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Melissa DeChiara, MPT and Certified Health Coach

Melissa DeChiara, MPT and Health Coach

​Specialties:

  • runners

  • pre- and postpartum, pelvic floor

  • hip and pelvic dyfunction

  • osteoporosis

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  • post-operative rehab

  • muscle and tendon pathology

  • fitness athletes

  • dry needling

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Experienced in all aspects of rehabilitation for orthopedic and sports conditions

My treatment philosophy is to provide customized patient-centered care that improves an individual's overall strength and mobility.  As healthcare practitioners, we need to do more than just address the current problem.  I believe we should look at the individual as a whole; that true sustainable change is achieved by improving the person's overall strength, their resiliency, their health and their performance in both life and sports.   I want to address the symptoms to get you moving and feeling better, address the imbalances that led to the symptoms and give you the knowledge to continue to progress.  Successful physical therapy requires listening and education.  I believe in listening to my clients and educating them about all aspects of therapy, to empower them to take an active role in their care and health.  The plan of care will include active and passive therapeutic techniques chosen based on my clinical experience and evidence-based practice, but more importantly it will be personalized to fit your lifestyle and meets your goals.  

As an experienced physical therapist, I am a musculoskeletal expert, however my experience has also taught me how impactful sleep, nutrition, stress and joy are on pain, recovery and overall health.  Education on these components have become a part of the care I provide, but I wanted to expand my knowledge and be able to explore these areas more with my clients.  To this end, I became a Health Coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition.   The year long course work, further opened my eyes to the many facets of life that can impact an individual's overall wellness and sense of contentment. 

I want to help you achieve your vision of healthy, fit and happy!

Work Experience

17 years with Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin at their Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Centers

Highlights:

  • member of the Sports Medicine Women's Health Team: collaborated with physicians and dieticians to treat female athletes of all levels and stages of life, specifically those with female athlete triad or RED-S, pre-postpartum care and osteoporosis

  • member of the Hip Team: specialized in working with patients with hip dysfunction and collaborated with the surgeon and other therapists on rehabilitation protocol following FAI surgery

  • member of the ACL Performance Initiative Team: collaborated with surgeons across system on protocols and helped create educational content for staff to improve patient care for ACLR

  • Runners program: running programming and running analysis with Dartfish and HUDL software

  • presented at the Medical College of Wisconsin National Sports Symposium on exercise during pregnancy

 

Additional training

Dry Needling through Myopain Seminars in 2013 and 2016

Blood Flow Restriction through Owens Recovery 2021

Cupping and Flossing through RockTape in 2022

Health Coach: certified through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition 2022 

Education

University of Wisconsin - Madison:  Masters of Physical Therapy 2005

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