Allison Schroeder, MD, Brings Passion for Sports Medicine to Cleveland Athletes

Innovations in Orthopaedics | Fall 2022

Since joining the faculty in the Department of Orthopedics at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Allison Schroeder, MD,CSAQM, has hit the ground running. A passionate advocate for supporting athletes’ health and goals, she specializes in non-surgical Sports Medicine and diagnostic and interventional Sports Ultrasound.

Allison Schroeder, MD, CAQSM

An Ohio native, Dr. Schroeder says Cleveland already feels like home. “It is evident that the goal of the physicians here is to take the best care of patients and the Cleveland sports community,” she says. “It is rewarding to be part of a group where I can ask questions and have my opinions respected and valued — everyone has been phenomenal.”

“We could not be more excited to welcome Dr. Schroeder to the Drusinsky Sports Medicine Institute team. She brings with her a unique understanding of the endurance athlete having achieved success in this discipline while running at the D1 level at the University of Notre Dame," says Michael Salata, MD, Division Chief, Sports Medicine, Department of Orthopaedics. Dr. Salata adds, "The Northeast Ohio community and all the surrounding areas will benefit from her clinical expertise and intimate understanding of the injuries that can occur with these activities. As we have continued to grow our team it is crucial to add talented and dedicated providers to continue to strive towards our goal of providing the highest quality, most innovative and comprehensive medical care for athletes anywhere in the country. Allison will be an integral part of this commitment to our community .”

Dr. Schroeder is immersing herself in Northeast Ohio, providing medical coverage for several high schools, talking with high school cross country athletes about proper training and injury prevention, and meeting with the Cleveland Ballet about infection prevention. She also presented to the Lake County Sheriff's Office as part of its ongoing physical fitness challenge. An avid runner, Dr. Schroeder competed as a varsity athlete for the Fighting Irish during her undergraduate years at the University of Notre Dame and is excited to share her interest in endurance medicine with Cleveland’s active running community.

A graduate of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Dr. Schroeder completed her residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and served there as chief resident. She went on to complete her Sports Medicine Fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, where she assisted with the care of the Minnesota Lynx, the Minnesota Twins and North Central University athletes.

Board-certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Dr. Schroeder holds a Certificate of Added Qualification in Sports Medicine and is participating in the International Olympic Committee Diploma in Sports Medicine Program.

Recently, her work as a physician for Team USA Basketball has taken her to the Dominican Republic to cover the U23 Nations League’s 3X3 tournament. Played on outdoor courts with a streetball feel, 3X3 debuted as an Olympic sport at the recent Tokyo games.

“Teams only have four players available at any time — if someone goes down due to injury or illness, you don’t have substitutes for the rest of the tournament,” she says. “It was a different mindset from a medical perspective because you are triaging quickly to determine if a player can safely get back on the court.” She also traveled to Romania to cover the American women’s FIBA 3X3 U23 team and women’s national team. “Working in a country where the resources are different and you are thinking through challenging scenarios to be prepared for anything helped me grow as a physician,” she adds.

Diagnostic and Interventional Sports Ultrasound

As part of her fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Schroeder became proficient in diagnostic ultrasound. “We can get an excellent view of superficial soft tissue structures,” she says. “Many times, ultrasound can replace MRI, enabling us to give a definitive diagnosis and initiate a rehab program in clinic without delay.”

She is also using ultrasound to guide injections, which has been shown to be more accurate than palpation-guided methods. “If we are injecting corticosteroids, where the steroid is going to bathe the area, it might not matter as much,” she says. “But, when we’re doing injections with treatments like viscosupplementation or platelet-rich plasma, precise placement of the injection can improve the procedure’s efficacy.” She adds that patients seem to experience less procedural sensitivity because physicians are able to visualize the structures and avoid pain points.

She and other non-surgical sports medicine physicians are offering advanced non-surgical procedures at University Hospitals, including peripherial nerve hydrodissections and ultrasound-guided tenotomies. “We inject fluid around peripherial nerves to separate it from scar tissue that may be causing compression or nerve symptoms,” she explains. Additionally, to treat chronic tendon injuries, she performs minimally invasive tendon debridement procedures under ultrasound guidance.

For more information, contact Dr. Schroeder at Allison.Schroeder@UHhospitals.org.

Contributing Experts:
Allison Schroeder, MD
UH Drusinsky Sports Medicine Institute
University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center
Assistant Professor
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

Michael Salata, MD
Associate Orthopaedist Team Physician, The Cleveland Browns
Director, Joint Preservation and Cartilage Restoration Center
Division Chief, Sports Medicine
University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center
Assistant Professor
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine