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Dr. J. Richard Steadman, (June 4, 1937 – January 20, 2023) the renowned innovator and mentor in the field of orthopaedic sports medicine, was internationally known for the development of several advanced surgical procedures for the knee. These include “microfracture” and the ‘“healing response,” which harnesses the body’s own healing potential. Dr. Steadman, who was also the founder and co-chair of Steadman Philippon Research Institute (SPRI), a global leader in orthopaedic research and education, retired from active practice in 2014. He passed away peacefully at his Vail, Colorado home in January 2023.

Dr. Steadman treated countless Olympians and professional athletes across various sports and was sought out by some of the world’s best-known athletes and public figures for treatment. His ability to return high-level athletes with injuries to medal-winning victories and championships following surgery and rehab made him an iconic figure in sports medicine. Dr. Steadman’s success in helping elite athletes who had suffered potentially career-ending injuries return to major athletic achievements included professional soccer players, NFL athletes, MLB players, NBA athletes and skiers.

Dr. Steadman’s direct involvement in providing care for elite athletes got its start with his association with the United States Olympic ski teams in the 1970s. He served as the team physician for the U.S. Alpine Ski Team for nine consecutive Winter Olympics, beginning in Innsbruck, Austria, in 1976.

In 1982, the complexity of the knee and its critical importance to athletic performance persuaded Dr. Steadman to focus nearly exclusively on disorders and injuries to that joint. Between 1989 and 1991, he worked to develop a treatment for a specific type of injury to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which came to be known as the “healing response.”

Dr. Steadman was a pioneer in physical therapy and post-operative rehabilitation. Though unconventional at the time, he believed it was better to move an injured joint post-surgery rather than stabilizing it with a traditional plaster cast. His bold idea changed the way orthopaedic surgeons and physical therapy professionals treat injuries around the world.

It is estimated that Dr. Steadman’s microfracture surgical procedure has been used to treat more than 500,000 patients per year worldwide. Moreover, the technique has been adapted to treat other joints such as the shoulder, hip and ankle. The use of the microfracture procedure has allowed countless athletes of all levels to stay competitive in their sports, and its benefits can delay or even eliminate the need for more invasive procedures such as joint replacement surgery.

John Richard Steadman was born in Sherman, Texas, on June 4, 1937. He graduated from Texas A&M University, where he played football for legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant during his freshman and sophomore years.

In 1963, he earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. Following his internship at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, Dr. Steadman and his family spent two years in Germany, where he served in the U.S. Army. He returned to Charity Hospital for his orthopaedics residency, which he completed in 1970. At that time, he and his family moved to South Lake Tahoe, Calif., where he joined Dr. Paul Fry’s general orthopaedics practice.

Between 1971 and 1973, Dr. Steadman was asked by the U.S. Ski Team to join its doctors pool, which covered races in the U.S. and Canada. Subsequently, he was asked to travel to South America and Europe to provide medical coverage for the team, and in 1976, he was named chief physician for the U.S. Ski Team. In the late 1970s, he donated his services at what became the first U.S. Olympic training center in Squaw Valley, Calif., now known as Palisades Tahoe, Calif.

Dr. Steadman created his nonprofit Steadman Sports Medicine Research Foundation in 1988 in Lake Tahoe. That organization exists today as Steadman Philippon Research Institute (SPRI), which is known worldwide for its clinical research database and study of orthopaedic injuries. For more than three decades, SPRI has been collecting clinical data and tracking clinic patients and their treatment outcomes. It is perhaps the largest orthopaedic research database in the world that focuses on patient outcomes and the dissemination of data that promotes the practice of evidence-based medicine.

In 1990, Steadman moved to Vail to open The Steadman Clinic and broaden the scope of his orthopaedic research work.

The Steadman Clinic has thrived in Vail and has grown to become one of the world’s most respected and influential orthopaedic organizations. Combined with the research expertise of SPRI, the clinic will keep the Steadman name at the forefront of sports medicine and groundbreaking research for years to come.