In this episode of the Postural Restoration Podcast I sit down with Lisa Mangino, PT, DPT, PCS, C/NDT, PRC. Lisa graduated from Duke University earning a Masters in physical therapy in 1999 and a Doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2000 as part of the first Doctoral class. During her doctoral program Lisa had the opportunity to get involved with a clinical affiliation in Pediatrics and subsequently her passion for clinical treatment within this population grew. During her undergraduate years Lisa played Lacrosse at Penn State and always saw herself working in a Sports Rehabilitation setting, however her love for Pediatrics grew and she has continued working with this population since. Following the completion of her PT degrees Lisa continued her journey at the University working in various pediatric settings. Her time at Duke would expose her to acute care, home health, and outpatient PT through the Duke University Medical Center.

Lisa walks us through her early clinical years and some of the common diagnosis’s, treatments and interventions used to treat a wide-ranging spectrum of gross motor limitations with early childhood Development. Through the management of her own dysfunction and seeking help from other clinicians for her personal limitations and injuries, Lisa found out about the Postural Restoration Institute through colleague Kim Keyser, PT, PRC. By listening to others dialogue about PRI within the clinic, Lisa became eager to learn the concepts that others around her were beginning to learn. This eventually led her to her first Myokinematics course in 2009 with James Anderson. She quickly began using these concepts including respiration as a neurological tool to treat tightness and other symptoms commonly addressed through stretching at the time. As Lisa continued her education with the institute she would later take a course at Advance Physical Therapy in Chapel Hill who at the time happened to be looking to add a new PT to their team. In 2014 Lisa joined Susan Henning, Jean Masse and Joe Belding at Advance Physical Therapy and began structuring her own Pediatric program. In the same year she went on to earn her PRC while becoming certified in Schroth based Scoliosis training and continues to use this method in the treatment and prevention of Pediatric Scoliosis while integrating PRI concepts. 

Lisa has always had the desire to teach others throughout her life and through the integration of PRI into her daily activities began thinking about the possibility of some day sharing this passion with others. After several years of creating and compiling numerous Pediatric PRI based Play activities and tests, in 2019 Lisa taught the first PRI Integration for Pediatrics Affiliate course under the guidance and mentorship of James Anderson. Lisa discusses the layout and incorporation of these activities within the Pediatrics course as well as the general course layout and structure, specifically highlighting categories of more involved vs. less involved activities and the overall outcome goals of specific desired sequential movement levels (DSM) that are discussed during these two days. Lisa is excited to offer this course as a live stream for the first time this November and continue to share her experience with others.