The Doctor Is In

Five years ago, Dr. Brian Goldberg left his position as director of a successful Manhattan chiropractic office to establish his own practice in Syosset. Now, the New Jersey native feels at home on Long Island - the place he never really wanted to go.

Entering the final phase of his studies at the New York Chiropractic College in upstate Seneca Falls N.Y., Dr. Brian Goldberg faced a decision. Should he do his required eight months of outpatient work in Cheektowaga (near Buffalo), in Syracuse, or in Levittown?

"At the time I said 'I don't ever want to live on Long Island or practice on Long Island," Dr. Goldberg now freely admits. "I didn't want to do anything on Long Island."

"And then I ended up meeting a girl from Woodmere, and that's all I've done. Live here, work here," he laughs, before adding confidently. "And I've never regretted it."

After completing his outpatient work, Dr. Goldberg was given the opportunity to get hands-on experience.

"They let me leave school early. But because I was actually done, instead of an internship, it was called an externship," he explains.

During this period he worked alternating days at two different Manhattan chiropractic offices that gave him a varied and interesting experience.

The first, located on seventh avenue and 53rd st., counted many Broadway performers and professional ballet dancers among its patients. At the second practice, in the Flatiron district, the doctor was treating a lot of immune compromised patients, giving chiropractic adjustments to try to boost their immunity.

Dr. Goldberg recalls the strange contrast.

"One day you're treating a dancer from the Alvin Ailey Dance Troupe, or the guy who plays the beast in Beauty and the Beast because he has to wear this forty-pound contraption on his head and his neck hurts," he says. "Then, you go to the other practice where people are coming in not because of pain, they're just trying to survive."

From there, he landed a job at a practice downtown in the Financial District.

"I started as an exam doctor/assistant chiropractor there – doing paperwork, exams, x-rays," he notes. "And then worked my way up to a treating doctor, then to clinic director."

He remained at that practice for seven years, commuting from Cedarhurst where he and his wife were living at the time, until he started to come to a realization.

"By now, we had my older daughter, and just about every night she would be asleep by the time I got home," he recalls.  "And that was really depressing."

"Then we moved to Merrick, and one day I looked up at the long staircase [leading to the elevated LIRR line]," he remembers, "And said 'I just can't see myself doing this every day.'"

With that, Dr. Goldberg began looking for a location on Long Island where he could open his own practice. He laughs when thinking about his first visit to the office he would end up moving into at 49 Berry Hill Road. At the time, it was occupied by another chiropractor - Dr. Arthur Goldberg [no relation], who was looking to retire.

"I didn't know the area. I had never been to Syosset," says Dr. Goldberg. "I don't think I'd ever gone east of the Meadowbrook. And the place needed a lot of updating.  But my name was already on the building, and had been for 30 years, so I said, 'how bad could it be?"

In his five years there, Dr. Goldberg first renovated the original space, then two and a half years ago he took over the space next door, formerly a karate school, and realized his dream of creating a full-service wellness center. Among the services offered are massage, acupuncture, laser hair removal and medical pain management. 

Although he treats a full spectrum of ages and conditions, among Dr. Goldberg's patients are numerous athletes.

"I really enjoy helping them achieve peak performance," he says. "And I have developed a kind of sub-specialty dealing with shoulder injuries."

A team doctor for St. Dominic's High School baseball team, Dr. Goldberg is active in the Rotary Club and the Syosset Chamber of Commerce. He was recently honored as a Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce Small Businessperson of the Year.

Reflecting on the choice of his business location, Dr. Goldberg wouldn't change it.

"The Syosset-Woodbury area is exactly like the town I grew up in," he concludes. "And I love being part of this community."

For more information, visit www.goldbergchiropractic.com