Neurological Sports Injury Center

The Neurological Sports Injury Center will provide comprehensive care for a full range of neurological sports injuries. Our primary areas of expertise include:

• Sports-related head injuries
• Sport-related spine injuries
• Second opinions for sports-team physicians, trainers, athletes and their families
• Rehabilitation as a part of ongoing treatment or post-operative care
• Safe “return to play” recommendations
• Modern microneurosurgical minimally-invasive operative treatment designed to allow early return to sports without limitations

Who we Treat:

We are available to treat patients of all ages with sports related injuries. We will provide expert care to patient-athletes (pediatric, high school, college, professional and amateur). Sports Injury Center specialists will diagnose head and spine sports-related injuries, prescribe treatment, and assess return-to-play issues, often in conjunction with sports-team physicians. The patient can be assured that his or her care will be in the hands of a team of specialists best qualified to deal with sports-related head and spine injuries.

Services Offered:

The Sports Injury Center provides diagnosis and treatment for patient athletes ages 15 and older with sports-related injuries including high school, college, professional, and amateur athletes. Services offered by the Center include:

• Diagnosis and treatment of sports-related head and spine injuries;
• Consultation for sports-team physicians, athletic trainers, athletes and their families;
• Rehabilitation (ongoing or post-operative care);
• Recommendations for safe return-to-play practices;
• Modern, microneurosurgical, minimally invasive operative treatment designed to allow early return to sports without limitations

Physicians and Area of Expertise:

Patients can be confident that they will receive the highest quality care available at the Neurological Sports Injury Center. The physicians are expert neurosurgeons with an interest in neurological sports-related injuries. 

Robert Cantu, MD

Dr. Cantu is an Adjunct Staff Member at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Service Chief of Neurosurgery and Director of Sports Medicine at Emerson Hospital in Concord, Massachusetts. He completed his neurosurgery training at Massachusetts General Hospital.  He is currently the medical director of the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research, located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, an ongoing registry instituted in 1982 for data collection and analysis of spine and head injuries. Dr. Cantu’s clinical interests include his work in head and spine surgery as well as treatment, diagnosis and return to play criteria for concussion. Dr. Cantu is well known for his work in the area of sports related concussions. Dr. Cantu has been a consultant to many college and professional teams over the years. He has written over 260 books, peer reviewed publications and book chapters on the subject of head and spine injuries and concussion in sports. Dr. Cantu currently serves as a principle editor for Neurosurgery and Vice President for NOCSAE (National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment.

Mark Proctor, MD

Dr. Proctor trained at Georgetown University Hospital and the Children’s Hospital Boston. He is currently Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School  and a staff Neurosurgeon at Children’s Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Proctor’s clinical interests include pediatric spine and craniofacial disorders, brain tumors, and sports-related neurological injuries. He has published and lectured widely on the topics of sports-related head and spine injuries.

Hours of Availability:

The Sports Injury Center offers 24-hour on-call consultation service.  Appointments at the Center are available on Mondays from 3:00-5:00 p.m. or on other days by request.

How to Contact the Neurological Sports Injury Center:
Email:  NeurosportsInjury@partners.org
Phone: (617) 732-6600
Address: 
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
75 Francis Street
Boston, MA  02115