Injured athletes looking to return to their sports need to regain not only their function, but also their strength, agility, and quickness, plus motivation and confidence. In many cases that road back to play means learning new — and unlearning old — ways to move in order to reduce the chance of further injury while not being consumed by fear of additional injury.
That’s Michael DiStefano’s business. A certified athletic trainer, DiStefano is director of return to play and performance training at the UConn Institute for Sports Medicine. He also has a faculty appointment in UConn’s Department of Kinesiology.