About Dr. Novella
- Podiatric Consultant, New York City Ballet
- Founding member, Performing Arts Medicine Collaborative, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY
Academic Positions
- Surgical resident, performing hospital admissions, 210 foot cases, assisting on mediastinoscopy, cholecystectomy, TUR, hip replacement surgery,
varicose vein ligation, carpal tunnel release, facial plastic surgery, and general abdominal surgery; emergency room rotation, and wound
management; grand rounds. Residency at and under the auspices of New York College of Podiatric Medicine, including substantial time at
Jewish Memorial Hospital, Beekman Downtown Hospital, Hospital for Joint Diseases, Peninsula Hospital, Veteran's Memorial Hospital, and
St. Barnabas Hospital.
- Fellow, Departments of Podopaediatrics and Podiatric Orthopaedics, NYCPM, and Department of Biomechanics, Hospital for Joint Diseases, '80-81
- Clinical Instructor, Dept. of Podiatric Orthopaedics, NYCPM, '81-82
- Assistant Professor, Dept. of Podiatric Orthopaedics, NYCPM, '82-84
- Associate Professor, Dept. of Podiatric Orthopaedics, NYCPM, '84-86
- Guest Lecturer, Depts. of Podiatric Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, NYCPM, '86-98
- Adjunct Clinical Professor of Podiatric Orthopaedics, NYCPM, 1998-present
- Preceptorship and Externship Provider, NYCPM, 1995-2001
- Adjunct instructor, Accessories & Design Department, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York City, 2010-present
Hospital Affiliations
- St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, Dept. of Rehabilitation, Consulting podiatrist, '89-90
- Recruited by Mount Sinai Health System (formerly St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital), attending podiatrist, Dept. of Orthopaedics, '94-present
- The Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation of NJ, Consulting podiatrist, '90-91
- Recruited by The Hospital for Special Surgery, Consulting podiatrist, Dept. of Medicine, '95-present
Professional Memberships
- Diplomate, American Podiatric Medical Association, '78-present
- Member, NY Podiatry Society, '78-present
- Fellow, American College of Podiatric Orthopedists, '80-present
- Member, American College of Sports Medicine, '81
- Diplomate, American Board of Podiatric Orthopedists, '85-present
- Diplomate, American Board of Podiatric Orthopedics and Primary Podiatric Medicine, lifetime
- Member, American College of Podiatric Sports Medicine, '89-present
- Member, International Association for Dance Medicine & Science, '99-present
Teaching (25%)
Courses taught:
- Techniques in plaster immobilization, NYCPM, '78
- Podiatric emergencies, NYCPM, '78
- Principles of lower extremity biomechanics, Quebec Podiatry Society, Montreal, '79
- Podiatric dance medicine, NYCPM, '78, '79, '80, '81, '82, '83, '84, '85, '86, '87, '88, '89, '90, '91, '92, '93, '94, '95, '96, '97, '98, '99,
'00, '01, '02, '03, '04; Bellevue Hospital Physical Therapy Dept., '78; Kings Podiatry Society, '79; Nassau County Podiatry Society, '79;
Peninsula Hospital Grand Rounds, '79; Suffolk County Podiatry Society, '79; Sarah Lawrence College, Dance Dept., '79, '80; Dancerschool,
NY, '81; Eglevsky Ballet Company, '82; NY State Podiatry Society Annual Convention, '82; East Side Sports Medicine Center, NY, '82; Affiliated
Podiatrists of NY, '82; London-Postgraduate Group, England, '83; Seaview Hospital Physical Therapy Dept., '82; NY Podiatry Society, '84
- Evaluation of orthoses, NYCPM, '78-87; NY Podiatry Society Annual Convention, '82; Hospital for Special Surgery,
'95.
- Diagnosis of soft tissue lesions, NY State Podiatry Society Annual Convention, '82 NYCPM, '78-88; Affiliated Podiatrists
of NY, '82
- Clinical exam of the knee, NYCPM, '78-88
- Clinical perspectives on gait analysis, NYCPM, '78-88; ALTA Physical therapy inservice, New York, 2006
- Leg length measurement, NYCPM, '78-88
- Current concepts in ballet slipper and pointe shoe orthoses, Second annual symposium on dance, Orthopedic Institute,
NY, '82
- Common dancers foot problems and what they can do for them, Dancerschool, '82, 83; School of American Ballet, '83,
85, 87, 91; Juilliard School, '83, 84; The New Ballet School, 6/95, 9/95
- Myofascial pain syndromes, NYCPM, 78-88
- Principles of joint mobilization, NY Podiatric Society Symposium, '82
- Podiatric approach to the dancer,
Selected case histories,
Sophisticated in-shoe padding techniques for the dancer,
Fourth Annual Symposium on Dance, Given both at Lenox Hill Hospital, NY, and Charing Cross Hospital, London, '83
- The chronically injured dancer, East Meets East Podiatry Convention, '83
- Balancing the foot, Hospital for Special Surgery, '84
- Biomechanical considerations of race walking, NY Walker's Club, '84
- Clinical gait mechanics, Irene Dowd's Lecture Group, NY, '84
- Clinical biomechanics of the dancer's foot and ankle, Center for Dance Medicine, NY, 10/, 12/84
- Lower extremity injuries in the aerobic dancer,
Anatomy and kinesiology of the leg and foot in aerobic dance,
AFAA Aerobic Certification Conference, NY 5/84
- Clinical evaluation of the lower extremities from a biomechanical perspective,
Clinical evaluation of gait,
The knee from the podiatric perspective,
Common musculoskeletal microtrauma to the foot and leg,
Prescription orthoses,
keynote speaker at London Postgraduate Group Symposium London, England, 12/84
- Clinical biomechanics of the foot and ankle, East Side Sports Medicine Center, NY, '84, '86
- Pathogenesis of hallux abducto-valgus,
Pathogenesis of osteoarthritis at the first metatarsophalangeal joint,
Clinical bomechanics of gait, Dance Education Dept., NY University, '85
- Common exercise-induced injuries of the lower leg and foot, Judith Scott's "The Works", '85
- Clinical biomechanics of gait, Hunter College, NY, '85
- Causes and prevention of common dance injuries, Dance Dept, East Stroudsberg University, '85
- Clinical evaluation of the foot from a kinesiological perspective, Three hour seminar given to American Physical
Therapy Association Annual Conference, NY, '85
- Functional mechanics of the foot and ankle, Third Annual Garden State Sports Medicine Symposium, '85; Foot and
Ankle Symposium Lenox Hill Hospital, NY, '86; Sports Training Institute, NY, '86.
- The foot-what dancers should know, The Center for Dance Medicine, '85
- Lower extremity dance injuries from a clinical biomechanical perspective, Annual American Osteopathic Association
National Convention, Las Vegas, '86; Dept. of Physiatry, Beth Israel Hospital, NY,' 86.
