Sport Specialization & The Wisconsin Injury in Sport Lab w/ Dr. David Bell, Ph.D., ATC

Dr. David Bell is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Kinesiology and Orthopedics and Rehabilitation at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Dr. Bell earned his B.A. and PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his Master’s Degree from the University of Virginia. He teaches in the Athletic Training Program and serves as the director of the Wisconsin Injury in Sport Laboratory. His research is focused on identifying risk factors for knee injury including neuromuscular asymmetries and sport specialization. Additionally, he is focused on improving outcomes after knee surgery including refining rehabilitation strategies, return to activity guidelines, and risk factors for second ACL injuries.

He has athletic training clinical experience at the Division I and II levels as well as high school clinic outreach. He has over 35 peer-reviewed publications and 85 abstract presentations. His work has been funded by the National Athletic Trainer’s Association, the American Medical Society of Sports Medicine, and the American College of Sports Medicine. He was named the 2017 New Investigator of the Year for the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Research and Education Foundation. His research was awarded the 2017 STOP Sports Injuries Award for best research paper on youth sports injury prevention at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Annual Meeting.

In episode 139, the focus of our conversation surrounds the concept of sport specialization in youth athletics and the research aiming to prevent the very injuries we talk about week in a and week out.