Dr. David Westerdahl started Sports Health Northwest, Inc to provide the best possible care for patients in Portland, Oregon. He is a member of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, the American College of Sports Medicine, and the American Academy of Family Medicine. Dr. Westerdahl is also a former Panthers NHL and Dolphins NFL team physician, and has worked with numerous professional, college and high school teams. He enjoys working closely with atletic trainers, physical therapists, and referring physicians to help athletes of all ages return to play.
Building on over 18 years of experience working with patients of all ages at the Cleveland Clinic as a sports medicine specialist in the Department of Orthopedics, Dr. Westerdahl takes a comprehensive approach to patient care. He provides thorough evaluations of injuries and the most up-to-date and innovative treatment options.
Dr. Westerdahl grew up in Washington and graduated from Washington State University. He then attended medical school at Loma Linda University in California. He is a board-certified and fellowship-trained sports medicine physician specializing in treating musculoskeletal conditions, sports injuries, orthopedic injuries, and performing musculoskeletal ultrasounds.
His focus is to help patients overcome injuries and pain by working together to develop a healthcare relationship that accurately diagnoses their problems, enhances recovery, and improves quality of life. While working for Cleveland Clinic, he embraced the motto of caring for the sick and investigating their problems. During his work at Cleveland Clinic, he developed a reputation for helping patients with complicated orthopedic and sports-related conditions. In many cases, he provided a second or third opinion on treatment options.
Dr. Westerdahl’s interests include sports injuries, arthritis of the knee and hip, tendinopathies of the upper and lower extremities, musculoskeletal ultrasound for diagnostic and guided interventional procedures, minimally invasive procedures like Tenex (percutaneous tenotomy/fasciotomy), cooled radiofrequency ablation for knee and hip arthritis, ortho biologics like platelet-rich plasma and bone marrow aspirate concentrate, sports-related concussions, human performance, and orthopedic second opinions.
Dr. Westerdahl is board-certified in sports medicine, musculoskeletal ultrasound, and family medicine. He completed a sports medicine fellowship in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Cleveland Clinic’s main campus in Cleveland, Ohio, and his family medicine residency at Florida Hospital in Orlando, Florida. He is also certified through the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonography.
Dr. Westerdahl also has an interest and additional training in healthcare communication. He edits and writes medical board exam questions and serves as volunteer faculty in Providence Milwaukie Hospital’s family medicine residency program, where he enjoys teaching and working with other physicians.
The Faces of NW Portland--Article featuring Dr. David Westerdahl
