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Meet Us
Diedra R. Manns, PT, DPT, MS, COMT,
Cert. Pilates Rehabilitation Specialist:
 Diedra grew up in Montclair, NJ, the same town that her great-great-grandparents settled during the late1800’s. She was first exposed to sports medicine and physical therapy at Montclair High School, where she assisted the varsity football team’s athletic trainer in taping the player’s sweaty feet and ankles. Diedra began her physical therapy career at the Hospital for Joint Diseases-Orthopedic Institute (HJD) in New York City in 1997 after receiving an Associate’s degree in Physical Therapy from New York University and a Bachelor of Arts in Multidisciplinary Studies with a minor in Dance in from S.U.N.Y @ Stonybrook. While employed at HJD she assisted in the management and treatment of clients entering the world renowned Harkness Center for Dance Medicine and Science. This is where she was first exposed to the Pilates Method and she has since completed her Pilates training through Polestar® Pilates, receiving a Rehabilitation Certification.
Diedra left the northeast and moved to Washington, DC where she was employed at The National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) in their stroke recovery and traumatic brain injury unit. As one of the nation’s leading rehabilitation and research centers, NRH was one of the first hospitals to utilize robotic assisted ambulatory devices for spinal cord/stroke recovery patients.
While in DC, Diedra continued her education receiving her Master’s of Science and ultimately her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Marymount University in Arlington, VA. During her clinical education she interned at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center at the inception of the Iraq war and was able to rehabilitate some of the nation’s finest men and women utilizing state of the art computerized prosthetic limbs. She then returned to orthopedics, sports and dance medicine, where she has practiced ever since. In addition, Diedra has successfully completed post graduate courses in manual therapy and is proudly a Maitland Certified Orthopedic Manual Therapist (COMT).
Since entering the physical therapy profession in 1997, Diedra has taught at New York University and Marymount University. She has developed and successfully presented post graduate continuing education courses in biomechanics and neuromuscular re-education utilizing the Pilates Method to the Physical Therapy community and has been a member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) since 1997. Activities that help balance her life include spending time with family, Pilates, meditation, in-line skating, rock climbing, travel, dance, hiking, cooking and you may occasionally find her on a surf board or in a Yoga studio.
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