Physical therapist Shmuel Tatz's simple yet comforting New York City clinic, is a haven for injured and aching performers. Pianists appear with carpal tunnel syndrome, violinists arrive with neck and shoulder strains, dancers with hip, knee and back pain. Trained as a dancer in his native Lithuania, Tatz has a special affinity for artists and has treated celebrities such as Isaac Stern, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Peter Jennings, Marlo Thomas and Cathleen Turner during his 30 years of practice in three continents.

However, more that half of Tatz's clients are ordinary people seeking relief from such diverse ailments as arthritis, lower back pain, sinusitis and Parkinson's disease. Most of his patients are women, many hampered by repetitive strain injuries caused by too many hours at a computer keyboard.

Tatz's "body tuning" is a unique blend of conventional Western physical therapy combined with techniques derived from yoga, osteopathy, acupuncture, tai chi chuan and reflex therapy. Practicing his system of body tuning he has solved problems that have not been successfully treated elsewhere. The eclectic mix, Tatz says, is designed to bring peace to the body.

- reprinted from Living Fit: The Tao of Tatz