- Overview of common dance foot and ankle injuries, Arizona Dance Teachers and Choreographers Convention, Phoenix,
'86
- Presenter of a two-day didactic and clinical seminar on the rehabilitation of the foot and ankle from a clinical biomechanical perspective,
American Physical Therapy Association, New York, 1986
- Dancers foot injuries,
X-ray interpretation of dancers foot injuries, British Postgraduate Sportsmedicine Group, Brand, Austria, '87
- Foot problems of the dancer, Rehab Dept., St. Vincent's Hospital, NY, '87
- Clinical pedal pathomechanics, The Center for Dance Medicine, NY '87
- Dancers' foot and ankle injuries, London Postgraduate Group, London, '88; NY State Podiatric Medical Society Annual
Clinical Conference, '88; NYCPM, 2/10, 2/24 '88;
- Frequently Misdiagnosed foot and ankle injuries of the dancer, The Nicholas Institute for Sports Medicine and Athletic
Trauma Annual Dance Medicine Symposium, NY, '88; London Foot Hospital '88; AAPHERD National Convention, Boston, '89; National Podiatry
Society of Canada National Convention, Keynote Speaker, Montreal,'89; Westside Physical Therapy Associates, NY, '89; Lenox Hill Hospital
"Update on Dance Medicine Conference", NY, '90; Advances in Performing Arts Medicine Symposium, NY, '92; First International Conference
on Arts Medicine (MEDART), NY, 82; Depts. of Physiatry and Sports Medicine, Baylor University, Houston, TX, '92; NYCPM, 87-95; Apex Sports
Trainers, '93; Lenox Hill Hospital Physical Therapy Dept., NY, '93; Third Annual Conference of the International Association of Dance Medicine
and Science, Hospital for Joint Diseases, NY, '93;
- Clinical pathomechanics of common overuse injuries in the athletic foot, Annual Networking forum, Fitness and Bodywork
Professionals Association, NY, '88; S.M.A.R.T. Certification Program, November 2000, 01
- Functional biomechanics of the dancer's ankle, Dept. of Dance, Skidmore College, NY '89; NYCPM, '89; National Podiatry
Society of Canada Annual Convention, Montreal, '89 Grand Rounds, Helen Hayes Hospital, Westchester, NY, '90; Depts. of Physiatry and Sports
Medicine, Baylor University, '92; Mt Sinai Hospital Rehab Department, NY, '93
- Hands-on approach to common dance injuries, Chelsea School of Chiropody, London, '90
- Relating dance injuries to everyday injuries, Grand Rounds, Rusk Institute, NY, '90; NYCPM, '90
- General foot care, Bristol Myers Corp, '90
- First aid for schoolyard basketball injuries, Symposium for Child Athletes at Madison Square Garden, '92
- Foot and ankle injuries in the elite student dancer, Juilliard School, '89, '90; School of American Ballet, '91,
'01, '03, '04, '05, '06, '07; Alvin Ailey School, '08, '09, New York.
- Causes of ankle injuries in the dancer, NYCPM, '91
- Pathogenesis of hallux abducto valgus
Guidelines for prescribing in-shoe orthoses,
Hands-on practicum of clinical techniques during the podiatric office encounter,
Baylor University School of Medicine, '92
- Assessment of ankle range of motion vis a vis foot injuries, Prescription Footgear Association Annual Convention,
NY, '93
- Prototypical ranges of motion in the dancers foot and ankle, American College of Sports Medicine Annual Convention,
NY, '96, '98, '00; Montefiore Hospital Grand Rounds, NY, '97; NYCPM, '96, '97, '98, '99; Hospital for Special Surgery Rehab Dept, '97;
International Clinical Podiatry Conference, Montreal, '97; Physio Sports Center, '97; Keynote sports medicine lecture, NYCPM Junior Year
Class, '00, '01, '02, '03, '04
- Painful Pedal Poke Places, Albert Einstein Hospital, NY, '97; Physio Sports, 99; Orthopedic Institute, '97.
- Monthly seminar on dance injuries, NYCPM 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007,
2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
- What makes a dancer?
