News & Events

We’re working on initiatives to expand participation and safety in sports and physical activity. See what we’re up to!

June 21, 2025 News & Events

FIFA funded study to research potential link between ACL tears and a woman’s monthly period: HealthLink

Click to see the post on King 5 News SEATTLE — It's a common injury that athletes endure, and it's among the most dreaded. ACL tears affect about one in 3,500 people a year in the U.S., with some studies showing women are more at risk. Women athletes are also noticing an interesting coincidence. Seattle athletes Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe recently brought it up in their podcast, "A Touch More." This is why funding medical research matters, because then we can really answer these questions," said Dr. Cindy Lin, a clinical professor of sports and spine medicine at UW Medical Center. Dr. Lin explained ACL is short for...

March 31, 2025 News & Events

Para-athlete realized dreams in Paris

Click to see post by the UW Medicine Newsroom Taylor Swanson prepares to run the 60-meter dash at the Husky Classic. Image Credit: UW Medicine News Video Team A local para-athlete who won two medals last summer in Paris is now an advocate for athletes with disabilities. The Paralympic Games are the premier event for athletes with disabilities. They take place right after the Olympics, at the same venues, and are broadcast worldwide. It’s an event that every para-athlete dreams to compete in. Taylor Swanson’s dream became a reality this past summer in Paris. Swanson, a Seattleite now living in Spokane, competed in her first...

March 26, 2025 News & Events

Empowering Women with Axial Spondyloarthritis: Dr. Rachael Stovall Awarded SAA Research Grant for Innovative Exercise Program

As part of the Spondyloarthritis Association of America’s ongoing mission to expand horizons in spondyloarthritis research, the SAA hopes to encourage new, upcoming rheumatologists and researchers to focus on the future of treatment and research in ankylosing spondylitis and related diseases. The SAA created the Spondylitis Association of America/Bruckel Early Career Investigator Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the care and understanding of patients with spondyloarthritis. The winner of this award is granted $30,000 from the SAA to put towards spondyloarthritis research. Dr. Rachael Stovall, MD, MAS, an acting assistant professor in the Division of Rheumatology at the University of Washington,...

January 31, 2025 News & Events

ExerciseRx Supports Adolescents with Cerebral Palsy in Being Physically Active

This past November 2024, Connie Leibow, MPT, PCS, pediatric physical therapist at Seattle Children’s Hospital presented a scientific poster at the Acadamy of Pediatric Physical Therapy Annual Conference (APTA), on behalf of The Sports Institute’s ExerciseRx team. APTA brings together pediatric physical therapist nationally to share the latest research, innovative clinical practices, and advancements in the field. She presented a pilot research study supported by the Seattle Children’s Hospital Cerebral Palsy Research Committee that examined how ExerciseRx, The Sports Institute’s digital platform for personalizing home exercises, can support adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP) in home exercise programs. Leibow shared, “After decades of...

December 17, 2024 News & Events

2024 Highlight Reel

MESSAGE FROM OUR DIRECTOR In 2024, I had the privilege of serving as director of The Sports Institute (TSI) at UW Medicine, where we focus on expanding participation and safety in sports for all. This role has allowed me to collaborate with our dynamic team on innovative digital health tools like ExerciseRx to support physical activity prescriptions and programs like Mental Strength Training aimed at improving youth mental health. We’ve also advanced educational opportunities for undergraduate athletes through the Husky Fellowship and broadened video and educational resources like the Game Plan. It might seem unusual for a pediatric neurosurgeon to focus on...

December 3, 2024 News & Events

Oh, there’s no gift like health for the holidays

Originally posted by the American Heart Association You can't literally gift-wrap health, much less stuff it in a stocking. But a gift that helps someone eat, sleep or exercise better can send a powerful message, said Dr. Laurence Sperling, the Katz Professor in Preventive Cardiology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. Beyond the usual affection a gift demonstrates, something that encourages your recipient to stay well is "an extra comment to somebody about how much you care about them," said Sperling, founder of the Emory Center for Heart Disease Prevention. So American Heart Association News asked him and other experts for healthy...

November 27, 2024 News & Events

On the Field and Behind the Scenes: A Soccer Player’s Dual Role in Sport

Our current Husky Fellow, Lucy Newlin, competed in the first two rounds of the 2024 NCAA Women’s Soccer tournament. The Washington women’s soccer team earned a bid to the tournament for the first time since the 2020-21 season and was matched against the No. 25-ranked Utah State for its first round. The Huskies clinched a 3-0 win in penalty kicks over the Aggies, dancing to the round of 32. Washington was paired against No. 2-ranked Mississippi State, falling in a 1-0 loss due to a breakaway goal in the 72nd minute. “Being one of the 64 schools in the NCAA tournament...

November 23, 2024 News & Events

Want to Up Your Running Game? Build Mental Strength

Originally posted by Right as Rain by UW Medicine Improving your performance as a runner isn’t just about physical strength, it’s also about mental strength. Sara P. D. Chrisman, MD, MPH, associate professor and assistant director for Community Outreach at the Sports Institute at UW Medicine, provides tips about how to use mental, physical and social strategies, to deal with hitting a wall on race day. What is mental strength Mental strength isn’t about grit or white knuckling it — it’s developing a relationship with your body so that you can handle any stress that comes your way. “I like the term ‘mental strength’ because,...

March 14, 2024 News & Events

Get Moving for Better Bladder Cancer Outcomes

Highlights| Exercise as an Intervention Patients with bladder cancer are typically older and tend to have multiple comorbidities. Regular exercise may help patients with bladder cancer better tolerate treatment. The Get Moving program tests whether digital patient-facing tools can help improve outcomes for patients with bladder cancer. Can prescribed exercise improve results for patients with bladder cancer? Three UW Medicine researchers are working to find out. Cancer has a profound effect on public health in the United States. In 2022 alone, there were 1.9 million newly diagnosed cases of all types of cancer, resulting in 609,360 deaths. Research suggests frequent exercise may reduce risks of...