Iron City Physical Therapy 188 Main Street, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

"Donn has been amazing on so many levels! If you love running and need someone trustworthy, compassionate, dedicated, and incredibly effective to keep you on track, I can’t imagine recommending anyone else! As a runner, I sought a PT in 2019 who wouldn’t just help me cope with my knee pain, and who wasn’t just there to collect a co-pay, but who would get me on the quickest path back to running half marathons. Donn not only did this, but patiently answered all my questions, provided invaluable tips that stuck with me years later, and put me on a strength training plan that allowed me to keep pursuing my running goals free from a sidelining injury. He armed me with the knowledge and tools to address any twinges that did come up. I only reached out recently again after straining my quad during a 45 mile run! If it wasn’t for Donn, I would have never felt strong enough to even attempt that feat. He’s the only person I trusted with my recovery and again did not disappoint! He also addressed persistent lower back pain I started feeling and I’m happy to say I’ve been running and playing with my daughter pain free again! I really value and benefited from Donn’s one-on-one approach. I felt he gave me his undivided attention during each session, always took the time to try different techniques to find what worked best for me and consistently provided valuable feedback. He never rushed and spent extra time to make sure each visit was as comprehensive and informative as possible. His friendly, funny, upbeat demeanor made me feel comfortable and his encouragement and optimism helped me push and challenge myself. I always feel like Donn has my best interest at heart; it feels like he’s my coach and personally invested in my strength and success. In sum, I really can’t say enough good things about Donn and his practice! He is definitely worth the investment and there is nothing more valuable to invest in than your health and the goals that make you happy in life."

"Honestly I don't know how my physical therapy would have gone without Donn. I am a ski racer and when the recovery from a foot surgery I had in early October required a much more difficult rehab than I expected I was concerned with whether or not I was going to be back on the slopes in time. Working with Donn he was there to help me and push me to make sure I was ready to go by the time the season rolls around. I now sit here in early December ready to get back on snow just two months removed from the surgery. I truly feel had I gone to any other physical therapist for my rehab I would not have been recovered in time for the race season. Not only that, the training and advice he has given me along the way has been huge to help me be as prepared as possible for the upcoming season. If you are an athlete or active person trying to bounce back from an injury or surgery, Donn is the guy for you."

"I’ve been working with Iron City for 2 months now and already lost 25 lbs!!! I was 3 months postpartum when I started. Donn has helped me ease back into my workouts. He checks in with me regularly, comments on my workout logs, and holds me accountable. Pre-pregnancy I was doing CrossFit, but I couldn’t get back to the gym in the morning with two kids at home. Working with Donn remotely has been a massive benefit! Looking forward to continue working with him for the long hall!"

"Donn is professional and knowledgeable. He has helped me tremendously in overcoming lower back pain. The one-on-one sessions allows him to give one his full attention. I would highly recommend Donn to those looking for a Physical Therapist"

"TL;DR: There are physical therapists, and then there is Donn Shaver. If you want to fix the issue and get stronger than you've ever been, go to Donn. You won't regret it. I'm a 34-year-old former athlete who still enjoys cross training (primarily long-distance running and weight lifting) in my free time. Fortunately, for most of my early life I was injury-free. When I tweaked my shoulder 3 or 4 years ago, I was living in Massachusetts and went to a very good PT up there. He showed me some resistance exercises involving a band, massaged the general area, and helped me on the road to recovery. And within four months or so, I was back to lifting weights. More recently, after getting a new job, I started running and hiking more often to counteract the stress. Everything was going fine until I began experiencing a sharp pain in my right hip. Not only was the pain worrying, but it severely limited my ability to run and even hike, or my two stress-reducing outlets. I stopped running completely, hoping the situation would resolve itself. But after three months, I knew this injury was more dire than I originally believed. Those feelings were corroborated when a PT diagnosed me with bursitis of the hip. This condition is characterized by inflammation of the bursae: small, fluid-filled sacs that cushion our bones. I was concerned, especially after a gym owner bluntly stated I might never be able to run again. But more than anything, I was adrift without any clear course of action to take. The PT gave me a strength training regiment to follow, and she rightly diagnosed that the cause of my bursitis was due to one leg being stronger than the other, and this imbalance was negatively impacting my lower body. But there was no follow-up. So after trying the exercises and not seeing any improvement, I grew disconsolate. I tried cryotherapy, stretching, meditation, yoga. While helpful, none could actually fix the dogged problem. In a word, I was completely, utterly lost. That all changed when I met Donn about a year ago. I knew I had made the right choice on the first day. During the initial assessment, he put my body through a serious of movements like the other PTs. But he also used sensors to take a look at my squat and lunge form, tailored workouts to my needs, tracked my workouts on TrueCoach (a fitness app), used massage guns and his hands to get deep into the tissue, came up with a morning mobility exercise regiment, followed up every week, and altogether used a more comprehensive approach that I had never experienced before. With Donn's help, not only did my strength improve, but so did my form. And with my form improving, the pain started to go away. But it was a grueling process. I'm one of those psychos who actually enjoys running, but weeks becoming months becoming a year of experiencing pain every time I ran got to me. I almost wanted to quit completely. Donn always says the road to recovery isn't typically a straight line. There are ups and downs. Thanks to Donn's can-do attitude, he wouldn't let me quit on myself. I'm writing this lengthy review because I can finally run again, and I wouldn't have been able to without meeting Donn. All I can say is I'm eternally grateful for his guidance, patience, and dedication to his craft. The only negative I can say is that if I ever move out of the area, the bar is set impossibly high for the next PT. But that's the Shaver method in a nutshell: Outwork everyone."