Sports Medicine Research
The USOPC sports medicine research program serves as the foundation of the United States Coalition for the Prevention of Illness & Injury in Sport, recognized as an IOC Research Center—one of just 11 worldwide. The Coalition unites the USOPC, Steadman Philippon Research Institute (SPRI) and The University of Utah to advance athlete health through injury and illness prevention, mental wellbeing, treatment strategies, surgery, and recovery.
The USOPC also participates in the AUKCAUS partnership with organizations across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, fostering international collaboration in sports science and medicine.
Current research priorities include injury and illness surveillance, mental health in elite sport, Para athlete wellbeing, and clinical outcomes related to return-to-sport decisions. Together, these efforts drive improvements in care and performance for elite athletes.
Learn more about the USOPC's domestic and international research projects.
Restorative, quality sleep is a cross-cutting issue across team USA. This research is examining the effectiveness of a short-term behavioral intervention for insomnia. Through sleep training, the goal is to improve sleep quality for all Team USA athletes. Athlete perceptions of sleep quality, training stress, anxiety and depression are collected, as well as sleep diaries and sensor measures of sleep activity, and heart rate variability.
This ongoing research project is striving to better understand the unique risks for musculoskeletal injuries, head injuries and illnesses of Team USA athletes in different Games environments. Identification of the athletes at highest risk for these poor health outcomes will help the USOPC team develop targeted prevention programs and keep athletes performing at their highest level. Data collected include injury type, location, time loss, medical treatments provided, diagnostic tests provider types, and environment where the injury occurred. The United States Coalition for the Prevention of Illness & Injury in Sport is working together on IIS projects related to specific sports such as ski and snowboard, biathlon and more.
This initiative is filling a major gap in sports medicine. Currently, there are no concussion testing tools that are appropriate for Para Athletes. While the current gold standard Sport Concussion Assessment Tool v 6 (SCAT6) has effectively been deployed in the sports medicine field, the SCAT6 contains physical testing elements that are not relevant to athletes who use wheelchairs for mobility, have visual impairments, or who have limb deficiencies. This initiative is convening summits of clinician experts, Para athletes and researchers to create adapted SCAT instruments and appropriate physical tests. The Goal is to develop free, accessible impairment specific SCAT6 tools, instruction manuals and videos to assist providers in testing Para athletes.
This large project is comprised of several areas that are addressing science sports medicine gaps in the health of Para athlete. We are striving to understand ECG patterns and heart health by impairment and sport; this work will help develop ‘expected/ typical values’ and inform medical providers on safety considerations by impairment. Our second area of focus is bone health. The team is consolidating and analyzing DEXA scans from Para athletes to determine expected bone density ranges in key anatomical areas (lumbar spine, hip, trochanter). These findings will identify bone health risk by sport and impairment, and will also help in the design of interventions to improve low bone density.
Due to limitations in current injury and illness surveillance systems in sports medicine, the scope and volume of psychological service encounters delivered to athletes is poorly understood. There is a need for a classification system built to capture psychologically focused encounters in sports medicine that spans clinical symptoms, sport psychology, and non-clinical psychosocial topics. The USOPC Research and Psychological Service teams together created the first classification system to address this limitation. This standardized platform will enable providers to document from the type and volume of these encounters across medical and sport settings, and will serve as a basis for demonstrating the effectiveness of interventions.
Together, Research and Psychological Services have partnered to develop the most comprehensive tool to capture the use, scope and content of psychological encounters of athletes during Games experiences. This “PsyDoc” (Psychological Service Document) tool has enabled detailed recording of the number, type (planned, unplanned), content areas covered in the encounter, and encounter time. This tool is being used to 1) more fully understand the unique mental health needs of Olympic athletes and Para Athletes, 2) determine content areas that may be leveraged to help athletes prepare for life stresses.
Elite athletes strive for medaling at the Olympic Games. But what happens when illness or injury interfere with qualification into the final events or medal placement (from gold to bronze)? This project explored the impact of these poor health outcomes on the financial impact to individual athletes based on predicted rankings. Modeling techniques were used to quantify anticipated financial impact of illness and injury in competing national team athletes.
In an ongoing effort to understand the challenges of athlete career transitions and retirement from their Olympic or Paralympic careers, the team is studying athlete identity. The survey-based project is being deployed across varies teams to determine whether the relationship between an athlete and sport participation affects their ability to successfully transition to life after retiring from Team USA. Does strong sport identity contribute to positive mental health status – or does strong sport identity facilitate negative mental outlook and difficulty transitioning to non-sport routines after retirement? These findings will guide identification of athletes at high risk for retirement challenges and decline in mental health, and inform intervention content to mitigate this issue.
