Melissa Cunha is a motivated, experienced physical therapist who has been practicing for over 20 years.  Melissa received her Bachelor of Science degree from Rutgers College in 1998.  She then went on to pursue a Master of Science and Physical Therapy degree at the Rutgers School of Health Related Professions.  Melissa graduated with this degree in 2001.  She then worked for three years at University Hospital, a level one trauma center, in Newark, NJ.  Melissa saw patients in the pediatric intensive care unit, the NICU, and those suffering from traumatic orthopedic injuries.  She also gained experience in wound care, amputee patient management, stroke rehabilitation, and traumatic brain injury recovery.  In the years following Melissa’s University Hospital experience, she specialized in pediatrics.  Therefore, for the past 18 years, she has worked in pediatric settings that include private practice, special needs schools, public schools, early intervention environments, and homes.  As a result, Melissa has worked with diagnoses that include developmental delay, torticollis, lip/tongue tie management, scoliosis, post surgical rehabilitation for ligament/tendon repair and fractures, post concussion intervention, developmental coordination disorder, postural instability, gait disorders, and more.   In addition, Melissa has spent a great deal of time working with young athletes to help foster the correct way to train and prevent injury.  Melissa has taken an extensive amount of continuing education classes that include utilizing yoga, pilates, therapy ball programs, NDT, kinesiotaping, and more to develop comprehensive treatment programs for her patients.

Melissa is also a runner who often participates in races that range from 5Ks to half marathons.  In her spare time, she loves spending time with her husband and two children, ages 13 and 8.  When she isn’t at work, you can find her running from activity to activity with her children who participate in club soccer, travel basketball, travel lacrosse, and dance classes.  Melissa is excited to be a part of the Pediatric Potentials family!