The Saratogian (Saratoga, NY)

TOTAL WELL-BEING

Osteopathy on Broadway practice opens downtown

- By Lauren Halligan lhalligan@digitalfir­stmedia. com reporter

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Osteopathy is now available on Broadway in downtown Saratoga Springs with the opening of Dr. Clara Somoza’s new practice.

Somoza, a longtime osteopathi­c medical practition­er, recently started Osteopathy on Broadway, PLLC.

Located at 340 Broadway in Saratoga Springs, this new office is where Somoza is following her passion of helping people through osteopathy.

Osteopathi­c Medicine, discovered by Dr. Andrew Taylor Still in the late 1800s, is a patient-focused approach to health care that takes into account every aspect of the patient, including his or her physical, personal and spiritual well-being.

“I reconnect you with your health,” Somoza said of her profession. “We as osteopaths are trained to look at you as a whole person and treat you as a whole person - and that’s the difference.”

Doctors of Osteopathi­c Medicine like Somoza are also trained to promote the body’s natural tendency towards self-healing and health.

“Your body is always trying to heal you, I’m just helping it along,” Somoza said.

Understand­ing that the body is more than just a sum of its parts, osteopathi­c physicians (DOs) assist the patient’s innate capacity to heal by acknowledg­ing and addressing the interrelat­ionship of the body’s nerves, muscles, bones and organs, according to Osteopathy on Broadway’s website.

Osteopathy on Broadway opened its doors in May, and recently celebrated its grand opening at a ribbon cutting ceremony with the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce.

Before starting this new endeavor, Somoza spent the past 18 years practicing emergency medicine in area hospitals.

In this role, Somoza practiced osteopathi­c manipulati­ve therapy on many of her patients, who were constantly asking for more of this type of care.

So, she listened to her patients by deciding to start her own practice.

In preparatio­n for this new chapter of her career, Somoza enrolled in a oneyear Plus One Osteopathi­c Neuromuscu­loskeletal Medicine Fellowship at Berkshire

Medical Center in Pittsfield, Mass., and worked in both a pain clinic and a family practice office.

Now that Osteopathy on Broadway is open and operating, Somoza is thrilled to be treating her neighbors among the Spa City community.

“I’m happy to open my doors to everybody,” Somoza said during the ribbon cutting ceremony.

Using non-pharmacolo­gical measures, Somoza can treat back pain, neck pain, migraines, TMJ, chronic pain, fibromyalg­ia, infant colic/feeding issues, constipati­on, pelvic floor dysfunctio­n, chronic sinusitis, recurrent otitis media, costochond­ritis, psoas syndrome and other conditions.

Looking ahead to the future of Osteopathy on Broadway, Somoza said she hopes to grow the practice and to spread awareness about osteopathy.

“My plan is to reintroduc­e holistic philosophy to approachin­g patient care,” she said, expressing her excitement. “This is such good timing to have people really discover again that there’s something else you can do for pain that has nothing to do with medicine. It has to do with your body’s healing abilities.”

Somoza is a member of the American Academy of Osteopathy, the American Osteopathi­c Associatio­n, The Cranial Academy and the New York State Osteopathi­c Medical Society.

Osteopathy on Broadway, PLLC is a fee-for-service practice. While it is out of network providers for most insurances, including Medicare, there are many insurance plans that partially cover osteopathi­c manipulati­on. Discounts are offered for hospital employees, law enforcemen­t officers, EMS, firefighte­rs, active military and full-time students with identifica­tion.

More informatio­n about Osteopathy on Broadway, PLLC is available online at www.osteopathy­onbroadway. com, as well as on the practice’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

Osteopathy on Broadway can be contacted by calling

 ?? LAUREN HALLIGAN - MEDIANEWS GROUP ?? A ribbon cutting ceremony is held to mark the grand opening of Osteopathy on Broadway.
LAUREN HALLIGAN - MEDIANEWS GROUP A ribbon cutting ceremony is held to mark the grand opening of Osteopathy on Broadway.
 ?? LAUREN HALLIGAN - MEDIANEWS GROUP ?? Dr. Clara Somoza of Osteopathy on Broadway shakes hands with Saratoga Chamber of Commerce president Todd Shimkus at a recent ribbon cutting ceremony.
LAUREN HALLIGAN - MEDIANEWS GROUP Dr. Clara Somoza of Osteopathy on Broadway shakes hands with Saratoga Chamber of Commerce president Todd Shimkus at a recent ribbon cutting ceremony.
 ?? LAUREN HALLIGAN - MEDIANEWS GROUP ?? Osteopathy on Broadway is now open and accepting new patients.
LAUREN HALLIGAN - MEDIANEWS GROUP Osteopathy on Broadway is now open and accepting new patients.

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