Current Environment: Development

Dev

Medical Services

Specialties

Programs & Services

Education

Undergraduate School

James Madison University

2010, Harrisonburg, VA

Graduate School

MCPHS University

2015, Boston, MA

Professional History

Elspeth Hart began her academic career at James Madison University where was a Division I Collegiate Gymnast and Cheerleader and studied Athletic Training/Sports Medicine with a minor in Biology. She graduated in 2010, and took her boards to become a Certified Athletic Trainer. Elspeth then went on to obtain her Masters in Physician Assistant Studies from MCPHS University in Boston. She began working for Boston Children's Hospital: Sports Medicine Division as one of Dr. Lyle Micheli's Physician Assistants. While at Children's she started the countries first injured gymnast clinic, which grew quickly in popularity by providing gymnastics specific, diagnoses, treatment, and injury prevention. Elspeth also began working for USA Gymnastics in 2017, traveling both nationally and internationally with the gymnastics team as their Medical Provider for camps and competitions. After 3 years, at Boston Children's, she switched to private practice and also obtained her Doctorate Degree in 2019 at MCPHS University.

Elspeth is now back working for the Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention, a Division of Sports Medicine, where she focuses on evaluating, diagnosing and preventing all injuries/sports with a focus on gymnasts, cheerleaders, and ninjas. She also runs the countries first and only gymnastics specific clinic called Gymnastics Medicine. She also founded the nonprofit Gymnastics Medicine: Education and Research, which educates gymnasts, parents, coaches, and medical providers about gymnastics injuries and prevention (GymnasticsMedicine.org) and she continues to work as one of the Medical Providers for USA Gymnastics.

Elspeth is currently involved and has published multiple research studies/papers on gymnastics injuries and prevention, and she has taken care of a range of patients from elite/Olympic level, athletes to young recreational athletes. As a former Division I and Junior Olympic Gymnast and current avid Ninja Warrior (American Ninja Warrior Seasons 13 and 14), Snowboarder, and Surfer, Elspeth has a passion for sports and getting athletes back to the sports they love as safely and as quickly as possible.

Selected Publications
  1. Hart E, Meehan WP, Bae DS, d’Hemecourt P, Stracciolini A. The Young Injured Gymnast: A Literature Review and Discussion. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2018 Nov;17(11):366-375. PMID: 30407945. [3]https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30407945/
  2. Heyworth BE, Sullivan N, Hart E, Bauer A, Bae D. Gymnast’s Wrist: A retrospective analysis of descriptive epidemiology, clinical & radiologic features, treatment & outcomes. Orthop J Sports Med. v.7(3 Suppl); 2019 Mar. [4]https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2325967119S00064
  3. Hart E, Howell DR, Brilliant A, Meehan WP. Gymnastics and Concussions. PRISM Annual Meeting. Poster Presentation. [5]https://www.prismsports.org/UserFiles/file/26-Hart.pdf
  4. The most common gymnastics injuries: [6]https://chalkbucket.com/common-gymnastics-injuries/
  5. What it’s like to really do gymnastics in a mask: [7]https://fansided.com/2021/04/13/gymnastics-mask-emi-watterson/
  6. Hart EA, Nellans KW. (2019). Gymnast’s Wrist. In: Bauer, A., Bae, D. (eds) Upper Extremity Injuries in Young Athletes. Contemporary Pediatric and Adolescent Sports Medicine. Springer, Cham. [8]https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56651-1_6

I believe in empowering and educating my patients and their families on their injury and injury prevention. I use a multidisciplinary approach to my patients including physical and mental health, nutritional and sleep needs, and overall well-being to diagnosis and treat the athlete.