Joseph Torg, MD
Professor Emeritus

Dr. Torg is the founding director of the Temple University Center for Sports Medicine, the first affiliated with a university, which provided care for the athletes of Philadelphia. His research on the effects on the effect of the shoe-playing surface interface and its relationship to football knee injuries was directly responsible for both the National Federation of State High School Associations and the National Collegiate Athletic Association mandating that cleats be no longer then one-half inch. His published description of the Lachman Test for ACL instability, which he named for his professor, Dr. John Lachman, is widely regarded as a classic work. Dr. Torg was also instrumental in opening Little League baseball to girls.

Dr. Torg's most well-known contribution has been his research identifying catastrophic cervical spine and cord injuries from the previously unrecognized axial loading mechanism of the spine from spearing and head-down contact. After analyzing data from the National Football Head and Neck Injury Registry, Dr. Torg recommended rule changes that resulted in a marked decrease in cervical cord injuries resulting in quadriplegia as a distinct benign clinical entity. Dr. Torg has also published criteria for return to play following cervical spine injury.

Dr. Torg has co-authored three textbooks and well over 100 articles published in peer-reviewed journals. He served on President Reagan's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Dr. Torg has received teh 9th annual Eastern Orthopaedic Association award for spinal research, the Nicholas Andre Award, the North American Spine Assocation annual award, the NATA President's Challenge award, and the 2004 Elizabeth Winston Lanier Kappa Delta award. He is also an AOSSM Hall of Fame member.

Office Address

Medical School
Temple University School of Medicine – Philadelphia, PA

Residency
Orthopaedic Surgery – Temple University Hospital – Philadelphia, PA

Board Certification
Board Certified – American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery

Clinical Interests
Sports Medicine

Research Interests
Sports-related Cervical Spine injuries

Select Publications 

Purchase R, Mason R, Hsu V, Rogers K, Gaughan JP, Torg J, Fourteen-year prospective results of a high-density polyethylene prosthetic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. J Long Term Eff Med Implants 17:1(13-9)2007

Tierney RT, Sitler MR, Swanik CB, Swanik KA, Higgins M, Torg J, Gender differences in head-neck segment dynamic stabilization during head acceleration. Med Sci Sports Exerc 37:2(272-9)2005 Feb

Torg JS, Cervical spinal stenosis with cord neurapraxia: evaluations and decisions regarding participation in athletics. Curr Sports Med Rep 1:1(43-6)2002 Feb

Torg JS, Guille JT, Jaffe S, Injuries to the cervical spine in American football players. J Bone Joint Surg Am 84-A:1(112-22)2002 Jan

Torg JS, Corcoran TA, Thibault LE, Pavlov H, Sennett BJ, Naranja RJ Jr, Priano S, Cervical cord neurapraxia: classification, pathomechanics, morbidity, and management guidelines. J Neurosurg 87:6(843-50)1997 Dec