Ed Kalotkin, a Man of Many Talents
Quick. What do local historian Alice Gerard and actor Bill Murray have in common? Give up? Then I’ll tell you. They have both been treated by Dr. Ed Kalotkin of Palisades Physical Therapy. Alice says he treated her after shoulder surgery without hurting her and she got better. Bill says he could not have won the Pro-Am PGA Tournament at Pebble Beach without him. And there are many others who feel the same way.
Ed Kalotkin is a man of varied interests and all of them inform his professed passion in one way or another to help others achieve their physical best. Before moving to Palisades from New York City six years ago for more space and better schools for his two sons, he traveled extensively to remote and challenging places. In fact, he proposed to his wife Michele in an Alaskan grotto while on a kayaking trip .
He has competed in triathlons, run New York City marathons and roller bladed in Central Park. And while he hates running, he says, he loves to observe his surroundings, as a traveler might. Ed plays music; he is the songwriter, vocalist and guitarist for Stanton, an indie rock band that frequently performs on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. His personal therapy, he laughs.
Ed approaches physical therapy with the thoroughness and thoughtfulness that distinguishes him in his other endeavors. He received his masters and his doctorate from Columbia University and has trained with internationally renowned specialists in the field of physical therapy. Ed originally practiced with large groups of therapists in the city but found that, while lucrative, the pressure to see six or eight clients an hour was not only unsatisfying but somehow felt wrong. He left and, with a chiropractic friend, opened a practice in Bardonia and an office in his home in Palisades so he could give the time and attention he feels each of his clients deserves.
A certified manual therapist, he specializes in easing joints to function well in an individualized exercise regimen he develops with the treating physician or personal trainer. A singular aspect of his practice is borrowed from meditation. He frequently asks his clients to bring a favorite piece of music to help them relax through their discomfort. Discretely scented candles further a sense of ease.
I visited him at his Palisades home. He led me through a side door into a small sparely furnished room. I stood, expecting to be taken further inside. Instead, he sat at a small desk and turned on a large computer screen from which played quiet music. Beside it, a white cast of the human spine curved in artful contrast. A clump of bamboo was visible out his window. He said he hoped it would fill in the yard and become his view. “I think of it as the symbol of what I want for my clients, to be powerful, flexible and resilient.”
So I also sat, and as I looked about me, I realized this was his office. A piece of slanting equipment occupied a corner, an exercise ball resting under it. Turning, I was startled to see a full-length mirror covering the entire wall behind me. Ed flicked open a treatment table; the room took on shape and purpose and I saw that it was all he needed, a small physical space, perhaps, but a large spiritual one. To make an appointment to see Dr. Kalotkin, call 845-359-3950, or go to his website, www.PalisadesPT. com. The band, Stanton, will appear at Arlene’s Grocery in New York City on June 18, at 8:30 pm.