Normal and abnormal biomechanics of the dancer's foot and ankle
Diagnosing common dance injuries
Treating the dancer
Illustrative case histories
Clinic: sight unseen recalcitrant dance cases
Clinic: padding and strappings unique to dance,
Biomechanics Super Seminar, Oxford, England, 1999; New York College of Podiatric Medicine, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006,
2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
- History and Physical Examination of the Athlete, NYCPM, Junior Year Sports Medicine Course, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2006,
2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
- Sport shoe sabotage
Clinical evaluation of the athlete
Pedorthic prescription writing,
London Postgraduate Study Group, London, England, 1999
- Quantifying choreographically-essential ranges of motion in the dancer's foot and ankle, 13th Annual Meeting of
the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science, Greenwich, England, October 2003; NYCPM, November, 2003; West Side Dance Medicine
Physical Therapy in-service, New York, NY, November, 2003; North Shore University Hospital, Glen Cove, Long Island, October, 2004
- Orthoses, uses and abuses, Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation in the 21st Century, a review and update, NYU School
of Medicine Continuing Education Department, New York, December, 2002; December, 2003; February 2004; ALTA Physical therapy in-service,
March 2006
- Practical pointers for elite student ballet dancers, School of American Ballet, November, 2005; April, 2006
- December inservice (fitting pointe shoes, dancer's foot and ankle ranges of motion, orthoses and padding for dancers, midfoot arthritis),
Harkness Center for Dance Injuries, Hospital for Joint Diseases, New York, NY, December, 2005
- Thinking outside the box, Sports Medicine/Orthopedics Department, NYCPM, February, 2006
- Sport Case Histories, Inservice to Pivotal Physical Therapy Group, New York, NY, April 2006
- One Podiatrist's Approach to Sports Medicine, in-service to Alta Physical Therapy Group, New York, NY, February, 2006
- Primary and Secondary Ranges of Motion in the Pedal and Ankle Joints and their Clinical Ramifications; Normal and Anomalous Gait and Clinical Pointers in Analysis of Pathologic Gait; Orthoses, Uses and Abuses; Hands-on Practicum in Foot Examination: three hour seminar given to Doctoral candidates in physical therapy at Long Island University, Department of Physical Therapy, Brooklyn,
NY April, 2006
- Are orthotics for everyone?; Breakout hands-on session: "Orthotics and corticosteroid injections"; :State of the
Art Treatments of Sports and Musculoskeletal Injuries: A Multidisciplinary Hands-On and Multimedia Approach. NYU Medical Center/Hospital
for Joint Diseases Rusk Institute of Rehabilitative Medicine: New York, NY, May, 2006
- Biomechanics of dance injuries: intensive one-day seminar at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey,
May, 2006.
- Panel member, Discussion forum: "Assessing the viability of the Internet as a medium to gather dance injury data";
group forum member, "Ethics in medical research": 16th Annual Meeting of the International Association of Dance
Medicine and Science, West Palm Beach, Florida, October 2006
- Mechanisms of injury and injury prevention in elite student dancers. School of American Ballet, November, 2006;
Alvin Ailey Dance Center, New York, June 2007
- Essential range of motion measurement techniques in the dancer's foot and ankle; Clinical assessment of selected dance foot and ankle injuries; Orthotics, athletic shoes and custom shoe modifications; Orthotic and shoe modification laboratory; Selected padding and taping tricks for the dancer's foot and ankle; Pointe shoes: nomenclature, construction and fitting;
Principles of Dance Medicine International Symposium, Hospital for Joint Diseases/NYU Medical Center. New York, July, 2007
- Essential foot and ankle motion and its relation to injuries in dance; (lab) Techniques for quantifying foot and ankle range of motion; (lab)
Pointe shoe fitting; (lab) Selected padding and posting for the dancer's foot; Second annual Principles of Dance Medicine (Clinical Management
of the Dancer Patient); Harkness Center, NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, New York, NY, July, 2008
- History and Physical Examination of the Professional Athlete, NYCPM, March 2007, March 2008
- Essentials of healthy street shoe design, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, 2008
- Comments for dance educators on injury recognition and prevention in African Dance and Ballet; critiques of African Dance and Ballet classes from an injury prevention perspective,
New York State Dance Education Association, Harkness Center for Dance Injuries, New York 2010
- Matching the Shoe to the Dancer, or how to prevent needless costuming injuries; Laboratories in evaluating the ranges of motion in the dancer’s lower extremity which are critical for dance; Choreographically-essential ranges of motion in the dancer’s foot and ankle;
Annual Symposium on Dance Medicine, The Harkness Center for Dance Medicine and Science, NYU Medical Center, New York, NY, August, 2010
and July, 2012
- Presentation of LD 181, academia's inaugural certificate program on athletic footwear design, a 14-lecture series on the ergonomics and biomechanics
of sport, on scientific design of athletic footwear inclusive of many different sports, discussing in depth how to design shoes to promote
efficiency and health, and pitfalls in athletic footwear design that can lead to injury, at Fashion Institute of Technology, New York,
NY; two semesters per year since 2010, ongoing.
