Research

The Stanford Sports Medicine Center (SMC) is home to leading researchers investigating novel prevention strategies, diagnosis methods, and treatment plans across an array of injuries and illnesses. Much of this work is done in collaboration with the SMC’s Human Performance Lab (HPL) staffed with clinical Biomechanists and Engineers who work collaboratively with the clinicians of the SMC. Listed below are some of the current projects being researched by our group, which have been published in a wide array of professional journals across various disciplines.

Current Projects

• ACL injury prevention strategies
• Stress fracture prevention programs
• Foot pathology pressure mapping
• Understanding running patterns between forefoot and rearfoot striking
• Concussion prevention and treatment strategies
• Sport and exercise medicine for the prevention of chronic diseases
• Return-to-Play (RTP) decision making processes
• Pre-participation examination
• Functional testing for safe RTP
• Hip biomechanics influence on athletic injuries

For the most recent publications from members of the Stanford Sports Medicine Staff, please see below and check out the publication page on the HPL website.

• Stanford Researchers Evaluate Efficacy of Prevention Program

  Stanford researchers recently investigated the effects of the F-MARC 11+ injury prevention warm-up program on changes to biomechanical risk factors for ACL injury in youth female soccer players. The team analyzed ...

• Stanford Sports Medicine Research Highlighted in PAC 12 Video

    Stanford Sports Medicine was featured recently in a PAC 12 video, highlighting the novel research and care provided to Stanford student athletes in the management of concussion. For more information about ...

• Stanford Athletic Trainer Examines Hip Flexor Influence on Lower Extremity Biomechanics

  Assistant Athletic Trainer, Matt Mills MA, ATC, PES, CKTP, was recently published in the December 2015 edition of the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy (IJSPT) as the lead author of the study ...

• Stanford Sports Medicine Researchers Evaluate Efficacy of Pre-Participation Exams

  Director of Sports Medicine Gordon Matheson, MD, PhD, Director of Athletic Training Scott Anderson, MA, ATC, and former Stanford AT Kevin Robell MA, ATC recently evaluated the utility of using ...

• Stanford Sports Medicine Researchers Examine Utility of Unstable Surfaces for ACL Injury Prevention

  The Stanford Human Performance Lab research team working on ACL injury prevention strategies, led by Jason Dragoo MD, Stanford Team Physician and Orthopedic Surgeon, have recently published the article “Unstable ...

• Stanford Researchers Help Determine Reliability of Functional Lower Extremity Evaluation

  A multi-disciplinary research team including researchers and clinicians led by Rebecca Shultz , Biomechanist from the Human Performance Lab, and Melissa Valchev, past-Director of Physical Therapy at the Sports Medicine ...

• Michael Fredericson, MD, Co-Authors Article on Management and Prevention of Stress Injuries in Runners

  Michael Fredericson, MD, Stanford team physician, was a co-author in a recent publication entitled “Management and Prevention of Bone Stress Injuries in Long-Distance Runners” in the Journal of Sports Physical ...

• Marc Safran, MD, Joins International Study Investigating Hip Motion in Tennis Players and Injury Risk

  Marc Safran, MD, Stanford Sports Medicine Team Physician and Orthopedic Surgeon, along with an international research team published a study entitled “Hip Range of Motion and Association with Injury in ...

• Mills Examines Link Between Hip Flexor Tightness and Hip Extensor Activation

  Matt Mills, MA, ATC, PES, one of the Stanford Athletic Training Fellows, had his Master’s thesis research published today in the Supplement to the Journal of Athletic Training.  The research, ...

• Gordon Matheson, MD, Joins Panel in Releasing Female Athlete Triad Coalition Consensus Statement

  Gordon Matheson MD, PhD, Director of Sports Medicine, was a member of an expert panel writing the “2014 Female Athlete Triad Coalition Consensus Statement on Treatment and Return to Play of the ...

• Stanford Group Examines Differences in ACL Biomechanics Across Lacrosse and Field Hockey

  A research team led by Rebecca Shultz , Biomechanist, and Dr. Jason Dragoo , Stanford Sports Medicine Team Physician and Orthopedic Surgeon, had the article “Differences in ACL Biomechanical Risk ...

• Jason Dragoo, MD, et al Examine PRP in Patellar Tendinopathy

  Jason Dragoo, MD, Stanford Sports Medicine Team Physician and Orthopedic surgeon, led a research team to examine the effects of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) as a treatment in patellar tendinopathy. As ...