Carlo Guadagno, DC, DACBSP®, ICSC, FICC
Associate Professor, Clinical Sciences, NUHS – Florida
Dr. Carlo Guadagno teaches sports medicine, physiotherapy, evaluation and management of the extremities, and diversified technique at National University’s Florida site, and brings special insight and opportunities to Doctor of Chiropractic students interested in sports medicine. He is a Diplomate of the American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians (DACBSP®), and a Fellow of the International College of Chiropractors (FICC). He also holds an International Certification of Sports Chiropractic (ICSC).
Dr. Guadagno has treated various types of athletes, including those competing in U.S.A. track and field, Pro Beach volleyball and D1 College Football. He’s also treated athletes at Olympic training centers and at several International Olympic Committee events such as the 20th and 22nd Central American Games in Cartagena, Colombia, and Veracruz, Mexico, as well as the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Fulfilling a career-long dream, Dr. Guadagno was chosen to be part of an international team of 16 DCs in the Olympic Village Polyclinic at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero.
For this work and his other achievements, the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) Sports Council named him 2016 Sports Chiropractor of the Year. In 2011, the Florida Chiropractic Association (FCA) Sports Injuries Council also named him Sports Chiropractor of the Year.
As an active member of American Chiropractic Association (ACA), he serves as a delegate for Florida. He is a past president of the FCA Council on Sports Injuries, Rehabilitation and Physical Fitness and on the board of directors of the ACA Sports Injury Council.
Dr.Guadagno with Team USA Bobsledders
Originally from Rhode Island, Dr. Guadagno has lived in Miami since 1976. He has also lived in Colombia, Venezuela and Italy. With an international background and extensive resume in sports chiropractic, he brings NUHS students not only hands-on sports medicine training, but insight as to how to find sports medicine experience opportunities both locally and internationally.
His advice to DC students interested in chiropractic sports medicine is, “Get some post-graduate training, starting with a CCSP (Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician), so when you see that athlete with a sports condition you’ll know how to treat it. Also, there’s a lot of emergency medicine involved in sports, and you’ll be working alongside professionals from other specialties,” he says. “That’s why training in primary care is important, as well as feeling comfortable in an integrative medicine environment. Our students at National University have these strengths going for them.”
Entrance to Olympic Training Center
“Once you have your tools, you want to be involved and affiliated with a variety of different groups. You start by taking baby steps. Everybody wants to shoot for the top right off the bat, but what’s actually going to help you in practice is starting from the little leagues and the clubs, working your way up to the high schools in your community. These organizations are very understaffed, and if you provide some volunteer work, you’re going to get your name out there. Hopefully, that can turn into a professional sports medicine position at some point. I was involved and volunteered endlessly. But all those years of volunteering and networking opened doors for me.”