From college football player to team physician: A look at the career of Stanford’s Jason Dragoo

To call Jason Dragoo, MD, a busy guy would be an understatement: The orthopedic surgeon divides his time between clinical work, the surgery suite, research, his work in the Human Performance Lab, and the care of Stanford athletes. He has served as head physician of Stanford’s football program for the past six years, and he’s a team physician for the U.S. Olympic Committee and the U.S. Ski Team. Oh, and he’s also dad to two small children.

Dragoo, who specializes in knee injuries, is the focus of a piece in the current issue of Inside Stanford Medicine. And as my colleague describes, his experience as a college football player (he played defensive safety) has benefited his professional life greatly:

“It really helps for sports medicine physicians to have experienced injuries themselves,” he said. “I understand how long it takes each of these athletes to get where they are, whether it’s an NCAA competitor, an Olympic hopeful or a professional athlete. It takes years of commitment and effort to get to their skill level, so if I can help them achieve their goals without injury, it’s very satisfying to me.”

Previously: Study shows men, rather than women, may be more prone to ACL injuries, Stanford physician discusses prevalence of overuse injuries among college athletes and When can athletes return to play? Stanford researchers provide guidance
Photo by Norbert von der Groeben