Sports Medicine at Chelsea

IF YOU WANT TO BE TREATED LIKE CRAP, GO HERE! They staff does not listen, they contest everything you tell them and have made notable errors in both reporting and billing. Their notes say a doctor has seen you when they have not. So if this is the kind of place you want treating your Health & Wellness your body is on the line.
Just know there are places in NYC that will not only do a more thorough job, but will also treat you like a patient.

For plantar fasciitis, there are better and more specific treatments and approaches. Too cookie cutter of a solution for my treatment. I did find an amazing Doctor months later, so I know they’re out there!

Dr. Stark acted quickly in a very serious situation for me. I believe I am not paralyzed because of his judgement on how to handle my particular condition. When he sent me for testing at an imaging facility, and my results required immediate hospitalization, Dr. Stark got on the phone with me while I was at the imaging center to direct me to the Emergency Room. In the months following that, and while I was undergoing treatment, I called Dr. Stark’s office twice to keep him updated on my progress, and he called me back within a couple of hours each time. He stayed on the phone with me so patiently and with genuine concern, asking me questions and guiding me. I have recommended Dr. Stark to two close friends who needed orthopedic treatment, and have since switched him to my PCP. Not only is he a wonderful doctor, the office staff has been unbelievably helpful in scheduling, giving me referrals and following up.

I’ve seen Dr. Degenhardt, Dr. Rao, and the PA (I believe) Mikayla, for the last few years. I’ve also seen the physical therapist on staff. I’ve never received anything but excellent treatment and service here. Dr. Degenhardt blew previous doctors I’ve had out of the water with the time he spent listening to my concerns, explaining my condition, and making sure I stayed healthy. Dr. Rao and Mikayla have also showed the same high level of professionalism and care, although I’ve seen them fewer times. The front desk staff is also super efficient and helpful. Go here!

Dr. Rao correctly diagnosed a shoulder impingement but failed to let me know that the MRI also showed a labrum tear. It wasn’t until I went to see a specialist who showed me the MRI lab report which clearly stated there was a tear. Kind of important information to have as a patient — particularly since I had had previously undergone surgery to repair a torn labrum in that shoulder just a 16 months earlier.
Previous to my MRI, I had seen Tom the PT for a half dozen sessions, who provided a very sub-​par service. His treatment included 15 minutes of typing notes and maybe 15 minutes of demonstrating exercises for me to do at home in his little space the size of a cubicle. That’s it.
I’ve since been going to SPEAR physical fitness, which for the same copay provides an hour of service which includes 10 minutes of manual manipulation and physical assessment, 40 minutes of exercise, and 10 minutes of icing and electric stimulation. MUCH better.

Love Dr. Rao! He made me feel very comfortable and has a calming/​inviting energy. He gave me great information on why I was feeling pain and has come up with helpful solutions.

Just had my first appointment there the other day. I was nervous because of the bad reviews I read at the last minute, but I had nothing to be nervous about. The front desk staff was friendly and helpful. I was not even waiting a minute when I got called back. Dr. Stark was easy to talk to and had a comfortable bedside manner. He was focused on typing up notes for my physical therapy visit, which I appreciated. I was able to ask him all of the questions I needed to.

I seen Dr. Stark a couple times — he is very nice but I didn’t appreciate that on my last visit here I spent nearly half an hour with what I thought was a colleague of Dr. Stark, at least a fellow or a resident — who did not initially introduce himself and turned out to be a fourth year medical student. Then I spent ~ 5 minutes with Dr. Stark himself.
I’m all for medical training may — hey, I teach fourth year medical students for a living, but precisely. Since I teach fourth year medical students for a living, I know exactly where their knowledge base is. And in acute situations, such as acute trauma or an injury when I am in acute pain, I value my time and physical comfort enough to not what to be assessed by a medical student when I have a suspected herniated disk and crawl to the office and just want to go back home asap. I would have rather preferred just to see Dr. Stark for 5 minutes and be in and out, than to spend nearly an hour there with a ration of 5 minutes of MD attention.
They recommended physical therapy — and it’s been great so far. I love Thomas, he is amazing !
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I’ve been going to Sport Medicine at Chelsea for almost five years now. Dr. Degenhardt literally saved my husband’s life, discovering his lung cancer at the very earliest stage. Four years later, he is still cancer-​free thanks to Dr. D. I see Dr. Rao for a very complicated chronic injury. He recommended PRP therapy (which I never heard of) and it has helped tremendously with pain. I do it in tandem with physical therapy from Greg and I believe you need to do the two together for it to be effective, unlike one of the reviews I read. I don’t really know what the negative reviews are about. I’ve never had any problems with billing, expensive tests or wait time. In fact, I think this practice is probably one of the most prompt and efficient. I highly recommend them.

Similar to others I’m surprised to see so many negative reviews, especially regarding billing. One of the things about this practice that I find so great is that they offer discounted services to patients without insurance. They also ask that all patients sign a form explaining that the practice at times may suggest natural methods not covered by insurance (i.e. acupuncture) and that the patient has the right to reject those recommendations if this isn’t a cost they can afford.
That aside I have been a patient here for over 5 years now. I’ve seen both Dr. Degenhardt as well as their PA Mikayla Nemes over the years for internal medicine. They both are insightful and caring and really listen to you. I’ve also seen Dr. Rao for sports injuries and have no complaints there. Tom in PT is also great, he helped me work through a broken foot as well as an IT band injury.
Overall I find the folks that make up the practice to be fantastic, Dr. D and Mikayla especially. I have never been over charged or felt taken advantage of here.

