Meet the Sports Doc expert panel

To provide you with the timely, credible, in-depth resource you need to keep competing in whatever your activity of choice, we have been growing our panel of bloggers to include sports medicine experts from around the Philadelphia region. Here is a quick look at our regular contributors, beginning with the editor. Stayed tuned for even more.

Dr. J. Ryan Bair is the founder and owner of FLASH Sports Physical Therapy and Performance Center, LLC. He is Board Certified in Sports Physical Therapy and specializes in the treatment and prevention of running-related injuries. A former NCAA Division 1 cross country and track athlete at Saint Francis University, Dr. Bair actively competes in trail, road, cross country, and mountain races.

Dr. Bair has helped athletes of all ages and abilities successfully return to sport following injury as well as improve their sports performance since opening FLASH PT in February 2012. In May 2014, he launched FLASH PT's "Coaching with Dr. Ryan & Olympian Brian Sell" to help runners prepare for races of all distances.

Julia Bulatova-Mayberry, M.D. specializes in hand and upper extremity surgery, as well as microvascular surgery at Main Line Hand Surgery P.C., Lankenau Medical Center and Riddle Memorial Hospital.

Brian currently works as a physical therapist and athletic trainer, focusing on Sports Medicine injuries with Good Shepard Penn Partners at Penn Therapy and Fitness in Radnor, PA. He is also a partner with Symetrix Sports Performance where he specializes in injury prevention. His experience includes 12 years with the Philadelphia Phillies where he was the Rehabilitation and Minor League Athletic Training Coordinator. Brian rehabilitated the Phillies major and minor league players in Clearwater, FL and oversaw all minor league players' medical care. Brian's multi-discipline training has given him a passion for assessing and correcting movement dysfunction in all of his patients. He also specializes in rehabilitation of baseball and overhead athletes as well as shoulder injuries.

Brian is a certified athletic trainer (ATC), a licensed physical therapist (PT), a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS), and a Corrective Exercise Specialist (NASM-CES). He has a Doctorate degree in Physical Therapy from Neumann University. He received his B.S. from West Chester University and his Masters from Temple University, both in Athletic Training. Brian is currently working towards certification from the Postural Restoration Institute. He presents frequently on sports medicine, movement dysfunction, and baseball/ throwing injuries.

Dr. Caucci is a senior Physical Therapist and co-owner of Conshohocken Physical Therapy. In 2002, she earned her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Arcadia University.  She holds a rare distinction of being a Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist.

With a desire to promote physical therapy, health and wellness to all people, Desirea was the driving force behind the creation of an injury prevention iPad application called "Motion Doctor." The app was designed for consumers who are currently healthy and not experiencing physical pain. It serves as a reference of exercises categorized by body part, activity, sport and occupation that will help maintain a healthy and pain free body.

Dr. Caucci is an active member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), PPS, IPTA, BPW, and GCMPA.

Michael G. Ciccotti, M.D., director of the Sports Medicine Team at the Rothman Institute, is internationally recognized for his work in sports medicine. He is a Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery , Chief of Sports Medicine, and Director of the Sports Medicine Fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University. He serves as Head Team Physician for the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Joseph's University.

He is board certified in Orthopaedic Surgery and has served on the Board of Directors for the major Sports Medicine Societies in the world. He has authored numerous articles, research, and textbooks and has lectured extensively nationally and internationally on sports medicine. He has been consistently recognized as one of the "Top Sports Doctors" regionally and nationally.

Julie Coté, PT, MPT, OCS, COMT, is a physical therapist advanced clinician at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital's Riverfront Outpatient Center where she has been employed for more than 11 years. Julie graduated with her master's degree in physical therapy from the University of Scranton in 1998.

She became a board certified Orthopedic Certified Specialist in 2008 and a Certified Orthopedic Manual Therapist through the Maitland Australian Physiotherapy Associates in 2007. Julie treats a diverse caseload of patients with both orthopedic and neurological diagnoses. She enjoys utilizing manual therapy to enhance patient treatment outcomes as well as mentoring new physical therapists. She loves being a physical therapist as there are always new things to learn and new patients to inspire her.

Peter F. DeLuca, M.D. is an accomplished orthopaedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist at the Rothman Institute. He is the Head Team Physician for the Philadelphia Eagles and Head Orthopaedic Surgeon for the Philadelphia Flyers. He has dedicated his career to treating athletes of all ages.

His expertise is in ACL reconstruction, shoulder labral repair and other advanced arthroscopic procedures of the shoulder and knee. Dr. DeLuca has served in the past as team physician for the Philadelphia Phantoms, Camden Riversharks, Philadelphia Kixx and Philadelphia Rage. He was selected to serve as Head Team Physician for the NFC in the Pro Bowl in 2003, 2004 and 2009 and recently led an Eagles medical staff that received an award for the Best Medical Staff in the NFL for 2010.

Dr. Joel Fish is the Director of The Center For Sport Psychology in Philadelphia and a nationally recognized expert in sport psychology who has worked in the field for the past twenty years. He has worked extensively with athletes of all ages and skills levels, from youth sport through the Olympic and professional ranks. Dr. Fish has been a sport psychology consultant for the Philadelphia Flyers, Philadelphia 76ers, the Philadelphia Phillies Organization, and the Philadelphia Charge. He has spoken nationwide on sport psychology at over 200 universities and is a popular presenter at a variety of athletic functions. He is also the author of 101 Ways to Be A Terrific Sports Parent.

