For years, I kept hearing my clients and colleagues rave about this physical therapist.  I had been meaning to reach out to him for some time and then finally years later the stars aligned. A lot of times people exaggerate about how good someone his at their chosen profession. In this case, however, it was all true. That is why I am bringing some of Steve Dischiavi’s knowledge to you.

Steve is physical therapist and athletic trainer for the National Hockey League Florida Panthers and has worked with not only NHL greats and inspirational Olympic medalist Dara Torres but also every day people looking to get back to being and feeling their best.  Steve is one of the many “masters” that have helped train the BB3 Personal Training Team.

Often times, when someone is injured they are sent to a physical therapy. It’s hard to tell if the therapist is doing an effective job or not. It is my goal that this short interview will properly arm you with some information to be able to determine if your physical therapist is a good one or if you need to go elsewhere. After all, the post-injury/surgery period is critical for full recovery. Make the most of the opportunity. Read on to learn from the Master.

Billy: Steve, you work with some of the top athletes in the world, when someone is injured what are the keys to successful recovery?

Steve: A question I am commonly asked is why is it that the pros are able to return from injury so much faster than the general population?” The answer to that question is not a simple one. Amongst the factors that make it possible, are the considerable amount of resources available to today’s athletes, ranging from medical care, nutrition, equipment, and technology just to name a few. The pros get paid a lot of money to perform but they are also getting paid when they are injured. This means that it is their “job” to put 110% into their rehabilitation, which can mean having multiple sessions during one day to accelerate the process. I think it is also important to mention that these athletes are at the height of physical conditioning, which makes for a very good “healing” environment in the body. They are eating foods that are organic and all natural which means their bodies are not wasting time digesting and filtering a lot of the toxins that may be present in the foods that the general public consume.These are just a few of the areas that set pro athletes up for a successful recovery.

Food plays a critical role in healing and recovery. I snapped this photo at a small grocery store in India.

Billy: You also work with non-professional athletes. Do you use a different approach when it comes to dealing with the non-professional athlete as compared to the pros?

Steve: Philosophically, I honestly don’t.  I see non-professional athletes in the clinic all the time. Like myself, these are people who enjoy athletics and competing even if it’s just for fun. I run my athletic clients through the same video analysis that I would for one of my players to help pick out subtle muscle imbalances and weaknesses. Armed with this data I construct a personalized corrective program helping these clients eliminate muscular imbalances and regain normal movement patterns, just like the focus I have when working with a pro athlete. I think clients sometimes feel more empowered when they know they are getting similar treatments to that of the pros we work with. The differences come in with regard to intensity, frequency, duration and functional needs of the athlete.

Billy: You have worked wonders with shoulder injuries. What have you found to be the most common cause of shoulder injuries in general?

Steve: Shoulder injuries occur for many reasons a few are traumatic but the majority of them are bio-mechanical in nature due to overuse and faulty technique. A traumatic injury probably couldn’t be avoided, but the overuse injuries are the ones we need to focus on with prevention. A major factor that influences overuse bio-mechanical shoulder injuries is poor posture. A faulty postural alignment will set the shoulder up for failure. When there is good postural alignment there will usually be good motion. So for example, you are performing a seated dumbbell press while maintaining good postural alignment through the head, neck, and upper back this will allow the shoulder blade to stabilize itself and you will potentially avoid shoulder pain. If you were to take the same exercise and try to lift the same amount of weight using a poor rounded shoulder and forward head posture, your shoulder is set up for an injury. Having a physical therapist work with clients who have poor postural alignment is a great thing to do before they initiate strength training to avoid any potential injury.

Billy: If someone is suffering from chronic aches and pains in a specific joint (I.e. knee, shoulder, back) what steps would you suggest that person takes to prevent further injury or correct the issue?

Steve: When a client is dealing with any ache or pain, an accurate working diagnosis is essential to helping eliminate the source of the pain. That usually means the first step is to see your physician. When clients come to me as the first line of defense I rely heavily on video analysis. I use it to identify where a client is “breaking down” in order to determine the underlying cause of the pain. Once identified, the problem can be corrected, whether that means being seen by a specialized doctor, modifying the activity temporarily, physical therapy or some other treatment intervention. This is why an accurate diagnosis is so important.

Billy: Thanks Steve! You are the man!

Steve Dischiavi, MPT, ATC, MTC, CSCS is entering his seventh season as the physical therapist and athletic trainer for the NHL Florida Panthers. He is a certified manual therapist from the Ola Grimsby Institute. He is certified in an advanced soft tissue mobilization and integration system called Active Release Technique(ART) for the hip, pelvis and lower extremities. Along with biomechanical video analysis, Steve has made manual therapy the cornerstone of his practice philosophy. During his 15 years of sports medicine practice, Steve has had clinical experience working with professionals in the NBA, MLB, LPGA, as well as Olympic athletes. Prior to the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, he rehabilitated Olympic swimmer Dara Torres where she went on to capture three silver medals. In the off-season Steve works at his private practice, Finish First Physical Therapy & Athletic Conditioning located in Weston, FL. He holds an adjunct faculty position at Nova Southeastern University where he currently teaches an elective on Sports PT within the Transitional Doctor of Physical Therapy (tDPT) curriculum.  Please visit Steve and learn more about him and his practice at www.finishfirstpt.com.

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