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Brett G. Toresdahl, MD

Primary Sports Medicine

About Dr. Toresdahl

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Brett Toresdahl, MD, is an Assistant Attending Physician at Hospital for Special Surgery and Research Director for the HSS Primary Sports Medicine Service. He is board certified in family medicine and has a certificate of added qualification in sports medicine.
 
Dr. Toresdahl earned his undergraduate degree from Gonzaga University before attending medical school at the University of Washington in Seattle. He remained at UW for both his residency in family medicine and fellowship in primary care sports medicine.
 
He is a team physician for US Biathlon. He served as a physician at three Olympic Games – Rio 2016, PyeongChang 2018, and Beijing 2022. He previously served as TCS New York City Marathon Medical Captain, Rugby United New York Head Team Physician, New York Cosmos Team Physician, Westchester Knicks Team Physician, UFC Orthopedic Consultant, Seattle Storm Assistant Team Physician, University of Washington Athletics Fellow Team Physician, Seattle Marathon Assistant Medical Director, and Seattle Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Medical Captain.
 
Dr. Toresdahl is active in multiple areas of sports medicine research, including running injuries, bone stress injuries, and tendinopathy. His publication on strength training in runners of the NYC Marathon was awarded the T. David Sisk Awards for Research Excellence for Best Original Research. His previous research on the incidence and treatment of sudden cardiac arrest in high school athletes was awarded the AMSSM Harry L. Galanty, MD Young Investigator's Award.
 
As a native of Bozeman, Montana, he enjoys staying active outdoors with his family by skiing, snowboarding, running, biking, and hiking.

 

Departments

Special Expertise

Exercise and sports-related injuries
Running injuries
Ski and snowboard injuries
Sports cardiology

Procedures

Ultrasound-guided joint and soft tissue injections
Hyaluronic acid (gel) injections
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections

Patient Stories

Patient ratings for Dr. Toresdahl

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Insurance

Please call our office if you have questions regarding your insurance coverage. If you have out-of-network benefits, then your insurance may reimburse you for a portion of your office visit. We will work with you and your insurance to minimize your out-of-pocket costs. Financial assistance may be available for patients in need.

Credentials

Appointments

Assistant Attending Physician, Hospital for Special Surgery
Research Director, Primary Sports Medicine Service, Hospital for Special Surgery
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College

Affiliations

Member, American Medical Society for Sports Medicine
Member, American College of Sports Medicine
Member, American Association of Family Physicians
Member, International Institute for Race Medicine

 

 

Certification

American Board of Family Medicine
Certificate of Added Qualifications in Sports Medicine

Awards

New York Magazine Top Doctors 2021, 2022
Castle Connolly Top Doctors in New York Metro Area, 2019-2022
T. David Sisk Awards for Research Excellence for Best Original Research
NBA and GE Healthcare Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Collaboration Award
Young Investigator Research Grant, American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Foundation
Harry L. Galanty, MD Young Investigator's Award, American Medical Society for Sports Medicine
First Place Presenter Award, University of Washington Graduate Medical Education Research Day
Resident Scholarship Award, American Medical Society for Sports Medicine
James G. Jones, MD Student Health Policy Scholarship Recipient, American Academy of Family Physicians

Education

Medical School: MD, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington
Internship: University of Washington Family Medicine Residency, Seattle, Washington
Residency: University of Washington Family Medicine Residency, Seattle, Washington
Fellowship: University of Washington Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship, Seattle, Washington

State Licensure

Languages

English

For My Patients

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Directions to The Pavilion

My office is located at The Pavilion, 541 East 71st Street. The main entrance to The Pavilion is on the north side of 71st Street underneath the sky bridge that connects the main hospital to the Belaire Building.

Pavilion map

Publications by Dr. Toresdahl

Blog Posts

Selected Books/Chapters

Toresdahl BG, Drezner JA. Prevention of sudden cardiac death in young athletes. In: Casa DJ and Stearns RL (ed.) Emergency Management for Sport and Physical Activity. Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2015.

Toresdahl BG, de Mille P, Kim J, Machowsky J, Silverman M, Rodeo SA. Return to sport decision-making for endurance athletes. In: Miller TL (ed.) Endurance Sports Medicine: Evaluation and Treatment of the Endurance Athlete. Springer Books, 2016.

Asif IM, Toresdahl BG, Drezner JA. In: Casa DJ and Stearns RL (ed.) Preventing Sudden Death in Sport and Physical Activity, Second Edition. Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2017.

Selected Journal Articles

Toresdahl BG, McElheny K, Metzl J, Ammerman B, Chang B, Kinderknecht J. A randomized study of a strength training program to prevent injuries in runners of the New York City Marathon. Sports Health. 2019 (Epub ahead of print).

McElheny K, Toresdahl B, Ling D, Mages K, Asif I. Comparative Effectiveness of Alternative Dosing Regimens of Hyaluronic Acid Injections for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review. Sports Health. 2019 Sep/Oct;11(5):461-466.

Soligard S, Palmer D, Steffen K, Lopes AD, Grant ME, Kim DS, Lee SY, Salmina N, Toresdahl BG, Chang JY, Budgett R, Engebretsen L. Sports injury and illness incidence in the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games: a prospective study of 2914 athletes from 92 countries. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2019 Sep;53(17):1085-1092.

