Hall of Fame honors for former South Lake Tahoe orthopaedic surgeon

Former South Lake Tahoe orthopaedic surgeon and U.S. Ski Team doctor, J. Richard Steadman, MD, will be inducted into the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine’s (AOSSM) Hall of Fame on Friday, July 10th, during the Society’s Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida. AOSSM Hall of Famers are individuals in the sports medicine community who have contributed immensely and set themselves apart from others in the field.

Dr. J. Richard Steadman was born in Sherman, Texas. He received his undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University where he played varsity football under Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. He received his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas. Following internship at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, Dr. Steadman served two years in the US Army in Germany then returned to Charity Hospital where he completed his orthopaedic residency in 1970.

Dr. Steadman began his sports medicine orthopaedics career in South Lake Tahoe, California in 1970. He became active with the US Ski Team soon thereafter, and he donated his services at what became the first ever US Olympic Training Center in Squaw Valley, California. He was the head US Alpine Ski Team Physician from 1976 to 2012 and developed the US Ski Team Sports Medicine Committee. He continues today as the Chairman of the Medical Group of the US Ski Team. He has been inducted into the United States and the Colorado Ski Halls of Fame. He was also awarded the ATT Skiing Award which is given to someone whose excellence and dedication to skiing has profoundly enriched the sport.

In 1990, he moved his practice to Vail, Colorado and became the founding and managing partner of the Steadman Clinic. He also founded the entity now known as the Steadman Philippon Research Institute and continues as the Institute’s co-chairman. Prior to his retirement from clinical practice in 2014, Dr. Steadman served as a consultant to several professional sport teams in the US and Europe.
Dr. Steadman was a proponent of early motion and physiologic loadbearing after ACL reconstruction. He has had more than 225 articles published and has made nearly 700 presentations. Dr. Steadman also developed the microfracture technique, which today is the most common treatment for chondral defects of the knee. He has developed several other surgical techniques in an effort to keep all athletes, from recreational to the most elite, active throughout their careers and their lives.

He joined AOSSM in its infancy and served as a member and then Chairman of the Program Committee. He also served on the Nominating Committee. He has also served as President of Herodicus Society. Awards Dr. Steadman has received include:

Mr. Sports Medicine (AOSSM)
Cabaud Award (AOSSM)
Aircast Clinical Research Award (AOSSM)
Richard O’Connor Award (AANA)
Lifetime Achievement Award (ICRS)
Albert Trillat Award (ISAKOS)
Clinical Biomechanics Award (ISB)
Research Award (GOTS-Beiersdorf)
Vail Valley Citizen of the Year
Spirit of Betty Ford Award
2015 Distinguished Alumnus of Texas A&M University

Dr. Steadman continues a very active life with his wife, Gay, their two children Lyon and Liddy, six grandchildren, and a third great grandchild on the way.