This project used expert elicitation methods to determine the numbers of respiratory infections that would occur in the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Medical experts with experience treating athletes in Games environments were asked to predict the case numbers of infections for the Team USA delegation. Statistical models were created and produced nearly identical values to those that actually occurred in Milan Cortina. This method can be used in future predictions to inform resource allocation and game preparedness.
This study is exploring and compare the current health status of retired female Olympians with the female non-Olympian general population. We hope to better understand the long-term potential benefits and consequences of sustained Olympic-level sporting participation on the health of female athletes. Musculoskeletal, mental, brain, reproductive, breast and pelvic floor health and cardiovascular health in retirement from sport are being explored.
This survey-based project is leveraging the athlete and sports staff perspectives on facilitators and barriers to research participation. Moreover, areas of interest and priorities are being identified based on athlete and sports staff input. These findings are being used to drive research directions for development of female athlete-centric research in elite sport.
We offer a competitive volunteer research experience in the Sports Medicine Department at the USOPC. This opportunity is designed for trainees who want to advance their careers in sports medicine and related fields. This experience is ideal for individuals preparing for their next professional stage, by cultivating knowledge and skills related to research processes on topics related to elite athlete health, wellbeing, and performance. This program provides meaningful exposure to high-performance sports medicine research.
Experience
Volunteers will work directly with the sports medicine research team to:
- Learn and apply sports medicine research methods
- Explore current topics in sports medicine
- Identify meaningful research areas that impact athletes, providers, and the broader USOPC and sports medicine community
- See how their work connects to and supports Team USA and the USOPC ecosystem
Key Areas of Research Focus
- Injury and illness surveillance, athlete health outcomes, Para athlete health and wellbeing and mental health in elite sport
Eligibility
We are seeking creative, driven and resourceful trainees to help us advance medicine and health related discoveries in elite sport.
Eligible applicants include:
- Medical students
- Residents
- Graduate students (MS or PhD level)
Time Frame & Commitment
This program will be a 3-month experience. Volunteers are expected to commit a minimum of 10 hours per week to this work.
Deliverables
The participant will work toward dissemination of the findings from their research project in written and oral form. Options include manuscripts, infographics, presentations to the USOPC Sports Medicine Department, presentations to the home institutions, and conference presentations. Findings will also be made available to Team USA.
How to Apply
APPLYApplications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Applications will be reviewed each quarter to identify the candidates whose professional and personal goals best align with the missions.
Interested in Collaborating on Research?
Submit your proposed research idea for consideration to the Research Review Group (RRG) for a collaborative project with the USOPC! The RRG reviews proposals to ensure that the work will help advance athlete-centered research that drives meaningful improvements in Team USA’s health, wellness, and competitive success. The RRG focuses on projects that require access to USOPC-controlled data, facilities, or resources. The RRG also provides guidance and connections for research led by National Governing Bodies (NGBs) or external investigators when USOPC resources are not requested.
An important note: The RRG does not approve research on behalf of NGBs. Investigators interested in working directly with NGBs must obtain authorization directly from each affected NGB.
Who is eligible to submit requests?
- Faculty researchers and clinicians from institutions affiliated with a medical school are eligible.
- Trainees (e.g., medical residents, medical fellows, PhD candidates or postdoctoral fellows); the trainees must be mentored by a faculty member who will be the responsible party affiliated with the project.
Click the link below to read more about the process, directions, expected timelines for review and the application.
Expand the sections below to explore the full list of USOPC research papers with clickable links included.
Eric G Post, Ashley N Triplett, Avinash Chandran, Travis Anderson. Sports Med. 2026 Apr 1. doi: 10.1007/s40279-026-02423-6.
Post EG, Anderson T, Triplett AN, Ahmed OH, Moran RN, Schneider KJ, Adams WM, Blauwet C, Derman W, Donaldson A, Emery CA, Howell DR, Master C, Mitchell KM, Uihlein M, Weiler R, Willick SE, Finnoff JT.Br J Sports Med. 2026 Mar 23;60(7):500-502.
Triplett AN, Anderson T, Post EG, Bartley J, Shilt JS, Dugan EL, Donaldson A, Finnoff J, Adams WM.BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2026 Feb 5;12(1):e002831.
Adams WM, Anderson T, Post EG, Christopher SM, McKay AKA, Donaldson AT, Galán-López N, Finnoff JT, Carter S, Taylor L.Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2025 Nov 25;21(1):3-17.
Kroshus-Havril E, Wheelhouse C, Houle J, Bartley J, Gruttadaro D, Pick C, Rao AL, Fine A, Merrill J, Casiero D, Hainline B.Br J Sports Med. 2025 Jul 1;59(14):968-980.
Sloan S, Bartley J, Buchser C, Thornton JS, Viseras G, Burrows K.Br J Sports Med. 2025 Nov 26;59(21):1451-1452.
