SARASOTA – A Suncoast physical therapy clinic is taking a different approach to treating patients than the typical strength training machines and electric stim.


Think quiet and private, working one on one with patients. Call it Hands-On Physical Therapy, combining PT with acupuncture and massage. “When I finish with a patient, the acupuncturist comes and he does his treatment and then massage therapist comes at the end to wrap up the treatment,” says Owner Ofer Nissan.


Nissan says acupuncture balances the body from the inside, “All the internal organs, kidneys, liver, digestive track,” he says. While PT works from the outside. “So we work on the joints, the muscles, the skin.”


It’s an equation he finds successful. “First when a patient comes we evaluate the whole body,” Nissan explains. Looking for areas that don’t move well and may be causing pain somewhere else. For many, that’s the neck and back.


Remember that cupping phenomenon that became popular after Michael Phelps was using it in the Olympics? Hands On incorporates that into their therapy and I decided to see how it works.


“We use it around the muscle and on the muscle, and the blood flow that it brings to the area really helps a lot with the healing,” says Nissan.


In a high stress, fast paced world Nissan works to relax and relieve tension. “When they leave here they seem to be a lot more relaxed, calm, we see smiles on their face,” he says.


Making his job worthwhile. “Especially when they come with a lot of pain and they leave with almost none,” says Nissan. “I think that’s what I’m here for, I mean to see the smile on people’s face and have the ability to help people I think it’s a great gift.”


For more information you can visit their website or call Hands-On Physical Therapy at (941) 926-2909