Conway JJ, Curriero FC, Camp CL, Toresdahl BG, Coleman S, Kinderknecht JJ. Time out of play due to illness in major and minor league baseball. Clin J Sport Med. 2019 (Epub ahead of print).

Toresdahl BG, Blauwet C, Chang CJ, Ling DI, Asif IM. Cardiovascular screening of Paralympic athletes reported by chief medical officers of the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. Br J Sports Med. 2019; 53(1):43-44.

Conway JJ, Toresdahl BG, Asplund CA, Asif IM. Preparticipation cardiovascular screening: an infrastructure assessment in collegiate athletics. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine. 2018 (Epub ahead of print).

Toresdahl BG, Kim S, Asif IM, Chang CJ. Sports cardiology and the Paralympic athlete. Aspetar. 2018; 7(17): 150-155.

Toresdahl BG, Asif AM, Rodeo SA, Ling DI, Chang CJ. Cardiovascular screening of Olympic athletes reported by Chief Medical Officers of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2018; 52: 1097-1100.

Conway JJ, Toresdahl BG, Ling DI, Boniquit NT, Callahan LR, Kinderknecht JJ. Prevalence of inadequate immunity to measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella in MLB and NBA athletes. Sports Health. 2018; 10: 406-411.

Toresdahl BG, Chang CJ, Confino J, Asif IM. Cardiovascular screening practices in US National Governing Bodies and National Paralympic Committees. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2017; 51: 1639-1640. 

Toresdahl BG, Asif IM. Update on Zika virus: considerations for the traveling athlete. Sports Health. 2016; 8: 438-443.

Fudge JR, Harmon KG, Owens DS, Prutkin JM, Salerno JC, Asif IM, Haruta A, Pelto 
O'Kane JW, Toresdahl BG. The evidenced-based shoulder evaluation. Current Sports Medicine Reports. 2014; 13(5): 307-13. 

Toresdahl BG, Rao AL, Harmon KG, Drezner JA. Incidence of sudden cardiac arrest in high school student athletes. Heart Rhythm. 2014; 11: 1190-1194.

Drezner JA, Toresdahl BG, Rao AL, Huszti E, Harmon KG. Outcomes from sudden cardiac arrest in U.S. high schools: a 2-year prospective study from the National Registry for AED Use in Sports. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2013; 47: 1179-83.

Toresdahl BG, Courson RW, Börjesson M, Sharma S, Drezner JA. Emergency cardiac care in the athletic setting: from schools to the Olympics. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2012; 46 Suppl 1: i85-i89.

For more publications, please see the PubMed listing.

Selected Presentations

Toresdahl BG, Rao AL, Harmon KG, Drezner JA. Incidence of sudden cardiac arrest in high school student athletes. Heart Rhythm. 2014; 11: 1190-1194.

Fudge JR, Harmon KG, Owens DS, Prutkin JM, Salerno JC, Asif IM, Haruta A, Pelto Toresdahl BG, Asif AM, Rodeo SA, Ling DI, Chang CJ. Cardiovascular screening of Olympic athletes reported by Chief Medical Officers of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2018; 52: 1097-1100.

Toresdahl BG, Blauwet C, Chang CJ, Ling DI, Asif IM. Cardiovascular screening of Paralympic athletes reported by chief medical officers of the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. Br J Sports Med. 2019; 53(1):43-44.

Toresdahl BG, McElheny K, Metzl J, Ammerman B, Chang B, Kinderknecht J. A randomized study of a strength training program to prevent injuries in runners of the New York City Marathon. Sports Health. 2020; 12(1):74-79.

Toresdahl BG, Asif IM. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): considerations for the competitive athlete. Sports Health. 2020; 12(3):221-224.

Toresdahl BG, McElheny K, Metzl J, Kinderknecht J, Quijano B, Ammerman B, Fontana MA. Factors associated with injuries in first-time marathon runners from the New York City marathon. Phys Sportsmed. 2021 Mar 31:1-6. Epub ahead of print.

Toresdahl BG, Robinson JN, Kliethermes SA, Metzl JD, Dixit S, Quijano B, Fontana MA. Increased Incidence of Injury Among Runners With COVID-19. Sports Health. 2021 Dec 14. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34906009

Research

Industry Relationships

Industry Relationships

One of the goals of HSS is to advance the science of orthopedic surgery, rheumatology, and related disciplines for the benefit of patients. Physicians at HSS may collaborate with outside companies for education, research and medical advances. HSS supports this collaboration in order to foster medical breakthroughs; however HSS also believes that these collaborations must be disclosed.

As part of the disclosure process, this website lists physician collaborations with outside companies. The disclosures are provided by information provided by the physician and other sources and are updated regularly. Further information may be available on individual company websites.

Below are the healthcare industry relationships reported by Dr. Toresdahl as of March 27, 2023.

  • American Board of Family Medicine - Board or Committee Member

By disclosing the collaborations of HSS physicians with industry on this website, HSS and its physicians make this information available to their patients and the public, thus creating a transparent environment for those who are interested in this information. Further, the HSS Conflicts of Interest Policy does not permit physicians to collect royalties on products developed by him/her that are used on patients at HSS.

Patients should feel free to ask their HSS physicians questions about these relationships.

Dr. Toresdahl in the News

 
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