Anderson T, Bartley J, Post EG, Triplett AN, Donaldson A, Finnoff J, Adams WM.BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2025 Oct 2;11(4):e002758.
Post EG, Triplett AN, Anderson T, Samson O, Gidley AD, Vincent HK, Donaldson A, Finnoff J, Adams WM.BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2025 Sep 25;11(3):e002624.
Anderson T, Post EG, Triplett AN, Adams WM, Finnoff JT.Sci Rep. 2025 Oct 17;15(1):36377.
Triplett AN, Post EG, Anderson T, Samson O, Gidley AD, Silva F, Thomann L, Donaldson AT, Finnoff JT, Dugan EL, Shilt JS, Adams WM.Inj Epidemiol. 2025 Jul 21;12(1):43.
Faltus J, Knowlton-Key J, Howard K, Doorley J, Towne B, Kannel C, Finnoff J, Donaldson A. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2025 Nov 1;20(11):1640-1652.
Post EG, Cali MG, Clark SC, Noble-Taylor KE, Robinson DM, Hasley IB, Larson EG, McPherson AL, Anderson T, Finnoff JT, Adams WM.Orthop J Sports Med. 2025 Jan 2;13(1):23259671241304417.
Oleka CT, Anderson T, Ackerman KE, Elliott-Sale KJ, Kraus E, Casey E, Stellingwerff T, Donaldson AT, Finnoff JT, Post EG, Adams WM.Br J Sports Med. 2024 Nov 12;58(21):1237-1239.
Spörri J, Bonell Monsonís O, Balsiger P, Bahr R, Dios C, Engebretsen L, Finnoff JT, Gillespie S, Hörterer H, Mitterbauer G, Pasanen K, Raschner C, Reardon CL, Scherr J, Schobersberger W, Valtonen M, Weirather T, Gouttebarge V, Bolling C, Verhagen E.BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2025 Aug 28;11(3):e002623.
Post EG, Anderson T, Samson O, Triplett AN, Gidley AD, Isono SS, Watters J, Donaldson AT, Finnoff JT, Adams WM.Br J Sports Med. 2024 Sep 4;58(17):983-992.
Post EG, Anderson T, Samson O, Gidley AD, Triplett AN, Donaldson AT, Finnoff JT, Adams WM.Inj Epidemiol. 2024 Jul 1;11(1):28.
Larson EG, Hasley I, Post EG, Cali MG, Clark SC, McPherson AL, Noble-Taylor KE, Robinson DM, Anderson T, Finnoff J, Adams WM.BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2024 Apr 17;10(2):e001835
Anderson T, Galan-Lopez N, Taylor L, Post EG, Finnoff JT, Adams WM.Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2024 Jan 22;19(4):383-392.
Anderson T, Adams WM, Burns GT, Post EG, Baumann S, Clark E, Cogan K, Finnoff JT. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2024 Jan 2;19(2):212-218
Shah AB, Rizzo SM, Finnoff JT, Baggish AL, Adams WM. Sports Health. 2024 Jul-Aug;16(4):504-506.
Post EG, Anderson T, Shilt JS, Dugan EL, Clark SC, Larson EG, Noble-Taylor KE, Robinson DM, Donaldson AT, Finnoff JT, Adams WM.BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2023 Dec 20;9(4):e001730.
Anderson T, Cali MG, Clark SC, Hasley I, Larson EG, Noble-Taylor KE, Robinson DM, Post E, Finnoff JT, Adams WM.Br J Sports Med. 2023 Oct 27:bjsports-2023-107185.
McPherson AL, Anderson T, Finnoff JT, Adams WM.J Athl Train. 2024 Jun 1;59(6):584-593.
Anderson T, Adams WM, Bartley JD, Brutus AL, Donaldson AT, Finnoff JT.Br J Sports Med. 2023 Sep;57(18):1187-1194.
Jia L, Carter MV, Cusano A, Li X, Kelly JD 4th, Bartley JD, Parisien RL. Am J Sports Med. 2023 Jul;51(8):2207-2215.
Moore IS, Crossley KM, Bo K, Mountjoy M, Ackerman KE, Antero JDS, Sundgot Borgen J, Brown WJ, Bolling CS, Clarsen B, Derman W, Dijkstra P, Donaldson A, Elliott-Sale KJ, Emery CA, Haakstad L, Junge A, Mkumbuzi NS, Nimphius S, Palmer D, van Poppel M, Thornton JS, Tomás R, Zondi PC, Verhagen E. Br J Sports Med. 2023 Sep;57(18):1164-1174.
Adams WM, Anderson T, Finnoff JT.Curr Sports Med Rep. 2023 Feb 1;22(2):49-51.