- Custom in-shoe orthoses, ’12, Hospital for Special Surgery, symposium, “The Foot and Ankle: Current Topics and Manual Therapy”
- “The Neutral Position of the Ankle”, Richard O. Schuster Memorial Biomechanics Seminar, New York College of Podiatric
Medicine, October 2013, Keynote Speaker
- Several hundred excerpted interviews on live and taped national and local TV, U.S. and Canadian radio programs, and in hundreds popular national
and local newspapers and periodicals such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Self, Good Housekeeping, Fitness, Dance Magazine, Pointe, and Dance Teacher.
- Online lecture series through NYU/Langone Medical Center/Harkness Institute for Dance Medicine. Target audience:
physicians, chiropractors, podiatrists, physical therapists, dancers, choreographers, costumers, shoe designers, kinesiologists. First
lecture: Matching the Shoe to the Dancer
- The Detailed Biomechanics of Human Gait. Detailed expository lecture concerning whole body gait-biomechanics with
particular respect to how conservative or surgical management of common foot conditions can either enhance or detract from whole-body walking/sports
efficiency. A two-lecture series, presented to Mount Sinai Hospital surgical podiatric residents, May, 2015
- Essentials of Dance Medicine for Surgical foot and ankle residents. A two-lecture series, presented to Mount Sinai
Hospital surgical podiatric residents, Fall, 2015
- Three Restorative Modalities (an expository lecture on Radial Shockwave Therapy, Class 4 Laser Therapy, and Prolotherapy
and their uses in the dance population), presented at the three-day international symposium, "Principles of Dance Medicine", NYU/Langone
Medical Center, New York, NY, July, 2019; and Marika Molnar Physical Therapy, New York, NY, April, 2019
- Principles of Dance Medicine (Foot and Ankle) The Intensive One-Day Seminar, Holy Name Hospital Medical Center,
Teaneck, NJ, November 2019
- Ballet Injuries, Diagnosis and Management. Academy of Continuing Podiatric Medical Education; one-hour webinar,
Fall, 2020
- Advanced topics in dance medicine (part I)
Advanced topics in dance medicine (part II). 3 hour virtual seminar given to 3rd year students at New York
College of Podiatric Medicine, August, 2020
Clinical Care (70%)
Private Practice: Emphasis on conservative management of musculoskeletal injury; includes in-office ultrasound diagnosis; emphasis on thorough
history, apparent or estimated degree of tissue adaptation, events historical and/or physical which upset a patient’s equilibrium towards injury,
optimizing economy of time with respect to both healing and not inciting reinjury, integration of a patient’s case with information and assistance
from appropriate other health professionals, and restorative injection therapy, including in-office prolotherapy, and prp administered in sterile
facilities by interventional radiologists upon my prescription.
Research (8%)
Current research proposed involves assessment of radiographs taken to measure leg length and looking for a statistically significant preponderance
of longer left or right legs; current research in progress in private practice as well as per four major dance schools in the United States
is to evaluate the strength of the soleus in dancers and look for a statistical correlation with flexor hallucis longus tendonitis (using my
private dancer database of over 6,500 dancers); correlation of my personal database of over 5,000 professional dancers' carefully-measured
range of motion excesses/inadequacies with typical microtraumatic dance injuries (submitted: Treatment of lateral sesamoiditis in a dancer;)
Cohort seven-examiner study, currently culling data, expositing relationship of gastrocnemius strength/flexibility to flexor hallucis longus injury
in dancers
Patents
United States Patent No.: US 6,277,088 B1 (Aug. 21, 2001) Partial Insole to Accommodate
Professional Responsibilities
- Member, board of directors, Podiatrists of New York (a NY State Malpractice Review Committee), 1984-1987
- Provider, Dancer's Health Information Project, pro-bono health care for dancers, 1983-1989
- Member, Board of Advisors, Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA), 1980-85
- Consultant to the International Ballet Competition ('88, '89, '90, '93, '05)
- Medical Advisor to Adidas Running, Track and Field, '80-86
- Medical Advisor to Reebok, '91-94
- Proposing in 2002, and now teaching biomechanics of the athlete as per athletic shoe design, for the State University of New York, in Athletic
Footgear Design, recently launched at New York City's Fashion Institute of Technology.
