East Aurora is a village people cover on foot. Main Street runs past Vidler’s and the Aurora Theatre, the Roycroft Campus anchors South Grove Street, Hamlin Park hosts village concerts, and the Sinking Ponds trails start off the Pine Street Extension. When a stiff back or a sore knee starts cutting those walks short, it is fair to ask whether physical therapy East Aurora, NY residents can get in Buffalo is worth a 20-mile trip. Here is what that trip looks like, and how to keep the number of visits to Lake Erie Physical Therapy sensible.
Cross-country, the Classic Rink and Sinking Ponds
The school district credits East Aurora High School, on Center Street, with championship teams in cross-country, track, soccer, basketball, volleyball, swimming, tennis and golf, and the school also fields football, wrestling, field hockey, softball and baseball. That adds up to a lot of sprinting, cutting, jumping and throwing. Our sports physical therapy works through an athlete’s return in measured stages, and Dr. Ryan Mitchell, PT, DPT ran cross country in college at Daemen, so he knows what a heavy mileage week asks of a runner’s legs.
Winter brings the Classic Rink. The portable rink system from the NHL’s 2008 Winter Classic was bought that year and set up in the middle of the village, where it now runs under an open-sided pavilion roof. When a skater goes down, a hand, a wrist or a shoulder often takes the impact. If a joint looks deformed, goes numb or can’t take weight after a fall, see a doctor or urgent care first, because physical therapy is not a substitute for a diagnosis.
Trail walking at Sinking Ponds makes a good late-stage goal after an ankle sprain, since natural ground asks more of an ankle than a sidewalk does. For Knox Farm State Park, just over the village line, see our Town of Aurora page.
Desk days on Girard Avenue
Fisher-Price keeps its international headquarters on Girard Avenue, right in the village. Whether your desk is there or downtown at the far end of the 400, a day of sitting followed by half an hour behind the wheel can leave a neck or lower back complaining by Thursday.
Spine care at our clinic begins with the McKenzie Method. Dr. Will Tso, PT, DPT, Cert. MDT is certified in it, and the method teaches you which repeated movements and positions settle your symptoms so you can keep treating the problem at your desk and at home. That self-treatment focus can mean fewer appointments overall. Read how a McKenzie evaluation works, or see our page on neck pain.
Maple Street, the 400 and the Elm Street exit
Mapped from the middle of the village, the fastest route takes Maple Street to the Aurora Expressway (NY 400), follows the 400 to the Thruway, and then runs a short stretch of the Thruway to the 190. Get off the 190 at Elm Street, and the clinic on Virginia Street is a few blocks farther on. In light traffic the whole drive takes about 31 minutes. Weekday rush hours stretch it, so leave a cushion for a late-afternoon slot.
If your surgeon or your job is on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, you are already headed our way: the clinic sits between Allentown and the Medical Campus, so a follow-up appointment and a therapy session can share one trip into the city.
Riding the 70 East Aurora Express
NFTA Metro’s Route 70 is a weekday commuter express, and the posted schedule has four trips. Inbound buses leave Fillmore and Riley at 7:08 and 7:43 AM, stop at the Traffic Circle, and reach Lower Terrace and Charles downtown at 7:45 and 8:20. Outbound buses leave Lower Terrace and Charles at 4:40 and 5:10 PM.
That timetable suits people who already ride it to a downtown job. From downtown, Metro Rail runs up Main Street to the Allen/Medical Campus station, about a 4-minute walk from our door, so a late-morning or early-afternoon session still gets you back for the 4:40. Check metro.nfta.com before you build a schedule around it, since times can change.
Physical therapy East Aurora, NY families can fit around the week
Be ready for the opening weeks of care to involve two or three visits a week for many problems, tapering as you improve. From the village, these habits keep that manageable:
- Go before the day starts. Tuesday through Friday the doors open at 7 AM, early enough for a session ahead of first period or the morning meeting.
- Go after practice. Monday through Thursday the clinic stays open until 6:30 PM.
- Log the days in between. With remote therapeutic monitoring, you record your home exercises in the Medbridge GO app, and your therapist can fine-tune the plan before you are back in the clinic.
- Expect one-on-one time. Dr. Ryan Mitchell, PT, DPT or Dr. Will Tso, PT, DPT handles your evaluation personally.
Ready to pick a start date? Call (716) 332-4838 and tell us you’re coming in from East Aurora, or send a request for your first visit and we’ll offer times that fit the 400.