Christopher Kaeding, MD

Co-Director, OSU Sports Medicine Center
Head Team Physician, OSU Department of Athletics
Director, OSU Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Fellowship
Director, Division of Sports Medicine, OSU Department of Orthopaedics
Judson D. Wilson Professorship in Orthopedic Surgery

Profile on OSU:Pro

What do you like best about practicing medicine at OSU Medical Center?

I enjoy the energy and optimism of OSU Medical Center, which stems from diverse areas of expertise working together to further our three-fold mission. This collaborative spirit stimulates innovation and excellence. Crossing traditional boundaries to find synergies and alignments is exciting for everyone involved, and the Medical Center continues to pursue these types of endeavors.

What excites you most about the future of medicine?

Advances in technology and epidemiology will enable us to do a better job of predicting and preventing both injuries and illness.

How do you think P4 Medicine (medicine that is more predictive, preventive, personalized and participatory) will change your specialty over the next 10 years?

In the future, we will develop the ability to identify individual risk factors for acute and overuse injuries in athletes. This will allow us to develop strategies to deal with or modify these risk factors.

Name one of your medical career mentors and tell us what you learned from him/her.

Dr. John Bergfeld was my fellowship director at The Cleveland Clinic and has been an influential mentor for me throughout my career. He has always stressed the importance of putting the patient first and not allowing outside influences to affect patient care -— ensuring that you are treating the patient as a whole and not focusing solely on the injury.

What advice do you have for young physicians early in their careers?

My advice is to pursue a practice that stimulates and challenges without a focus on location or compensation. I would encourage them to be observant, inquisitive clinicians.  Even if you are not in a formal academic environment, you should always look for patterns in your clinical practice and ask “why” when something doesn’t make sense.

Who in history would you most like to meet and why?

Benjamin Franklin. I would love to have an in-depth discussion with someone who was so accomplished in so many areas during such a dramatic time. Franklin was a scientist, social innovator, political sage, inventor, diplomat and writer who loved social discourse.

What are your hobbies or volunteer activities?

I have always enjoyed the outdoors and have been fortunate to be able to share this with my son. We have hiked the Grand Canyon, and climbed Pike’s Peak, Mt. Washington, Mt. Olympus, Mt. Rainier, Machu Picchu, and Mt. Kilimanjaro. We have also kayaked in Alaska and canoed in Canada. Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro has been our crowning achievement to date. My children and I have also done several volunteer service trips to Honduras to build houses for widowed mothers. These trips have been very impactful and rewarding for all of us.

Rising Star: Timothy Hewett, PhD. Tim is an internationally known sports medicine research scientist who is recognized and engaged by virtually every subspecialty sports medicine association. He is a dynamic and focused leader whom we are fortunate to have on our team. (Timothy Hewett, PhD, is director of Research for OSU Sports Medicine, professor of Physiology and Cell Biology, of Family Medicine, of Orthopaedics and of Biomedical Engineering.)

CV summary

Undergraduate Degree: Northwestern University

Medical Degree: Northwestern University

Residency: Northwestern University

Sports Medicine Fellowship:  The Cleveland Clinic Foundation

National Committees or Board Positions:

•  Subspecialty Certification in Sports Medicine, American Board of
Orthopaedic Surgery

•  Certification, American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery

•  National Board of Medical Examiners

Research Interests: Arthroscopy;
anterior cruciate ligament tears;
meniscal tears.