- Founding and creating a certificate program for the State University of New York in Athletic Footwear Design launched in the Fall of 2010 at
New York City's Fashion Institute of Technology.
- Advisory Board, Pointe Magazine, 2006-present.
- Consultant to members of: New York City Ballet, Chicago Ballet, Los Angeles Ballet, Ballets West, School of American Ballet, Juilliard School,
most if not all college and university-affiliated dance departments in the northeast US, American Ballet Theatre, Joffrey Ballet, Eglevsky
Ballet, Royal Ballet, Kirov Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, Alvin Ailey Company and school, Toronto Ballet, Les Grandes Ballets Canadiens, Dance
Theatre of Harlem, New Jersey Ballet, Boston Ballet, Caracas Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Miami Ballet, Feld Ballet,
Paul Taylor Modern Dance Company, Martha Graham Dance Company, Lar Lubovich Dance Company, Merce Cunningham Modern Dance Company, Twyla
Tharp Dancers, Pina Bausch Dance Company, Molissa Fenley Dancers, Riverdance, and Pilobolus Dance Company, among scores of others; scores
of Broadway and off-Broadway shows; Cirque de Soleil; the New York Knicks, New York Liberty, New Jersey Nets, New York Yankees, New York
Mets, Chicago Cubs, New York Giants, New York Jets, New York Power, Phoenix Suns, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Toronto Raptors, Indiana Pacers,
New York Rangers, Yugoslavian Olympic Basketball Team, New York Road Runners Club, Warren Street Athletics, world-ranked tennis players
including 3 world #1 players, totaling over 15,000 professional and recreational dancers and athletes, their teachers, choreographers,
and coaches.
- Consultant/medical advisor to NY International Ballet Competition, 2006
- Consultant/medical advisor to NY Fall Dance Festival, 2006
Bibliography
- Hundreds of radio and television interviews, as well as magazine and newspaper interviews and articles submitted for major periodicals in the
United States, Britain, Canada, and Germany
- Dancers' Shoes and Footcare, Dance Medicine, Pluribus Press, Chicago, 1987 (Alan
J. Ryan, Ed.)
- Pediatric Ballet Injuries, Introduction to Podopaediatrics, Bailliere Tindall, Ltd.
(Saunders), London, 1993
- An easy way to quantify plantar flexion in the ankle, Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, (5),
1995, 191-199
- Pointe Shoes: Fitting and Selection Criteria, Journal of Dance Medicine and Science, (4), 2000, 73-77
- Management of the Dancer's Toenails, Journal of Dance Medicine and Science, (5), 2001,
- Shim Set Therapy for the Dancer's Foot, Journal of Dance Medicine and Science, (volume 5, number 3, 2001) Quantifying
Choreographically-Essential Ranges of Motion in the Dancer's Foot and Ankle, paper presented at the 13th annual meeting of the International
Association of Dance Medicine and Science; abstract available at the Nureyev Foundation website; paper submitted for publication in the
Journal of the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science
- Simple techniques quantifying choreographically-essential foot and ankle extents of motion: Journal of Dance Medicine
and Science, (8), 2004, 118-122.
- Key Biomechanical Insights for Treating Dance Injuries, Podiatry Today Journal, May 29, 2007
- Management of a delayed-union sesamoid fracture in a dancer, Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy:
Volume 37, Number 7, July 2007
- continuing to author and/or provide expert information for numerous international dance and sports periodicals
- Radial shockwave therapy: regaining ankle plantarflexion following moderate ankle sprain in professional ballet dancers, presentation at the International Dance MEdicine and Science Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada, September 2019
In Progress
- Epidemiologic research correlating fhl tendinopathy with gastroc/soleus strength
- Expository paper on precise measurement of gastrocnemius length
- Expository paper on precise measurement of talo/tibial joint flexion and extension Book, “Should My Child Dance?”