Everyone who practices orthopedic sports medicine – “not 90 percent, not 95 percent, but 100 percent” – has been an athlete and experienced a sports injury.
That’s the philosophy of Dr. Randall Wroble, an orthopedic surgeon for Orthopedic ONE in central Ohio.
Originally from the Chicago area, Wroble grew up wrestling and playing football throughout high school. He played football at Cornell University while earning his undergraduate degree, and that was when he experienced his first athletic injury: a torn ACL.
Despite his recovery, he felt frustrated with the limitation of treatments and the outcomes they yielded.
“I … felt like there’s got to be a better way to do this,” says Wroble.
After his recovery and his graduation with a bachelor of science in chemistry from Cornell, Wroble went on to get his master’s in organic chemistry from the University of Colorado Boulder before attending medical school at the University of Illinois College of Medicine.
Wroble decided to specialize in orthopedic sports medicine, so he completed his residency at the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, where he worked with the wrestling team. Wroble then traveled to Ohio to complete his fellowship in orthopedic sports medicine at the Cincinnati SportsMedicine & Orthopaedic Center.
Wroble’s personal experience with a sports injury makes him very relatable as a doctor, says Dr. Jeff Backes, another orthopedic surgeon at Orthopedic ONE. Backes is more familiar with Wroble’s approach than most. In addition to a colleague, he is also Wroble’s former patient.
“I was injured my junior year of high school, in Columbus. I missed my whole junior year of high school football. I met Dr. Wroble through that injury,” says Backes. “He performed surgery on my shoulder and then I rehabilitated."
"Senior year of high school, I won the honor of Mr. Ohio Football. I give a lot of credit to Dr. Wroble.” - Dr. Jeff backes
Backes says for a young athlete who can’t play, it can seem like the world is collapsing, and that made him appreciate Wroble’s approach even more.
“Dr. Wroble seemed to understand, and he seemed to be able to relate to the emotional disaster that an injury was to a young high school kid that wanted to play football in college,” says Backes.
Wroble says any patient who comes in for necessary orthopedic treatment has high expectations, but athletes set the bar even higher.
“The expectations of a competitive athlete is, ‘I want to be 100 percent or more.’ It’s a real challenge,” he says. “If you know that person gets back to 100 percent, it feels really good, because it’s hard to get back to 100 percent.”
Wroble has worked with many professional teams throughout his career, including the U.S. men’s national soccer team, the world and Olympic wrestling teams, and the Columbus Blue Jackets. Even while having worked with such high-profile teams, Wroble still makes young athletes a priority. He has served for nearly 25 years as an athletic physician at Grove City High School.
“The guys that are coaching now are athletes that I took care of in high school, and that’s kind of neat,” he says. “These are guys I remember when they were little teenagers, and now they’re sending their protégés to me. It’s a lot of fun to see them grow up and become the new leaders.”
Meanwhile, Wroble continues to work with his own protégé.
“I have the honor of standing next to him,” says Backes, “which is a very surreal experience. I tell quite a few patients that … (he’s) one of the reasons I went into orthopedic surgery. I get to stand next to him and ask him questions, and I’m still learning from him.”
Sports Injuries and Prevention
Of all of the sports out there, Dr. Randall Wroble has a special interest in wrestling.
“The truth of it is every football team has a doctor,” says Wroble. “But there are very few of us who are very active and interested in wrestling. It’s become an integral part of my life. I think I help a lot of people in that area, and they appreciate me and what I do.”
Wroble says wrestlers are unique among athletes when it comes to injuries.
“In wrestling, there’s everything. There are issues with people losing weight to make weight. There are issues with skin problems of different types. There are concussions. There’s the twisting of some joints, sprain-type injuries,” says Wroble. “The doctor that works with wrestlers has to be pretty well-versed in lots of different kinds of injuries.”
When it comes to preventing injuries, Wroble says to follow the same advice your coach and parents would give you.
“Stay in great shape, stay strong, lift weights or train to get stronger, work hard and practice your sport,” Wroble says.
Hailey Stangebye is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
About the Expert
Dr. Randall Wroble graduated with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry at Cornell University, where he also played varsity football. He has a master's degree in organic chemistry from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Previously, Dr. Wroble has served as team orthopedic surgeon for the Columbus Blue Jackets, the two-time American Basketball League Champions Columbus Quest, the Columbus Xoggz (U.S. International Soccer League) and the Columbus Chill. Dr. Wroble has received numerous accolades for his work and dedication to high school, collegiate and professional sports, including the 2013 Greg Brooks Award. Dr. Wroble was also named a 2013 “Top Doc” in sports medicine by U.S. News and World Report.
