Physical Therapy Made New

Regular clients of Manual and Sports Physical Therapy at the Montauk Playhouse Community Center will not notice a big change since Meghan Ryan Finazzo bought the business early in August. She had already been running it as an employee for two years when opportunity knocked and she answered by buying the business and renaming it Montauk Physical Therapy.

Ms. Finazzo was a longtime visitor to the hamlet. As a child, she spent summers at her grandparents’ mobile home at the oceanfront Montauk Shores condominiums. “I was very lucky as a kid,” she said.

Now 32 years old, she knew early on that she wanted to be in the health care field, working with patients. It wasn’t until her grandmother had a stroke and she was charged with taking her to several physical therapy sessions that she realized it would be the perfect field for her.

She attended Binghamton University and studied chemistry, graduating in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science degree. Even though she landed on the dean’s list all four of her years there, she hated chemistry and dreaded having to do more.

Once she decided upon physical therapy as a career, she attended Stony Brook University for three years, graduating at the top of her class and receiving a doctorate in physical therapy. But don’t call her Dr. Finazzo — that would be too formal, she said. She tells her clients, “It’s just Meg.”

“I like to keep it relaxing and fun in here,” she said, adding that patients seem to like her undivided attention. “Everyone gets my hands on them. Every body is different,” she said. And she sees a lot of bodies, working on up to 16 clients in a regular day and by appointment on weekends. Her new website is Mtkphysicaltherapy.com, and the business is also online at Facebook. com/MSPTatMontauk.

Ms. Finazzo married Nick Finazzo, a Montauk native, a year ago this month and settled in the hamlet. “I really like living where I work,” she said, pointing out that her commute is about five minutes.