Baptist Health Surgeon Helps FAU College Athletes Stay Healthy

Ask any team physician in collegiate sports why they do what they do and most will tell you it’s about seeing the young men and women they care for grow and mature and helping them to compete to the very best of their ability.

“You get very close with the players and the staff and it’s fun to watch the kids grow and play. You get to see how they mature over the year and overcome obstacles,” says Matthew Motisi, D.O., a general orthopedic surgeon with Baptist Health Orthopedic Care who also serves as team physician for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams at Florida Atlantic University (FAU).

Following up on last year’s Final Four

It’s also pretty special when your team – the FAU Owls – ends the 2022-2023 men’s hoops season with a 35-4 record, capped by a deep run in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, aka “March Madness.”

(Watch now: Baptist Health Orthopedic surgeon Matthew Motisi, D.O., talks about what’s it’s like serving as team physician for the Florida Atlantic University Owls men’s and women’s basketball teams. Video by Eduardo Morales.)

The ninth-seed Owls notched wins over eighth-seed Memphis and fourth-seed Tennessee, followed by a huge win over third-seed Kansas State. In their first-ever Final Four appearance, the Owls lost by one point to San Diego State when the Aztecs hit a last-second buzzer-beater for a come-from-behind win that sent them to the Finals.

Watching the Owls make it all the way to the Final Four and play in New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden was an amazing experience, says Dr. Motisi, who specializes in sports medicine, shoulder surgery and joint reconstruction.

“That whole month of March Madness, it was exciting to see how the team prepared for every game,” he says. “I’d watch them in practice and at the film sessions and see how they would plan. It was a great experience to see those kids overcome what was never expected of them and handle it with such maturity. That was ultimate basketball.”

Matthew Motisi, D.O., general orthopedic surgeon with Baptist Health Orthopedic Care and team physician for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams at Florida Atlantic University

It takes a team to care for a team

A typical game day for Dr. Motisi begins with checking in with the FAU Owls’ athletic trainers and making sure there are no acute or chronic injuries that have not been addressed prior to the game. “Then, I usually show up a half-hour or so before tip-off and check in with the players and let them know I’m here to support them.”

In basketball, says Dr. Motisi, players are primarily at risk for knee, ankle and foot injuries. “Ankle sprains are probably the most common, followed by knee injuries such as ACL tears,” he says. “We do also have players that hurt their upper extremities, such as their elbows and wrists from falls.”

Keeping a team healthy during the season is incredibly important to their ability to advance, and Dr. Motisi says he is fortunate to have the support and expertise of not only the FAU athletic training staff but also his own team at Baptist Health Orthopedic Care. He says that with their help, he is able to take care of Owls athletes in a timely manner and effectively care for the team in its entirety.

If necessary, Dr. Motisi says, he will refer injured players to top specialists at Baptist Health. “With their help, we’re able to accurately diagnose and quickly treat players so they can get back to playing as soon as possible. Our orthopedics team treats players for foot and ankle conditions, spine conditions and other complex sports conditions.”

High expectations for this year’s March Madness

Dr. Motisi says he wasn’t surprised at the Owls’ success last season and now that the team has been to the Final Four, he knows their expectations for this season are even higher.

“They’re very talented kids and they put in a lot of hard work, so it’s not unexpected that they went as far as they did last season,” Dr. Motisi says. “Now they’re playing harder and with more intensity because they won’t be satisfied with anything less this year,” he says.

The flip side, Dr. Motisi says, is that after working so hard to get so far, an injury can be even more devastating for players. “After what they accomplished last season, we have to try our best to keep them as healthy as possible so they’re able to do at least as well this year,” Dr. Motisi says.

Regardless of how the Owls fare this season, Dr. Motisi says he loves his role as team physician and hopes he’ll be doing it for many years. “I’m fortunate to have had that sideline view and watch them play all last season, and to watch them grow even more this season,” he says. “They’re bigger, stronger, faster and more mature. They should do well.”