R. Robert Franks, D.O., specializes in medical orthopaedics, sports medicine and concussion management at the Rothman Institute. Dr. Franks is board certified in Family Medicine and Sports Medicine by the American Board of Osteopathic Family Physicians. He is a Volunteer Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at UMDNJ-SOM.

Dr. Franks is one of the regions leaders in sports medicine related concussion management and was an author on the Team Physician's Consensus Statement on Concussion. He is an active member of several sports medicine societies, including serving on the Executive Committee of AOASM. Dr. Franks currently serves as team physician for USA wrestling and a number of area high schools and consults for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Ashley is an American Council on Exercise (ACE) Certified Personal Trainer. She graduated from Rutgers University with a B.A. in History and Journalism. During her time at Rutgers, she interned for NBC 10, in their Sports Department and for the Philadelphia Flyers. Ashley trains her clients at Philadelphia's premier fitness facility, The Sporting Club at The Bellevue. In addition, Ashley is the top fitness expert for the Rittenhouse Women's Wellness Center, where she works closely with physicians to create medically based weight-loss programs.

Eugene Hong, M.D., is the associate chief of the Division of Sports Medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine and holds the Hamot and Sturgis Endowed Chair of the Department of Family, Community & Preventive Medicine. He also serves as the associate dean for primary care and community health. Dr. Hong is board certified in family medicine and sports medicine. He serves as head team physician for Drexel University and Philadelphia University; is a team physician at Saint Joseph's University; and serves as team physician for the US. Lacrosse.  Dr. Hong specializes in concussion management and is currently funded by the NIH and Department of Defense in concussion-related research projects. He sees patients at Drexel Sports Medicine in Manayunk.

Marty is an advanced clinician at Penn Therapy and Fitness, Good Shepherd Penn Partners at Penn-Presbyterian Medical Center. He graduated from Arcadia University (formerly Beaver College) in 1984 and obtained his DPT in 2005 from Temple University.  He previously directed the physical therapy practice at University of Pennsylvania Sports Medicine Center. He is a member of the University of Pennsylvania Shoulder and Elbow Service. Marty serves as adjunct faculty for Arcadia University.  Marty has published over 30 articles or book chapters in multiple peer reviewed journals and texts, respectively. He is the past-president of the American Society of Shoulder and Elbow Therapists.  He is also the co-editor of a textbook called Orthopedic Therapy of the Shoulder.

Brian Maher is the owner of Philly Personal Training, a Philadelphia-based studio offering 1-on-1 personal training, physical therapy, and nutrition counseling. Philly Personal Training is the only personal training studio or gym in Philadelphia that requires its personal trainers to possess a college degree in an exercise-related field, as opposed to a basic certification.a

Gavin McKay is the Creator and President of Unite Fitness, a Philadelphia-based fitness studio franchise offering its trademark group training, The UNITE Workout, as well as personal coaching and nutrition programs. McKay will be blogging along with his two busniess partners: Jessie Frank, Fitness Director and Juliet Burgh, Nutrition Director. Studios are located in Philadelphia and Mt. Laurel, NJ with new studios in the works and regional franchise territories available.

Dr. Moore is the owner of Total Performance Physical Therapy in North Wales. Dr. Moore is a doctorate level, nationally recognized physical therapist that has spent her career in outpatient orthopedics. She has worked with athletes of all abilities and most notably spent time working on the PGA and LPGA Tours as a physical therapist. Dr. Moore has lectured all over the country on various aspects of physical therapy and rehabilitation as well as fitness training. She has published peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed journal articles as well as contributed to writing the Orthopedic Physical Therapy textbook, which is widely used in most physical therapy programs.

Rob Senior has covered sports medicine, physical rehabilitation and various aspects of fitness for a variety of publications.

He also enjoys following college and professional sports, and coaches his children's youth teams. Rob resides in Limerick, Pa. with his wife Maria and their children.

Justin has 18 years of experience as a physical therapist and athletic trainer.  He has worked with athletes of all levels including the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, MLS, WPS, MLL, ATP, and WTA.  Justin is an assistant athletic trainer for the US Men's National Soccer Team.  He was a member of the US Men's National Soccer Team medical staff for the 2010 World Cup. He was previously the physical therapist for the athletic departments at St Joseph's University, Temple University, and Villanova University.  Justin was also previously the team physical therapist for the Philadelphia Charge of the WUSA and the Philadelphia Kixx of the NPSL.  Besides soccer, he has extensive experience in treating professional athletes from other sports including baseball, basketball, football, hockey and tennis.  His clients include World Cup finalists, Grand Slam tennis champions, and Olympic medalists. Justin's current clinical practice is at Aria 3B Orthopaedic Institute.

Thomas Trojian, MD is a professor and chief of the Division of Sports Medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine, where he also directs the sports medicine fellowship. He is board certified in sports medicine and family medicine, with a special interest in injury prevention (especially anterior cruciate ligament injuries), sports ultrasound use in the guided treatment of injuries, and concussion prevention. Dr. Trojian is the lead physician for Drexel Athletics and has spent many years caring for athletes and providing athletic team coverage for numerous sports ranging from the high school to professional levels. He sees patients at Drexel Medicine locations in Manayunk and University City.

Robyn graduated from Towson University with a B.S. in Exercise Science and Physiology. She is an American Council on Exercise (ACE) certified Personal Trainer and Nutrition Specialist with over 8 years of experience in the health and fitness industry. Robyn provides in-home private one on one and semi private fitness and lifestyle coaching services in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. Please visit www.resultsbyrw.com for more information.