In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Diane Dahm, MD, orthopedic surgeon and caretaker for the Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Timberwolves, discussed her unusual role as a female team physician.
Here are five highlights:
1. Dr. Dahm has published numerous research papers in medical journals that have advanced the field of sports medicine.
2. While Dr. Dahm is the only female head orthopedic surgeon in the NBA, there are other female primary care physicians:
- Lisa Callahan, MD, for the New York Knicks
- Kathleen Weber, MD, for the Chicago Bulls
- Leigh Ann Curl, MD, for the Baltimore Ravens
A former physician was Robin West, MD, who was the team physician for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
3. Dr. Dahm said that Title IX has led to more girls participating in sports, and many orthopedic and sports medicine physicians are former athletes.
4. On the horizon, Dr. Dahm sees individualized treatment based on patient-specific factors, use of virtual reality in rehabilitation of injuries to mimic game and practice situations and use of athlete-specific data to monitor workload and fatigue and hopefully prevent injury.
5. Dr. Dahm believes the biggest surprise is not how uneventful being a woman in her field actually is, but when a woman is named head coach of a high profile men's team.