Sara N. Raiser, M.D.

Sara Raiser, MD, FAAPMR, CAQSM, LMT is a primary care sports medicine academic physiatrist and running medicine physician at the University of Virginia Runners’ Clinic in Charlottesville. She has a keen interest in running medicine and has trained with running medicine experts across the country. Because she enjoys providing holistic and comprehensive care to athletes, much of her time is spent working closely with a multidisciplinary team to care for athletes with complex conditions such as bone stress injuries by addressing biomechanics, nutrition, and training plans, as well as performing run gait evaluations, assisting with return to run/sport plans, and addressing issues specific to the female athlete. She currently serves as a team physician for James Madison University Division I Athletics.

Her future programming will work to shift the mindset of runners’ healthcare to primary preventative care and early intervention with the goals of limiting downtime from illness and injury and improving runner efficiency and performance. She emphasizes the importance of education regarding injury prevention and athlete self-care for all ages and levels of runners from youth to master. She works to provide this education within her clinic as well as through local community outreach programs. She serves to empower female athletes of all ages to cultivate a lifelong respect for their bodies. She also has an interest in improving the musculoskeletal education of medical students, residents, and fellows given the vast influence musculoskeletal medicine has on a patient’s quality of life and function throughout their lifetime. She is involved in medical education research and medical student, fellow, and faculty teaching at institutional and national levels. She looks forward to the positive changes to come for all athletes, but especially to the care of the runner and the female athlete.

She has served as a team physician for Atlanta Track Club’s Elite Development Team; George Tech (Div I) and Emory College (Div III) Cross Country and Track & Field teams; Stanford University Varsity Athletics (Div I); South Forsyth, Cherokee Bluff, and Flowery Branch High Schools. She provides mass event medical coverage for road races, cross country races, and track and field events.

M.D. Degree

University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL

Residency

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA

Fellowship

Primary Care Sports Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA

Certifications

• Licensed by the Virginia Board of Medicine
• Board-certified in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
• Board-certified in Primary Care Sports Medicine

Additional Specialties: Sports Medicine

• Assistant Professor, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
• Physician, The Runner’s Clinic at UVA
• Team Physician, James Madison University Division I Athletics

Conditions Treated

• Running Injuries & Sports Medicine:
• Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs), Fe/male Athlete Triad, Stress Fractures, Iron Deficiency, Achilles Tendonitis, Ankle Sprain, Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome, DJD of the Hip Knee, Ankle, and Foot, Epicondylitis, Hamstring Strain, Iliotibial Band Syndrome, Ischial Bursitis, Knee Sprain, Osteitis Pubis, Osteoarthritis, Patellar Tendonitis, Patellofemoral Syndrome, Plantar Fasciitis, Rotator Cuff Tendonitis, Shin Splints, Sports Hernia, Tennis Elbow, Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome, Trochanteric Bursitis

Research Interest

• Running medicine
• Female athlete
• Bone stress injury

Languages Spoken

• English

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation