An interview with Drs. Rachel Frank, Mary Mulcahey, and Elizabeth Matzkin

Why did you feel that it was important to write a book on female athletes? What does your publication add to the field? 

In the field of sports medicine, patients, physicians, and the public have all come to expect good to excellent outcomes for the vast majority of athletes, regardless of the injury. In the high-level athlete, treatment that does not result in the ability to return to pre-injury level of play can have detrimental implications. Not only can the athlete’s physical, mental, and/or emotional health suffer, but also, injuries may impact the athlete’s career longevity as well as future financial productivity. Thus, efforts must be made to optimize care for athletes on an individual, patient-specific level. Of all the important factors that must be considered when assessing and treating an athlete, the impact of patient sex is perhaps the most critical, yet historically, has often been neglected. Certainly, the “same injury” in a male patient may present differently in a female patient, and further, may require a different treatment approach. As these differences may be subtle, a better understanding of the ways in which seemingly common sports medicine injuries present in female patients versus male patients is needed.

What is the most exciting aspect of The Female Athlete? What chapter or topic covered in the new edition are you most excited about? 

This text is written by expert clinicians who are recognized thought leaders in sports medicine, and focuses exclusively on the female athlete. This is the first sports medicine text (that we are aware of) to have a female as the first or senior author of all chapters.

Who will find the greatest value from The Female Athlete? 

The sports medicine clinician, including orthopaedic surgeons, non-operative sports medicine physicians, primary care and family medicine physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, athletic trainers, medical assistants, physical therapists, occupational therapists, exercise physiologists, and sports medicine specialists of all disciplines

What new ideas, practices, or procedures do you hope your readers take away from The Female Athlete?

We hope our readers understand how females can present differently than males with the “same” injury. We hope readers learn to recognize subtle and not-so-subtle history/presentation, and physical examination findings that are unique in the female athlete.

How does it feel to be a woman publishing an orthopedics/sports medicine book specific to female athletes considering that orthopedics is such a male dominated field?

We are so honored and humbled to be able to have the opportunity to publish this book. Orthopaedics, and Sports Medicine, are truly male dominated fields. We are so excited to have the opportunity to highlight female patients in this text, and also, to highlight thought leaders in sports medicine that happen to be female. We are grateful to Elsevier to giving us this platform, and supporting this important initiative. We are grateful to all of our authors, female and male, for contributing to this text. We hope our readers are as excited as we are.

Is there anything else about The Female Athlete you’d like to say? 

This text is unique – the authors and content are unique. It is incredibly exciting to have this platform to discuss issues specifically relevant to the female athlete, and at the same time, to be able to specifically highlight female author superstars. We are so grateful to Elsevier.

Get your copy of The Female Athlete, 1st Edition here!

About the Authors

Rachel M. Frank, MD – Dr. Frank is a Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon and Sports Medicine Specialist. She is an Associate Professor and Director of the Joint Preservation Program in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. After playing 4 years of Big Ten Soccer at the University of Illinois, She completed medical school at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, orthopaedic surgery residency at Rush University Medical Center, a research fellowship at Rush University Medical Center, and sports medicine fellowship at Rush University Medical Center.

Mary Mulcahey, MD – Dr. Mulcahey is a Board Certified orthopaedic surgeon specializing in shoulder and knee surgery and sports medicine.  She is a New Hampshire native, who received her Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry from Dartmouth College and her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Rochester School of Medicine.  She completed her orthopaedic residency at Brown University, followed by a fellowship in Orthopaedic Trauma at the same institution.  Dr. Mulcahey then went on to do a fellowship in sports medicine at San Diego Arthroscopy and Sports Medicine.   She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Tulane University School of Medicine and she serves as the Director of the Women’s Sports Medicine at Tulane.  Dr. Mulcahey was a sprinter and long jumper while in college at Dartmouth and she has a passion for taking care of female athletes.

Elizabeth Matzkin, MD – Dr. Matzkin is a Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon and Sports Medicine Specialist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She serves as the Chief of Women’s Sports Medicine and her clinical interests are focused on preventing and providing care for sports injuries. Dr. Matzkin completed medical school at Tulane University, residency at the University of Hawaii, and fellowship at Duke University. Dr. Matzkin’s goals are to return her patients to the activities they love. Dr. Matzkin’s research has focused on the female athlete and sex differences in musculoskeletal medicine