I guess i should have read the reviews for this place first.
Basically i was charged $ 475 for a 15 minute meeting with Naresh Rao, during this meeting the doctor refused to provide me with any information on the type of exercises i should do to alleviate the pain and kept trying to get me to sign up for physical therapy.
After calling back and forth with Sonia from the office and my insurance, i found out that no one is responsible as everytime i speak with one of the party they blame the other.
In the end i ended up providing my credit card to Sonia who promptly hung up on me as soon as she got the information.
I will definitely not be coming back. It’s sad to see that businesses like this are able to thrive in New York City due solely to the large population. I doubt they have much repeat business.

Dr Degenhardt is the best! I was a little surprised by the negative reviews because my experience has been great. I pay out of pocket, and Dr Degenhardt has been very mindful of this. I find him to be thorough, insightful, and very kind. The focus on sports and travel medicine is perfect for me, and Ive never had to wait for more than 10 minutes to see him. Im starting PT next week, so i cant yet review that. But I wish Dr Degenhardt could be my primary doctor, Ive seen other doctors in the city, and never felt like I got the quality of care that I get from Dr. Degenhardt.

I’ve been w/​Deganhardt for a few years now as my company is around the corner. I chose him because location, the sports medicine specialization and he took my insurance.
Pros:
1. He listens — uncommon for a doctor
Cons:
1. Recommends expensive tests
2. Always had at least a 15 minute wait before seeing the doctor — why make an appointment? And no cell phone reception with Verizon in the waiting area?
3. Billing has been excessive to both my insurance and myself. The blood testing facilities he recommends are also very expensive (not the standard LabCorp)
Realistically, I’d like to stay with him as I feel he does a good job, but his billing practices are too expensive for the services rendered — $ 215 is the baseline charge for any visit.
Find a doctor that bills at a reasonable rate or better yet, just go to the urgent medical centers. They do a better job for charges.

Run away from this place!
They prefer to set you up with a COSTLY program, clearly not concerned with the effectiveness or results of their «care».
I came in because they offered PRP. Many colleagues in my field had good results with it. Dr Rao decided I need physical therapy first, then suparts injections before he would consider offering me PRP. Great advice from the «expert», but this was a waste of my time and money, as I was still in pain and it was very ineffective. They don’t appear to care if you pay $ 1.000.00’s of dollars for 0 results. As a matter of fact, they recommend it! Never got my PRP injections ! Still paying off the first bill !

I overheard the manager asking the employees to write good reviews on here to negate the existing bad reviews. Avoid this place at all costs unless you are there to see Dr. Degenhardt (the only honest doctor there). Dr. Rao and Dr. Stark will charge your insurance company for anything and everything.

Horrible Customer Service from billing.
I received a phone call telling me that my bill was being sent to collections and as I was calling the office I received and email saying the same thing.
This was the first bill I had received as they had been mailing to an old address that was being forwarded to me, have not had a problem with any other bills (fishy :/​)
When I noticed the wrong insurance was billed for a 10 minute visit that I received not treatment for, the doc just wrote a scrip (which I had a few times before and was not charged beyond my copay) I pointed it out and Sonya became very combative with me and said she would call my insurance and ask, when I told her to bill my primary and secondary, I received a flip email minutes later telling me I was wrong, I wrote back immediately asking about next steps as I had updated my address with them. No Response. I called when I was finally out of meetings and of course there is no one there that can help me. So I most likely will have a ding to my credit for this stupid bill going to collections that I had never received prior to today.
I will NOT be going back.

Had prp done on a painful right shoulder that was hurting for 2 years.
Now im pain free. Thanks to Dr. stark I avoided surgery.

I’ve been to Sports Medicine at Chelsea for primary care and sports medicine issues (injuries, pain, etc.) I see Dr. Stark for sports medicine — he is extremely knowledgeable and is extremely forward-​thinking with all of the cutting edge treatments and procedures that he offers. He’s very effective and also honest about what will work best for me, and helps me weigh the financial pros and cons.
Dr. Degenhardt is great for primary care as well — he listens and he’s always up to date with the latest research and recommendations. I like that he takes a more holistic approach as well — not just treating acute illnesses or problems but coming up with solutions that are better for me in the long run.
Overall, a great practice. I like that I can go to one central place for all of my medical needs and see doctors I like. One thing to note, from all of the reviews I see that some patients have problems with the «interns», «residents», «fellows», etc. This is a teaching practice affiliated with universities, and students do a rotation here for some real-​world experience. No one is trying to pawn off patients on anyone, but I understand it’s not for everyone.

I have been going here for nearly a year after continuous knee issues from a half marathon. I see Dr. Rao and Carolyn for PT, and both are always friendly and genuinely concerned. Dr. Rao works on athletes constantly including the men’s water polo Olympic team, so his focus is on natural methods over time vs immediate surgery. He knows what he’s doing. He doesn’t want to rush into anything and uses shots and more serious options as 2^nd and 3r options, which I really appreciate. Also, the staff has always been helpful and nice to me.
For those complaining about the high costs, you should go to a place that takes your insurance and check that BEFORE you go. Obviously the costs will be high if it’s OOP.

One star because it seems to me that they tried to find my knee problem… although took them almost 45 min to come up with a diagnosis that apparently was wrong…
If there was negative stars for Thomas the PT there… i would give it to him…3 visits where all i did was waste my time and money and hear that i had a problem on my knee and needed an injection… this guys is a TOTALLY joke (and after 4 hip surgeries and 1 shoulder surgery, unfortunately i have experience with many PTs in NYC… i just came to this place because i thought my knee problem was not that important and it was near my office…). Anyway… if you have extra time and extra money you want to waste, this is the place, just ask for Tom.