ABOUT DR. RUDZKI
Athlete, Dad & Coach
It’s important for athletes with shoulder and knee injuries to know that I am a fellow athlete and understand them. A native Washingtonian, I grew up playing soccer, football, baseball, lacrosse, and skiing. In residency and fellowship I became a runner and then after moving back to Washington, DC I started triathlon training and racing. As my kids became old enough to play organized sports, I played and coached ice hockey and soccer, and continued to participate in distance cycling and running events. I currently coach and play ice hockey, cycle, train for triathlons, play golf and enjoy skiing, stand-up paddle, & hiking. My love of sports and need to be outdoors is a critical part of my life and happiness. As a dad and a coach, I know how our young athletes feel and the challenges they face on and off the field when they sustain an injury. Our team understands how important it is for people to recover from injury, restore mobility, and optimize function to get back to the activities they love, and I have dedicated my professional life to making that possible.
EXPERTISE
My expertise is sports medicine and surgery of the shoulder, knee and elbow. This involves treating athletes with cartilage injuries, tendon and ligament tears, fractures and dislocations as well as muscle injuries. We perform state-of-the-art repairs and reconstructions with evidence-based medical science and the latest techniques. A specific interest outside the operating room is developing treatment protocols which focus on getting patients back to their activities. This can mean getting a 15-year-old back to his sport so he can earn a DI scholarship, helping a 42-year-old solve her knee pain so she can train for a triathlon, helping an elite cyclist get back to racing fitness, or getting a 14-year-old swimmer back in the pool after a shoulder injury.
The best results are achieved by tailoring PT protocols so that they match the individual needs of each patient and their sport of preference. The rehab and return to play for a high-collision sport like ice hockey is significantly different from the treatment required to help a basketball or tennis player with a sprained ankle.
COLLABORATIVE APPROACH
Treatment decisions are made collaboratively with our patients. Surgery is always the last option and only undertaken when it is in the patient’s best interest. Our nonoperative measures are specific and tailored for each patient and we work with elite physical therapists from several practices throughout the region. We also partner with strength and conditioning coaches, nutritionists, dieticians, psychologists and counselors in multiple fields to formulate treatment protocols that meet each individual athlete’s needs.
INNOVATION
Stryker Australia 5 11 2017 Photo: Beau Pilgrim
As a consultant for Stryker and Arthrex, I participate in product design and development as well as medical education — teaching other surgeons how to refine their techniques and use newly developed implants and surgical techniques. I also teach orthopaedic surgical residents in the operating room at Sibley Hospital, speak regularly at national and international conferences, and serve as a peer reviewer for several orthopaedic journals. These activities collectively help me stay abreast of the latest technologies, evidence-based medicine and best practices so that I can offer appropriate, cutting-edge treatments to my patients with respect to their age, activity levels, interests and specific injury.
Dr. Rudzki in the Media:
- Dr. Rudzki YouTube Channel
- Washington Post 1 – Health & Science: Stretching & Flexibility
- Washington Post 2 – Health Section: One Joint Shoulders a Heavy Load
- Washingtonian – 2012 Profile
- Parent Insider – ACL Blog on Teen ACL Injuries
Dr. Jonas R. Rudzki is a board-certified, fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in sports medicine, with a concentration on conditions and injuries of the shoulder, knee, and elbow. A native Washingtonian, Dr. Rudzki completed his fellowship on the Sports Medicine & Shoulder Service at the world-renowned Hospital for Special Surgery in New York in 2006 after his residency at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital of Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.
Dr. Rudzki’s research interests include rotator cuff injuries and surgical repairs, shoulder injury in overhead athletes, clavicle fractures, cartilage biology and transplantation, and trauma outcomes research. His research efforts have resulted in more than 20 publications and led to presentations and lectures at national and international conferences. Dr. Rudzki has served on the Evaluation Committee and the Board of Councilors of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Active in the evaluation of current research, he serves as a Consultant Reviewer for the American Journal of Sports Medicine, the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, and the Journal of Knee Surgery. His research experience, academic interests, and commitment to clinical excellence shape his approach to care with a focus on individualizing treatment for patients to fit their unique lifestyles and injury patterns.
Dr. Rudzki and his wife have three children. He enjoys playing golf and ice hockey, triathlon training, coaching youth soccer and ice hockey, and spending time with his family.
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