Episode 21: Nichole Thompson's Tour de ACL

September 28, 2017
In Episode 21 Nichole Thompson tells the story of tearing her ACL and the following surgery & rehab. She is an outstanding inspiration and has some great thoughts about getting through and actually gaining something from an injury and any setback. Orthopedic Sports Surgeon, Dr. Sabrina Strickland from Hospital of Special Surgery, starts the episode by adding a good amount of science background on women and ACLs because women do tear their ACLs more often than men. 

Dr. Sabrina Strickland is board-certified in Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Surgery at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), where she specializes in surgery of the knee and shoulder. She completed her residency and fellowship in Sports Medicine at HSS after completing medical school at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke’s. Prior to that, Dr. Strickland received her B.A. from Cornell University. Currently, Dr. Strickland is an Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at HSS and Weill Cornell Medical College and a Consultant at the Bronx VA. She retired from her part-time position as the Chief of Orthopaedics at the VA in 2012 after seven years of service.

Dr. Strickland is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, and the Arthroscopy Association of North America. She also serves as a reviewer for the American Journal of Sports Medicine and is an active member on several national committees. Her research focuses on the knee joint specifically patellofemoral arthritis and instability and ACL injury. Prior to pursuing her medical career, Dr. Strickland was a ski instructor during college and spent a year skiing in Crested Butte, Colorado. She currently spends every winter weekend skiing and watching her three girls compete in ski races at Windham and surrounding mountains.

Nichole Thompson is a Human Resources Consultant for Ahold Delhaize USA, which operates over 800 supermarkets in the United States.  Focused on strategy and planning, she works on a variety of projects that cross several segments of the business and provides continuity, experience and leadership to the project teams.   In 2011, Nichole was honored by Progressive Grocer with The Top Women in Grocery award for her contributions in the industry and in 2015, she and the team she led were awarded the Better Place to Work award by Ahold in recognition of their contributions towards outstanding associate engagement.

Nichole and her family live on the North Shore of Boston and enjoy participating in an active life and engaging in meaningful work within the community.  She is the founder of the North Shore Women’s Networking Group and is active at the local community Charter School where she serves as the Chair of the Governance Committee.  As a graduate of Skidmore College, she proudly continues her relationship with the school and for the past 8 years has been a guest lecturer for a business class titled “The Brand Called Me”, which focuses on networking and interviewing skills for graduating students.

The love of sports continues to drive Nichole during her free time towards races, challenges and new goals.  What she lacks in speed, she makes up for in endurance and determination to work hard and cross the finish line.  As a former College swimmer, she enjoys the solitude of individual sports while also gaining energy from being a part of a team.  She has completed three marathons, including the Boston Marathon, several triathlons and in the past 4 years returned to a sport she loved as a kid – tennis. 

Dr. Sabrina Strickland
FIFA Health and Fitness for the Female Soccer Player
Santa Monica Sports Medicine Foundation's PEP Program's ACL Injury Prevention Exercises (video)
Santa Monica Sports Medicine Foundation's PEP Program
Boston Sports Medicine Physical Therapy
Therapist Shira Dragun at Leap Fitness
Dr. Peter Asnis, Massachusetts General Hospital