Sports Medicine on Tap

We are going to release a slew of excellent episodes over the next few weeks, all of which, were recorded at the NATA annual meeting 2026, held in Philadelphia. We will likely be posting two episodes per week, and this one serves as both an overview and wrap up of what is on the horizon!

Welcome back to Sports Medicine on Tap! Grab a drink and pull up a chair as Dr. Brandon Olaya, DAT, ATC, along with Dr. Steven Frey and Dr. Nick Bertha, break down the biggest injury headlines across professional sports this week. On this episode: • Adolis García (Philadelphia Phillies): We dive into the biomechanics of his season-ending latissimus dorsi repair surgery. Why does the late-cocking p...

We welcome back Dr. Marc Harwood as we discuss some of the misrepresentations of information on social media. We discuss some of the potential benefits as well as some of the very real concerns and why the way information framed on social media, regarding medicine and recovery, can not always be trusted.

episode 150 - Misinformation on social media by Steven Frey

We welcome back a Virtua Medical Group physician who also serves as the team doc for the Philadelphia Union, Dr. David Webner, to discuss the surprising passing of NASCAR racing legend, Kyle Busch. By report, Busch died from sepsis resulting from pneumonia. How common is this in otherwise healthy, young athletes? We discuss what may have happened and what may have been some contributing factors re...

Episode 148: Bladder Cancer Awareness: Why "Invincible" Athletes Aren't Immune by Steven Frey

Another great show with Nick Bertha, MD! We cover a wide range of topics including the newest relevant injuries, as well as, follow up on some older ones. Dr. Bertha floats some really interesting new ideas regarding the management of ACL injury, at risk knees! Additionally, we offer new insight to some possible major changes to sports medicine which are on the horizon! Plus a variety of relevant...

We welcome back our new regular, Nicholas Bertha, MD! We discuss some of the most impactful players in baseball, who are yet to see the field in 2026. Topics include thoracic outlet syndrome (Zack Wheeler), UCL recovery (Gerrit Cole, Joe Musgrove) as well as some guys who already need some early season recovery - hip injury (Justin Verlander) in addition to a variety of other injuries!

After a short hiatus, we welcome back Joanne bullard, a sports psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Health in the Health and Exercise Science Department at Rowan University. We previously discussed Lindsey Vonn but from the orthopeadic point of view. Today we delve into the psychology aspect of her injury and recovery. We also topic about the essay Lauren Betts, the UCLA basket ball player...

Two time NBA All-Star, recently acquired by the Utah Jazz, will miss the remainder of this season due to surgery on his knee to treat Pigmented Villonodular Synovitis (say what?!?....come again?). In addition to doing another Olympic update, we explain what PVNS is and if it will be a problem for Jaren Jackson Jr. Does he really need to miss the rest of this season? Are there other factors at play...

The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina have delivered one of the most polarizing and inspiring medical storylines in sports history. This week, we are breaking down the "impossible" comeback attempt of Lindsey Vonn. In this episode: The "Zero-Percent ACL" Decision: We analyze how Vonn was cleared to race an Olympic downhill just nine days after a complete ACL rupture in Switzerland. The Biomec...

Who better to sit down with, to talk about the upcoming super bowl, than a former Super bowl champion!! We have a great show with Gino Gradkowski, who is a former NFL center and was part of the Baltimore Ravens 2012 Super Bowl championship team! We delve into his seven year NFL career and what it was like winning the Super Bowl. We discuss the lead up to the big game and also what it is like to tr...

We welcome one of our new sports medicine surgeons, Dr. Nicholas Bertha. We cover the final 8 teams for a round up on playoff relevant injuries!

We welcome urologist, Dr. Jayram Krishnan, to our show to discuss the important topic of testicular cancer. Hear the amazing story of Denver Bronco linebacker, Alex Singleton. Learn how he was diagnosed and the importance of awareness and self exams within the young, athletic population, those whom are most at risk. How did he only miss one game!?! We also touch on TJ Watt and what to expect from...

Herbert, Danny Dimes, Rodgers and more! How are three NFL quaterbacks playing with fractures? The common thread of this most recent episode is how are three hockey players, I mean, NFL quarterbacks currently playing despite breaking bones? We reveal how and why, in addition to toughness, these critical players are able to minimize down time, despite breaking bones!

In this episode, we were honored to welcome the 16th President of the National Athletic Trainers' Association, A.J. Duffy, III, MS, ATC, PT BIO. Duffy has an incredibly accomplished career including 34 years as head athletic trainer and physical therapist for Widener University. His accolades are too many to list! Through Duffy's career we gain insight into the evolution of the profession, career...

There were a few high profile injuries in the NFL the last few weeks! We discuss some of these types of injuries, highlighted by the Jayden Daniels elbow dislocation and the Travis Hunter LCL tear. Despite how gruesome the elbow dislocation was to watch, will it be devastating for his career? When will he be back and will get back to playing at the same level? We covered these topics along with th...

Slightly delayed, but this a very interesting episode on open ankle fracture dislocations like the gruesome injury sustained by Cam Skattebo on a nationally televised game. We talk about some of the concerns associated with an open fractures and the standard treatment options. We compare this injury to other similar injuries and try to predict the career impact this injury will have on this hard c...

As the NBA gets rolling, we do another injury roundup. The story for Embiid this time is NOT being on the injury report! How long will that last? We also review most of the major injuries from last year and the impact to expect for this season.

We compare and contrast three different knee injuries, ACL, PCL and multi-ligament knee injuries commonly the result of a knee dislocation. The spring board for this conversation being the gruesome injury sustained by Tyreek Hill on national television on Monday Night Football. Those injuries are not just difficult to watch, they can be devastating. They are not uncommonly associated with nerve in...

With so many foot and ankle injuries to high profile players, we needed to bring Dr. Matthew Brant back onto the show to give us some insight regarding the timing and expectations for return. Why does Joe Burrow need surgery on his turf toe injury, while Brock Purdy did not? What might the "foot" injury to James Conner actually be, and did his career just end? Lastly, who doesn't have a high ankle...

To follow up our in depth preseason review, we have our first injury recap. We cover multiple injuries and expected time missed with each of these. We even dip our toe back into MLB, with Trea Turner and hamstring injuries.

If you have a draft on the horizon, you want to listen to this episode! Get an idea of what to expect about many key player injuries, past and present, plus learn how that ripple effect will impact other players you should be targeting! This should guide you to some later round steals, and hopefully a championship!

We revisit a common topic from a new angle, why do some athletes miss a whole year from a torn meniscus, like J.J. McCarthy, while others expect to miss just a few weeks? We discuss some of the reports on Landon Dickerson. There are some ominous concerns regarding his history, but should we expect a long recovery?

After a lengthy layoff, we are back to review some impactful injuries for this upcoming football season. This is the show before the show, part 1 of discussing some critical pre draft injuries.