About Dr. Nadya

Dr. Nadya Swedan is a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist (PM&R/physiatrist) who provides non-surgical treatment of pain and injuries to men and women of all ages. She enjoys getting to know each patient as an individual to allow her to develop an effective, patient-approved treatment plan. Her areas of practice include neck, back and sports injuries, joint and ligament pain, hip and pelvic pain, postural and overuse syndromes, myofascial pain and fibromyalgia, hip and pelvic pain, musculoskeletal body pain, and women’s health issues including pregnancy related pain.

In order to provide the most effective healing she carefully reviews exercises and activities, prescribes treatments, medications or injections as needed, utilizing bracing or taping if necessary, and recommending personalized physical therapy or a home exercise program. She follows each patient’s progress closely, making modifications as needed.

She is an advocate of a healthy lifestyle and motivates patients towards better health with guidelines that include topics such as blood pressure, stress management, and nutrition. She is also knowledgeable in holistic approaches to healing and is able to offer insight as to pros and cons of a variety of treatments. Dr. Nadya has numerous success stories of recovery without surgery from injuries including meniscus tears, disc herniations, rotator cuff tears, and labral tears.

Dr. Nadya Swedan is on the medical staff at Northwell health/Manhasset and Lenox Hill Hospitals. She is also teaching faculty at Zucker School of Medicine/Hofstra University. Prior to starting her own practice, she worked with two orthopedic groups, most recently Mount Sinai affiliated Manhattan Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. She is a graduate of Brown University, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency at Northwestern University's Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Her first job out of residency was inpatient rehabilitation where she treated joint replacement, stroke, and cardiac surgery patients. Her experience in orthopedic treatment of injuries allows her to offer insight to surgical outcomes. While her talent lies in helping patients heal without surgery, she has personal relationships with top NY surgeons and is able to arrange timely orthopedic treatment if that is a patient’s choice.

Dr. Nadya is author of The Active Woman's Health and Fitness Handbook (Perigee, 2003) and author and editor of Women's Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation (Lippencott, 2001). Featured regularly in magazine and news media, she designed an injury-preventing work out for Shape (July, 2008), has been an advisor to both Shape and Fitness, and has most recently been quoted in The New York Times, Runner’s World, and Real Simple. She has also been interviewed on television. Dr. Nadya is currently a medical advisor to “Q” the Equinox health club online medical advisory board, Drive 495, an exclusive golf health club in Manhattan, and is a board member the Don Monti Cancer Foundation. She has served as an advisor to the Women's Sports Foundation and La Palestra Center for Preventative Medicine.

Fitness has always been important to Dr. Nadya. While her athletic past allows her to relate to patients who are training for an event or have been sidelined in a sport, she has also spent much time in gym classes and can relate to these demands. Her earliest team sport was swimming at age 9 which she continued at a state competitive level until high school. She played doubles on the high school tennis team and became a serious athlete again in college where she rowed in the national competing varsity eight. In medical school she worked as an aerobics instructor and enhanced her medical education with fitness certifications. When she moved to New York, she was an exercise class addict, transitioning to triathlons, even competing in “Escape from Alcatrez.” During her first pregnancy, she was asked to be the medical advisor and model for "Pilates for Pregnancy" (DVD, urbanwellness.com). She now alternates running, pilates, stairmaster, spinning and conditioning exercises so she can keep up with the latest fitness trends. Dr. Nadya stays active with her husband and three children. Family activities revolve around sports; together they bike, ski, swim, kayak, and play golf and tennis. Dr. Nadya Swedan was the first to introduce the topic of women’s sports medicine to the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in 1998 where she was asked to author her textbook. As the mother of athletic daughters and with her continued high physical activity levels, she has both personal, academic, and clinical experience with issues unique to women. Her office is a zone of comfort to discuss pelvic pain, hormone effects, menopause, weight concerns, bone health and osteoporosis and pregnancy pain.