By Francis J. Bosco Schell
“My patients used to tell me that I needed a clone,” says Bente Dahl-Busby, doctor in physiotherapy. That was when she had a busy practice with a partner at NordCare in Sharon that lasted 23 years. Little did she know then that eventually that wish would come true, though not literally.
In 2015 Bente, born and educated in Denmark, went on her own and opened Danica Center for Physical Theory and Movement Integration, adding her long-accumulated knowledge of overlapping disciplines, among them restorative Pilates and Tai Chi, to her manual therapy and women’s health work. Patients from the tri-state area and beyond flock to her elegant, light-filled Sharon studio for one-on-one care or group sessions, whether they be recovering from an injury or joint replacement, suffering acute back pain, having balance issues, or merely warding off the mobility and other challenges of aging. “At any moment, Bente has 500 best friends in the area trying to see her,” says back-pain patient Joe Ellis. Indeed, Danica’s fee-for-service schedule is always filled.
Enters the clone. Bente and her husband, sculptor Peter Busby, have lived in Cornwall for 31 years, raising their three children there. Sabina, the oldest, was always interested in healthcare, (her sister is a sculptor like daddy, her brother, a neuro- scientist) and she chose to pursue the physiotherapy doctoral program at Quinnipiac University. “I liked that in this program I would have my doctorate in seven years”, she says. She did it in six, graduating in 2016. She remembers her mother saying: “Now go out and get really good, then come back.” Sabina spent four years as a physiotherapist in Colorado, while becoming a Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Women’s Health, and a Pilates Rehabilitation instructor. In 2020, at 28, she came home to join her mother at Danica.
It has proved an ideal partnership. “Working with someone you have known all her life makes everything so much easier,” says Bente. “Sabina now has deep knowledge of our field, I trust her, and we think very much alike.” Adds Sabina: “I get to work with my best friend and we are always drawing on each other’s knowledge and experience to offer the best treatment plan for our patients.” When necessary, Mother and daughter can interchangeably treat the same clients.
While Bente has decades of experience, Sabina has brought youthful energy and fresh knowledge to the practice. She has added Board Certification in Orthopedic. (“I’m impressed with the specialization opportunities offered to this young generation of PT’s,” Bente says.) Sabina is expanding their work in Women’s Health issues, a much sought-after and needed specialty, be it for pelvic pain, pre- and post-partum health, or bowel/bladder function (also extending to men). She is also attracting a younger clientele.
Says Broadway actor and Sharon home-owner Blair Brown: “I have been working with Bente for years and she is constantly reconceiving your exercise programs and treatments, a rare combination. Now with her marvelous daughter, we are reaping the benefits of the next generation’s take on physiotherapy.”
101 Gay Street, Sharon, 860-397-5363, danicacenter.com
