Today we’d like to introduce you to Morgan Heinzelmann-weisbaum
Hi Morgan, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Reflecting back on my childhood, I remember having two major influences. The first was medicine; I witnessed my dad’s love for his work as a physician and the positive impact he had on his patients’ lives. The second was sports; a large part of my early life was spent training and competing at high levels in gymnastics and cheerleading. Then, my interests in medicine and sports intersected when I experienced my own sports-related orthopedic and neurologic injuries, surgeries, and rehabilitation. It was a brain injury I sustained as a collegiate athlete at Davidson College that ultimately inspired me to become a physician to care for athletes, exercisers, and any individual motivated to improve his/her health and function. More specifically, I became passionate about becoming a sports neurologist.
After college, I spent two years at the National Institutes of Health performing research on traumatic brain injury in athletes and military personnel, with the goal of furthering our understanding of brain injury and concussion. I then obtained my MD at George Washington University, followed by a Neurology residency at UT Southwestern. Lastly, I completed specialized fellowship training in Sports Neurology and Pain Medicine at the prestigious Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles. There, I gained experience treating neurologic injuries and pain in athletes at all levels of sport, both in the clinic and on the sidelines/ringside. Now, I feel very fortunate to have established my dream career here at Emory in Atlanta!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have certainly been ups and downs along my 15-year journey of education and training. However, I now see that one of the biggest struggles along the way, my brain injury, played a pivotal role in making me who I am today. After my injury, I was extremely discouraged by my headaches, dizziness, and cognitive impairments, all of which interfered with my academics, sports, and social activities. Despite daily rehabilitation, I experienced and was frustrated by my slow recovery; I wanted to understand why, for both me and others in the future. This experience motivated each of my subsequent steps – my research, volunteer work, education, and training.
Although the road has been challenging, my brain injury has given me invaluable insight into aspects of what my patients experience. Between this and my background as a former high-performance athlete, I believe I’m equipped with a unique “playbook” for serving my patients.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a board-certified neurologist and currently serve as an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Neurology and Orthopaedics at Emory. On a daily basis, I see patients in the non-operative spine and sports neurology clinics. As a spine specialist, I treat spine pain through a combination of conservative therapies and ultrasound/fluoroscopy-guided procedures. As a sports neurologist, I do the following: (1) diagnose and treat sports-related neurologic injuries, (2) manage common neurologic conditions in athletes and guide safe participation in sport, and (3) promote the neurologic benefit of exercise and sport. In addition to seeing patients in clinic, I also enjoy providing neurologic medical coverage, with a particular interest in combat sports and American football.
I’m known for my passion and experience in the niche subspecialty of Sports Neurology, as there are few fellowship-trained sports neurologists in the country. My work has been highlighted through speaking engagements, interviews, written pieces, podcast episodes, and involvement in the FIGS x Team USA media campaign for the 2024 Olympics.
While I’m extremely proud of my accomplishments, I’m most proud of the care I strive to provide for my patients daily. I actively listen, consider all possible diagnoses, provide education, and use shared decision-making with each patient to create a personalized workup and treatment plan. Furthermore, I aim to get to know my patients holistically, so we can work together to meet their goals. It’s such an honor to do what I do!
Pricing:
- N/A
Contact Info:
- Website: https://providers.emoryhealthcare.org/provider/morgan-michelle-heinzelmann-weisbaum/2631089
- Instagram: moheinz_md
Image Credits
N/A
