Maitland’s Joint Mobilizations Method, later to become The Maitland Concept of Manipulative Physiotherapy. Manual Therapy can be defined as “…the use of hands in a curative and healing manner or a hands-on technique with therapeutic intent…”

In 1995 Dr. Ovadia arrived in the United States to pursue advanced studies, during which she worked in a rehabilitation facility in Brick, New Jersey. After passing the Physical Therapy Board Exam, she relocated to New York City where she attended New York University to study towards an advanced master’s degree in Pathokinesiology.

During this time Dr. Ovadia partnered with Dr. Loren Fishman, building a large private practice of physicians and physical therapists, working conjointly, with the singular goal of healing people. During 14 years of collaborative work treating patients who suffer from chronic neck and back pain, piriformis syndrome, and other injuries and conditions, she developed a unique, holistic treatment approach by integrating manual therapy and biomechanics, that includes other parts of the whole, that were biomechanically involved on top of the site of injury.

At the same time, she continued to pursue additional knowledge in different manual therapy methodologies, including David Butler neuromobilization, Stanley Paris, and Brian Mulligan’s spine self-mobilization and exercises, as well as the application of Yoga and Pilates from the perspective of physical therapy and a more complete patient health result. Her personal and empathic approach to patients, as well as her convictions and tenacity is genuine and derives from her personal and professional experiences.

Dr. Ovadia has earned and established solid, long-term relationships with various physicians and healthcare practitioners, mastering the techniques of professional collaboration and partnership amongst different healthcare providers so often required to help a patient with a chronic condition. Along the way, some of these healthcare professionals as well as their family members have become her patients themselves. This unique corollary also includes multi-generational family members, which is something Dr. Ovadia is especially proud of.

Thirty years of accumulated knowledge, experience, and the desire to continue her professional development trajectory provided the impetus to establish her own private practice in 2009, free of the constraints of entrenched healthcare and health insurance industry standards of practice, establishing herself as an agile, responsive, and patient-centric provider of choice to people with musculoskeletal problems.

Dr. Ovadia continues to collaborate with physicians and other healthcare professionals on patient care and professional standards and practices.  

1. Lederman E. The Science and Practice of Manual therapy. 2nd ed. Elsevier: London. (2005)