We recently connected with Melissa DiTaranto and have shared our conversation below.

Melissa, appreciate you joining us today. We love heartwarming stories – do you have a heartwarming story from your career to share?

At the beginning of my career as a physical therapist, I treated the sweetest little boy that I may say is an angel. When I first met him he was 2 years old and had a lot of delay in his development.  He had difficulty sitting up by himself, could not crawl or walk and had difficulty with fine and gross motor skills. His parents were worried about him and just wanted him to be able to do the things kids do with ease.

We worked together for over a year on all the skills that he needed to learn and worked on increasing his strength. He excelled and was able to sit without support, walk with a posterior walker and even ride a modified bike that we raised money to get him. As time went on, he had other diagnoses that were placed upon him with different symptoms that caused more limitation. However, he always smiled, always had a positive attitude and showed love and kindness to everyone. He lit up every room he entered and gave energy to everyone around him. I believed then that he was a real live angel. His prognosis was not good and his estimated life span was early adolescence. He has beaten all the odds thrown at him so far and is now this amazing teenager. He continues to teach  the world to live life to the fullest, spread kindness and love and to laugh daily. I feel blessed to have been part of his journey.

Melissa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

1. Please tell our readers about yourself, how you got into your industry / business / discipline / craft etc, what type of products/services/creative works you provide,

I am is a board certified physical therapist and have a Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Simmons College in Boston Massachusetts and a Bachelor’s of Science in Exercise Science from University of Massachusetts Amherst. I also hold multiple certifications that include Certified Practitioner of The Mulligan Concept CMP, Certification in Dry Needling (DN) from American Academy of Manipulative Therapy, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and Certified Running Gait Analysis.

My passion for health, science, fitness, sports performance and recovery catapulted me into starting a home based fitness business after finishing my undergraduate degree. A few years later I returned to graduate school to expand my knowledge and get a Doctorate in Physical Therapy. As I began my career in physical therapy, I got a teaching opportunity at the University of Massachusetts Boston and really enjoyed it. What was suppose to be one semester and one class, turned into 9 years of teaching multiple classes in the Exercise and Heath Science Department.

In Nov 2018. about a year after I moved out to Arizona,I decided to re start my business and that’s when Level Up Performance and Rehab LLC began its journey. I wanted to continue to work with athletes and working on optimizing their performance with my knowledge on the body and the skills I have manually. My business offers various treatments for sports and orthopedic injuries as well as preparation and bodywork for competition. Treatments include but are not limited to manual therapy such as scraping, cupping, joint mobilization and manipulation, various soft tissue techniques, and dry needling as well as corrective exercise and therapeutic exercises for rehabilitation, strength and conditioning.
My job is to get and keep you healthy, be a good resource for my clients and help them achieve their health, functional and performance goals.

2. What are you most proud of and what you think sets you apart from others.

I am most proud of my work ethic, my genuine care for my clients and the consistent learning I put into myself so that I can apply it to my client base. I take pride in my work because I understand the impact an injury can have on a person. I want to make it easier to recover, both physically and mentally, and help people return to their lives and their passions.

One of the things that I feel sets me apart from others is my discipline, work ethic and my experience as an athlete on multiple levels of competition. I understand what it takes to be great at what you do on and off the field/court/track etc… because I have done it and continue to compete now. Playing multiple sports through high school and playing soccer around the world allowed me to gain more respect and devotion to learning more about improving sports performance and recovery. After college, I craved competition and did fitness competitions for years. I have continued my passion for sports competition by continuing to compete in USA Track and Field Masters Division and have been able to represent the USA proudly.

3. what are the main things you want potential clients/followers/fans to know about you/your brand/your work/ etc.?

Sports, strength and conditioning, rehabilitation and exercise have always been a part of me. It is my personal escape which provides me tranquility, energy and competition. It allows me to push myself, tests my limits and allows me to fail and then conquer. However it also gives me the energy I can give to my clients so they can do what they set out to achieve for themselves. It makes me happy to see their happiness of achievement, the learning from their successes and failures and the growth of my clients.

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How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Word of mouth and client referrals

I truly care for each and everyone of my patients. When you do a good job and people see authenticity, care and compassion, people communicate with each other and referrals create consistent growth.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Work ethic and transparency

When you care about the quality of the work you do and put in 110% into each and every client, it sets you at a different level. The care and love put into your clients is a key factor in your success.
In addition to work ethic, transparency and honesty with your clients is crucial to the bond you have with them and to their recovery. Optimal recovery comes with a good relationship and bond between therapist and client.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.leveluparizona.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/levelupmelissa/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-ditaranto-dpt-cmp-cscs-cert-dn-26042842/

Image Credits
Sean Imadiyi James Nwobo