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David M. Civitarese
( out of 25 reviews )

David M. Civitarese, DO

Languages spoken: English

Clinical Locations

Primary Location

University Orthopaedic Center

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
590 Wakara Way
Salt Lake City , UT 84108

David Civitarese, DO is currently an Interventional Spine and Musculoskeletal Medicine fellow at the University of Utah in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He completed his residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University) in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Civitarese’s clinical interests include treatment of spine and musculoskeletal pain conditions including disc herniations, spinal stenosis, facet joint mediated pain, sacroiliac joint pain, and other degenerative conditions of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine.

Dr. Civitarese is originally from Calgary, Canada and has a background in professional ice hockey which he has translated into an active lifestyle exploring the outdoors with his wife, daughter, and pup – Dr. Watson. He is very excited to return to the mountain west and to help his patients improve their ability to maintain their mobility.

Patient Rating

Reviewers describe Dr. Civitarese as personable, compassionate, and an excellent listener who takes time to understand symptoms and how pain affects daily life. He clearly explains diagnoses and treatment options, discusses conservative versus more aggressive approaches, involves patients in decision-making, and lays out practical follow-up plans. Patients say his explanations and bedside manner are reassuring, that he is knowledgeable and accessible, and that he provides thoughtful, individualized care.

Generated via Patient Reviews

4.8 /5
( out of 25 reviews )

The patient rating score is an average of all responses on our patient experience survey. The rating averages scores for all questions about care from our providers. The scale on which responses are measured is 1 to 5 with 5 being the best score.


May 24, 2026
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

David Civitarese was very engaged in finding out where the root cause of my pain is and helping me to plan for the least amount of time to get my issues addressed.

Apr 21, 2026
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

Anytime a health professional tells me he/she has learned something from me, I'm impressed! I'm not a healthcare professional, but I am the patient!

Apr 04, 2026
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

He is professional and I respect his input. I'm just frustrated that the only solution to my torn rotator cuff is physical therapy.

Mar 16, 2026
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

optimistic, very generous with time and information, flexible to my inquiries, caring and available

Mar 01, 2026
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

Dr C was helpful and "cheery!" He made sure I had the tests I needed.

Mar 01, 2026
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

A really good doctor that exudes competence. One of my favorite doctors.

Feb 23, 2026
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

I really liked him. I believe he will care for my a great deal.

Feb 14, 2026
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

Outstanding!

Feb 03, 2026
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

Dr Civitarese is personable, friendly, and exudes caring. He made a few suggestions which may or not help me long term, but explained what steps he felt were warranted at this time. At the follow-up, I will report results, and we may have to go to a Plan B. I feel as though I'm being helped to explore what will work best for me, and being free from pain long-term is the goal! Dr Civitarese is willing to look at alternatives because everybody is different.

Jan 18, 2026
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

I like this doctor. He listened, explained all the problems, the options available and included me in the decision.

Jan 12, 2026
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

He cares enough to have you help make decisions in your own care. Both him and Kim the MA are such nice people.

Jan 04, 2026
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

Dr David Civtarese is absolutely fantastic. I needed a doctor and he got me in that day. Explained everything I needed took seven x-rays. And explained physical therapy and other things that we could do in the future. Made sure I had a follow-up appointment. He is absolutely great he's 100 out of 100. Thank you so much! [NAME REMOVED]

Dec 13, 2025
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

Excelklent customer service and very outgoing and likeable

Nov 23, 2025
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

Really listens to his patients needs. Doesn't sugar coat things.

Nov 23, 2025
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

Dr. Civitarese is great, I'd recommended him to anyone.

Nov 12, 2025
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

Awesome care & he explained everything very well.

Oct 19, 2025
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

This is a great doctor on so many levels.

Oct 14, 2025
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

Dr. Civitarese is very knowledgable about back problems. He has an approachable and personable demeanor.

Oct 13, 2025
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

Listened very well. Told me exactly what was wrong. Treated me with respect

Oct 11, 2025
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

It's crucial having a health advocate you can trust when experiencing debilitating back pain that takes you away from your daily life. I feel like I have that in Dr. Civitarese as he took the time to not only listen and learn about my symptoms but also my daily life and how the pain had affected it. He then gave me a general diagnosis just from the physical exam and combining that along with all he learned about me as a person could prescribe and suggest multiple different avenues for pain relief. I felt he listened to my concern about wanting more than just a bandaid fix to the problem and was able to make physical therapy suggestions along with recommending a great book containing simple back exercises. It was refreshing having a doctor take the time to listen and treat me as a whole person instead of just treating the symptom with a medication.

Sep 29, 2025
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

Thank you Dr. C! You made me feel validated in hearing me and taking the time to show me where and how my pain was affecting me. I appreciate your time and definitely felt that the drive over was worth it. Thank you!

Sep 07, 2025
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

Thoughtful, efficient and professional. For a relatively new guy, impressive.

Aug 24, 2025
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

Very knowledgeable, very good listener. I appreciated the discussion on conservative versus aggressive approaches and assessing what made the most sense.

Aug 17, 2025
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

David was great although I went away in massive pain which is why I went to begin with. The rest of your staff was indifferent and sucked

Jul 28, 2025
ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

Dr Civitarese is a very caring doctor with a great "bedside" manner. He explained the area of my injection very well, which gave me a sense of relief, because I had strange sensations I hadn't expected following the procedure. Dr Civitarese had also reviewed recent blood work from another Dr at the clinic, and provided his impressions and how they may or may not relate to my issues. That was very reassuring. As Dr Civitarese is replacing my previous orthopedic, I feel like I'm in good hands and will continue to have A+ care at the U of U. Thank you.


Patient comments are gathered from our patient experience survey and displayed in their entirety. For the convenience of our visitors, some patient comments have been translated from their original language into English while preserving their original meaning as accurately as possible. Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy.

David Civitarese, DO is currently an Interventional Spine and Musculoskeletal Medicine fellow at the University of Utah in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He completed his residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University) in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Civitarese’s clinical interests include treatment of spine and musculoskeletal pain conditions including disc herniations, spinal stenosis, facet joint mediated pain, sacroiliac joint pain, and other degenerative conditions of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine.

Dr. Civitarese is originally from Calgary, Canada and has a background in professional ice hockey which he has translated into an active lifestyle exploring the outdoors with his wife, daughter, and pup – Dr. Watson. He is very excited to return to the mountain west and to help his patients improve their ability to maintain their mobility.

Board Certification and Academic Information

Academic Departments Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation -Visiting Instructor