ACL Study Day Evidence & Practice

Mark Paterno

Dr. Paterno is a PT and a professor at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. As a clinical scientist he has over 70 publications and 10 book chapters which focus on the area of outcomes after ACLR and pediatric sports medicine and he has lectured internationally. He currently serves as a manuscript reviewer for several orthopaedic and sports medicine publications, a founding member and second vice president for the Pediatric and Adolescent Research in Sports Medicine (PRISM) Society as well as a member of the ROCK group, which is an international, multidisciplinary group, dedicated to researching juvenile osteochondritis dissecans.

Susan Sigward

Dr. Sigward is an associate professor of physical therapy and director of the Human Performance Laboratory at the Competitive Athletic Training Zone, Physical Therapy Institute and Sports Performance Center in Pasadena. Her research focuses on the identification and amelioration of impaired mechanics as they relate to lower-extremity injuries, with a focus on the knee. Her work has contributed to the understanding of how factors such as experience, age, training and sex influence the development of movement strategies that contribute to ACL injuries. Current studies are focused on rehabilitation following ACL reconstruction, with an emphasis on the effects of early rehabilitation interventions on long-term outcomes.

Elizabeth Wellsandt

Dr. Wellsandt is an Associate Professor in the Physical Therapy Program of the College of Allied Health Professions and Director of the Clinical Movement Analysis Lab at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Her PhD is in Biomechanics and Movement Science from the University of Delaware. Prior to that she received her DPT from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Her current research is focused on how physical activity and movement patterns of the knee contribute to early knee osteoarthritis and other outcomes after ACL injury. Her work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, Arthritis Foundation, Rheumatology Research Foundation, and Foundation for Physical Therapy Research.

Stephen LaPlante

Stephen LaPlante is the Team Lead Physical Therapist at the Children’s Health Andrews Institute for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. He received a Master’s in Physical Therapy and Athletic training at Texas Tech University. He worked alongside World renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews at in Florida for 10 years serving as the lead Physical Therapist. Stephen has given numerous lectures related to ACL rehab and return to play as well as topics related to throwing injuries and rehab strategies following upper extremity injuries.

Dustin Grooms

Dr. Grooms is a Professor in the Division of Physical Therapy at Ohio University. His doctorate is in health and rehabilitation sciences from the Ohio State University. He has clinical experience as an athletic trainer and strength coach and has degrees in athletic training, kinesiology, biomechanics and neuroscience. Currently his main research interest is how the brain and movement mechanics change after musculoskeletal injury and therapy.

Julie Eibensteiner

Dr. Eibensteiner is a physical therapist and founder of Laurus Athletic Rehab & Performance a privately owned & operated sports performance and rehab facility near Minneapolis, MN. Her clinical specialty features comprehensive ACL rehab from immediate post-op to bridging the gap from late stage rehab to performance in adolescent athletic populations. She is a United State Soccer Federation "A" Licensed coach currently working as an assistant coach with the University of St. Thomas (MN) and regularly in the trenches of elite club youth soccer.

Matt Ithurburn

Matt Ithurburn, PT, DPT, PhD is the Director of Clinical Research at the American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI). ASMI is an international leader in sports medicine research, focused on studying surgical and rehabilitation outcomes, biomechanics, and injury mechanisms to improve the prevention and treatment of sports-related injuries. In his role at ASMI, Dr. Ithurburn leads a multidisciplinary clinical research team managing multiple externally-funded studies and ongoing outcomes data repositories. Additionally, he further collaborates on several studies seeking to improve rehabilitation and return-to-sport success in individuals recovering from lower extremity injuries, including those with ACL reconstruction, femoroacetabular impingement, and hip dysplasia. In addition to his research involvement, Dr. Ithurburn is an adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), teaching in the DPT program and mentoring PhD students.

Dustin Loveland

Dr. Loveland is currently serving the community of Plano, TX, where he practices as a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon for Children’s Health℠ Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine. He earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch. He completed his orthopedic surgical residency at the University of Miami, where he served as chief resident. He was then trained under Dr. James Andrews as a sports medicine fellow.  He is a member of the Arthroscopy Association of North America, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Medical Association and the Texas Medical Association. combating that problem by applying his expertise in pediatric and adolescent sports medicine to community outreach. He not only treats sports-injured youth but works with coaches, trainers, and parents to help prevent those injuries.

Jordan Angeli

Jordan Angeli is a former professional soccer player who tore her ACL three times during her playing career. Throughout her injuries, she felt called to help on the mental and emotional side of injury recovery leading her to start THE ACL CLUB. THE ACL CLUB helps people through the trials and triumphs of the acl recovery process while inspiring, encouraging, and empowering them to take hold of their process and find growth in all facets of life.