Stanley L. James, M.D. Inducted into AOSSM Hall of Fame

Dr. Stanley James has joined the elite ranks of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine’s (AOSSM) Hall of Fame. Directly after completing his undergraduate studies at Iowa, Dr. James—who would go on to become a founding member of the AOSSM—went on active duty as an army aviator, then returned to his home state to attend the University of Iowa Medical School.

While completing his residency in orthopedic surgery at Iowa, Dr. James collaborated with exercise physiologist, Charles Tipton Ph.D. They studied the influence of exercise on ligament healing, finding that exercise actually enhanced ligament healing as opposed to immobilization, which was the standard of treatment at that time. Published in The American Journal of Physiology in 1970, the study was several years ahead of the curve when early motion following surgery became a standard of treatment. In the early 1970s, he collaborated with University of Oregon track coach, Bill Bowerman, co-founder of Nike, and was a member of Bowerman’s select think-tank for shoe design. He served as Medical Director for the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1976, 1980, and 2008, and is at present treating elite runners preparing for the 2012 Olympics.