Newswise — Mayo Clinic's medical experts offer breadth and depth about health issues and background related to the Olympic Games and Olympians. These are just some of our experts. Call us -- we'll do our best to meet your needs.
Michael Joyner, M.D., is an anesthesiologist and specialist in exercise science, with special interest in track and field. He says that athletes' performances continue to improve not necessarily because of genetics but because of training harder and longer, improved medical care and the fact that world-class athletes from more countries now participate. Dr. Joyner is an expert on the older athlete and can address relationships of environment on training. He also is an authority on doping.
Mary Oconnor, M.D., is chair of Orthopedic Surgery at Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida. She was a member of the Olympic rowing team in 1980 when the U.S. boycotted the games. Dr. Oconnor was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal for being a team member. She specializes in limb and knee repair and in women's health and can talk about any aspect of bone damage and treatment.
Aynsley Smith, Ph.D., is a sports medicine specialist who can discuss depression and its relationship to poor athletic performance and how psychological factors affect an athlete's success. She can also discuss pressures on athletes to do well -- from coaches, parents, peers and sponsors. She has significant insight on doping issues, from supplements to performance enhancing drugs. And, she is a national expert on "yips" -- the phenomenon where a person experiences a jerk or tremor in high-pressure situations causing them to fail.
Richard Berger, M.D., Ph.D., is an expert on the biomechanics and nerves of the hand and wrist, from bones and ligaments to injury and repair.
Diane Dahm, M.D., specializes in bone mineral density and the knee in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)-injured patients. She can talk about ACL reconstruction in teens and sports-related activity following knee arthroplasty and shoulder trauma.
Bart Demaerschalk, M.D., is a neurologist specializing in critical care at Mayo Clinic's Arizona campus, including traumatic brain injuries and stroke. He was a medical team member for the Canadian Olympic Track and Field Trials and is a marathon runner.
Henry Clarke, M.D., also at Mayo Clinic's Arizona campus, is an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in sports injuries that require total hip and knee joint replacement, arthroscopic surgery of the knee and ligament reconstruction of the knee.
Gerald Fletcher, M.D., is a cardiac specialist at Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida who can talk about the influence of exercise and sports on the heart, and heart problems in athletes.
Jonathan Finnoff, D.O., is an expert in strength and stability training. He can discuss rehabilitation of ankle, shoulder, knee, back and other musculoskeletal injuries.
Michael Jensen, M.D., is an endocrinologist who can discuss how the body burns energy and how the metabolic system affects weight gain or loss and body shape.
Bruce Johnson, Ph.D., is a specialist in cardiopulmonary research, specifically how the body reacts to exercise at high altitudes. He has special medical insight on the stress of competing in different geographic environments.
Nisha Charkoudian, Ph.D., is a physiologist whose expertise on the athletic body and its functions includes special knowledge of body temperature, respiration and blood pressure under extreme conditions.
Edward Laskowski, M.D., is a specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation. He can discuss stability and strength training, flexibility, exercise for fitness, sports medicine, and musculoskeletal rehabilitation.
Jay Smith, M.D., specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation and can speak about shoulder and knee injuries and biomechanics.
Michael Stuart, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon, can discuss arthroscopy, knee ligament reconstruction and partial knee replacement. He has also presented nationally on doping issues.
Gary Sieck, Ph.D., has been at the forefront of moving the field of muscle physiology beyond simple ideas about "muscle fiber type" to much more nuanced and sophisticated concepts about skeletal muscle plasticity. His concepts and data have advanced the understanding of issues ranging from muscle weakness in the elderly to the performance of elite athletes in competitive sports.
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