About Sue Falsone

Early Career

Upon leaving Chapel Hill, Sue moved to Arizona, and eventually began the physical therapy division at Athletes’ Performance (now known as EXOS), and last served as the Vice President of Performance Physical Therapy and Team Sport. During her 13-year tenure with Athletes’ Performance, she worked with athletes from Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Hockey League (NHL), Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), United States Men’s National Soccer Team (USMNT), Professional Golfer’s Association (PGA), the  National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA, Division I, II and III), as well as international athletes. Sue  consulted with multiple organizations  on how to integrate their rehabilitation and performance teams, traveling the country and world to do so. She helped open multiple world-class performance facilities across the country, and worked with the entire Athlete’s Performance staff to develop the concept of “performance coaching” and “performance physical therapy”.

The Los Angeles Dodgers – Breaking Glass Ceilings

During her time with Athletes’ Performance, Sue worked with the Los Angeles Dodgers in varying capacities over the course of six years.  In 2012, Sue officially joined the Los Angeles Dodgers, serving as head athletic trainer and physical therapist for the team.  Sue was the first female head athletic trainer in any of the four major professional sports (MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA) in the United States! ESPN commentator Curt Schilling, a prior patient of Sue’s, stated “I can’t imagine anyone more equipped to get that position, both from an intelligence perspective and the makeup of her personality… She was destined for this.” Falsone’s philosophy as head trainer includes a heavy emphasis on prevention, what she calls “prehab”, rather than solely providing treatment.^[3][14] 

While with the Dodgers, Sue instituted a shift in player care – to manage injuries and reduce their frequency, the medical staff evaluated injuries collectively, including the senior director of medical services, two assistant athletic trainers, a strength and conditioning coach, a massage therapist, and team doctors.  Sue describes this change saying, “Each of us brings something unique to the table.  We get different perspectives on the way we evaluate players, the way we look at their movement, things that can prevent injury and how we manage those things proactively.”  Sue also worked to develop individual training programs so that each player could maximize his ability over the season. 

After the 2013 baseball season, Sue left the Dodgers, and in 2014 she served as Head of Athletic Training and Sport Performance with the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team.  Her position with the USMNT was unique, as the players would come from their club team to play for the national team at specific times, and their training and medical care had to be carefully managed. 

Founding Structure & Function Education

In 2016, Sue had the pleasure of beginning her own education business known as Structure & Function Education. Structure & Function Education was founded with a rebellious spirit and lofty objective: to change the way medicine and sport performance interacts with each other throughout the world, for the betterment of our patients and clients.  What started off as a dry needling education company has turned into a much broader endeavor, educating health care and performance professionals on anatomy, dry needling, manual therapy and all topics related to Bridging the Gap from Rehab to Performance.  Structure & Function Education provides world class education services to healthcare and sport performance professionals, so they in turn can elevate the lives of their patients. Sue and her team of instructors combine the latest research and their clinical expertise to help create best practices in healthcare and sport performance.  

Teaching & Concierge Professional Athlete Care

In addition to starting her own education company, Sue continued to follow her passion for education by joining the faculty at A.T. Still University in 2016 as an Associate Professor in Athletic Training.  While at A.T. Still University, Sue taught hands on courses within the Master of Science Athletic Training degree program, and continues to teach courses in orthopedic rehabilitation and sport performance within the Master of Science and Doctor of Athletic Training programs. Sue also served as a clinician scientist within ATSU-ASHS’s Athletic Training Practice-Based Research Network.   While teaching at A.T. Still University, Sue continued to work individually with professional athletes as part of her boutique treatment practice, including working and traveling with a team from the National Basketball Association while treating one of their players.   

Bridging the Gap from Rehab to Performance

Also in 2018, Sue released her book entitled Bridging the Gap from Rehab to Performance, which has become the textbook to the topic amongst university students and professional health care providers.  In the book, Sue walks the reader through the thought process and physical practice of guiding an injured athlete from injury through rehab and back to the field of play. In writing the book, Sue’s goal was to walk both health care professionals and strength and conditioning experts alike down the path her athletes take as they move through pain and healing toward optimal function and advanced performance.

The Houston Texans

In 2022, Sue became the Director of Movement and Return to Performance for the National Football League’s Houston Texans, for the 2022-2023, and 2023-2024 seasons.  The Houston Texans were the only team in the NFL that has a Return to Performance department, and the goal was to take care of players who are missing playing time. Under Sue’s guidance, the Return to Performance team worked with players who were injured and were working to get back to the sport – creating a holistic recovery program that included the full staff from nutrition, to strength and conditioning coaches, to position coaches.

Los Angles Dodgers (2025)

Currently serving as a Senior Advisor for Medical and Performance within a professional baseball organization, focusing on the Return to Performance process. In this role, Sue collaborates closely with athletic trainers, strength and conditioning staff, physicians, and coaches to ensure that injured athletes transition safely and efficiently back to peak competition readiness. Her work integrates evidence-based rehabilitation strategies, performance analytics, and individualized athlete care to optimize both short-term recovery and long-term durability. Sue also provides strategic oversight on injury prevention programs and help shape the organization’s holistic approach to player health, performance, and longevity.