Dr Ruzicka really got me back on my feet, literally. I'm 65 and for several weeks had developed a painful ankle. I had severely sprained it many years ago, but until recently, had no symptoms. It began as a "tweak" of pain when transferring my weight during a golf swing. After a few weeks it started to bother me sometimes to just walk. Finally, I was having difficulty walking much of the time. NSAIDS didn't help.

I was referred to Dr R with the highest recommendation. As I live out of the area, he took the time to get a good history over the phone and suggested some simple exercises that might help until I could see him. At our appointment, he was able to do some hands-on therapy which included several areas of the lower extremities other than the ankle. He really demonstrated his broad understanding of the inter-relationships of the various body parts. This was the key to my recovery as very little attention was given to the ankle itself. Rather, the exercise he prescribed were intended to loosen tight calves, and strengthen the hips and legs. I started to see some improvement very soon and now after several weeks of home therapy I'm virtually asymptomatic.

Had I been able to have more office visits, I likely would have improved even faster but that's the other great thing about Dr Ruzicka, he isn't looking for chronic patients. He wants the patient to understand their problem, provide the needed physical therapy and then get them helping themselves with lifestyle changes and exercises for their specific issue so they don't require constant office visits. I'm a retired dentist and residency director. In every profession, there is a rather small percentage of providers that are elite. They are better trained, more experienced, more dedicated, brighter, and just try harder to be the best. As I am not in his profession, I can’t give that elite label but based on my experience, Dr Ruzicka seems to have all those characteristics.