Staff

Joe Verna, DC is the President and Board of Directors member for The Vert Mooney Research Foundation (dba U.S. Spine & Sport Foundation). Dr. Verna is also the Chief Compliance Officer for MDRS Spine & Sport, Inc., a licensed Doctor of Chiropractic, Qualified Medical Evaluator, Certified Industrial Injury Evaluator and Independent Medical Examiner for the State of California. He is an expert in the fields of chiropractic and spinal rehabilitation. His professional experience has included consulting in the fields of industrial medicine, functional capacity assessments, spinal rehabilitation, injury prevention and risk management. He is an internationally published author on numerous healthcare research topics related to lower back pain, injury prevention, functional capacity and objective measurements. He has received and participated in various grants including NIH and FEMA. Some projects include a request for proposal (RFP) for the San Diego Wellness and Fitness Initiative (WFI) and assessment of the reduction of lower back pain in firefighters at USF and Tampa Fire Rescue (2011-12). He has patents and trademarks including BackStrong exercise equipment and published lumbar protocols and has wellness and injury prevention expertise in law enforcement as well as with the fire department, and has consulted for many university research studies at UCSD, USF and in the private sector, Apple, in Cupertino. He is a speaker and educational instructor for courses such as Functional Capacity Evaluations, Work Conditioning, and Spinal Rehabilitation. Future areas of interest will focus on outcome measures, spine care, concussion rehabilitation, and telemedicine. He is passionate about education, evidence based medicine, active care rehabilitation, and conducting ongoing research. He is married with two children living in San Diego and has a 3rd degree black belt in MMA.

Email: joev@spineandsport.com

Charity L. Lane, Ph.D., CPT, FNS, GFI, is the Director of Program Development and Board of Directors member for The Vert Mooney Research Foundation (dba U.S. Spine & Sport Foundation). Dr. Lane obtained a Doctorate in Health and Human Performance from Concordia University, Chicago and holds a Master of Science degree in Exercise and Nutrition from the University of Tampa, and a Master of Arts degree in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Lane has been a fitness focused professional since 1999 and is a Certified Personal Trainer (CPT), Fitness Nutrition Specialist (FNS), and Group Fitness Instructor (GFI). She has spearheaded innovative injury prevention initiatives for application in various high risk and tactical athlete populations including the DoD, Fire Service, and the general population. She recently served as Co-Principal Investigator on a hybrid based, 36 month, and FEMA-funded behavioral change initiative in Southern California firefighters and has previously served as Project Leader and Manager on other FEMA and externally funded innovative initiatives focused on injury and risk prevention. She has also been instrumental in developing interprofessional teams that have cultivated and implemented highly innovative, real world, and evidence based treatment applications. Her expertise includes lifecycle project management, program development, educational, implementation and research initiatives and establishment of innovative projects working with tactical athletes, first responders, targeted civilian populations, professional athletes, and fitness competitors. Her areas of focus include injury prevention, pain and inflammation management, nutrition and supplementation education, obesity and stress management, and energy enhancement. Dr. Lane enjoys presenting to, and mentoring, Chiropractic and other clinical and health focused students on various topics. She is also an IFBB Pro.

Charity Lane’s CV / Resume (click here)

Phone: (813) 503-7109
Email: CharityLane@usssf.com

Dr. Leonard Matheson is a psychologist who is a pioneer in the field of occupational rehabilitation. He is the originator of work hardening and has participated in setting national standards of practice. He designed many of the tests and treatment models that are in use in this field. His tests have been translated into more than two dozen languages. Among more than 50 peer-reviewed scientific papers and 100 invited papers and chapters in textbooks are the chapters on functional capacity evaluation in the American Medical Association’s Disability Evaluation handbook. He has testified before the United States House of Representatives in Washington, DC. He currently serves as an associate editor of the Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation and is on the editorial board of Work. He retired after fifteen years as an Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy and Neurology at the Washington University School of Medicine. He maintains an active consulting and counseling practice working with people who have physical, neurological and psychological disabilities, with businesses on employee selection, and with executives and professionals on career optimization.

Mr. Legget has over 12 years experience in the field of orthopedics and rehabilitation. Most notably, he developed and operated the OrthoMed Spine & Joint Conditioning, and WellStrong Centers, for the Department of Orthopaedics at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He also managed the Orthopedic Outpatient Practice at UCSD. After his experience at UCSD, Mr. Leggett served in a development role for USOrthopedics, at that time a start up company specializing in the development of orthopedic surgical centers. He is presently the Regional Director for USOrthopedics, now a wholly owned subsidiary of National Surgical Hospitals, Inc., and the Executive Director for C.O.A.S.T. Surgery Center in San Diego and the Orthopaedic Surgery Center of La Jolla. Here, Mr. Leggett has played a leadership role in creating and managing comprehensive treatment programs for musculoskeletal problems utilizing multidisciplinary teams. Mr. Leggett earned his Masters of Science in Exercise Physiology from the University of Florida (UF) in 1987. After graduation, he joined the faculty of the College of Medicine at UF, serving as Research Coordinator at the Center for Exercise Science. Mr. Leggett’s areas of clinical and research expertise include muscle physiology, the aging process, the role of exercise in the treatment of low back pain, neck pain and other soft tissue injuries, and outcomes research. He has worked with top collegiate and professional athletes to design rehabilitation, strength, and conditioning programs. He has co-authored over 80 articles and abstracts in peer reviewed journals and has traveled extensively as a lecturer in the area of musculoskeletal rehabilitation and wellness. Mr. Leggett is actively involved in the community of San Diego. He serves on the local Board for the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Foundation as well an active member of the La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary.

Dr. Dreisinger received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Fairmont State College, his Master of Science degree from University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, and his Doctoral degree in exercise physiology from the University of Missouri. Currently, Dr. Dreisinger is managing partner for Progressive Spine Care & Rehabilitation in Columbia. From 1987 to 1997, he was research director for the Columbia Spine Center, an affiliate of the Columbia Orthopaedic Group. From 1996 through 2000, he was Vice President for Cumulative Trauma Injury Prevention of Prevention First, Inc. a consulting firm dedicated to the reduction of upper extremity cumulative trauma incidents and low back injuries in industry with clients like United Airlines and Tyson Foods. Dr. Dreisinger’s background spans 28 years of clinical experiences in rehabilitation, orthopedics and physical medicine. He has taught at the university level, presented a number of scientific papers, and published articles in numerous biomedical journals including Spine, Orthopedics, Journal of Rheumatology, Sports Medicine, Paraplegia, and the Journal of Cardiac Rehabilitation. Dr. Dreisinger is a fellow in the North American Spine Society, the American Back Society, and the American College of Sports Medicine. He sits on the Non-Operative Committee for the North American Spine Society, the Practice Board for Clinical exercise Physiology of the American College of Sports Medicine and is past chairman of the Board of Directors of the McKenzie Institute, USA an organization whose mission is the non-operative management of individuals with back pain.