Dr. Torg was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and attended Haverford College, where he excelled on the gridiron. He received both his medical and orthopaedic training at Temple University Hospital, where orthopaedic icons Howard H. Steel, MD, and John W. Lachman, MD, helped form Dr. Torg into a brilliant clinician and surgeon. In 1972, Dr. Torg and Ted Quedenfeld, the head athletic trainer at Temple University, created the first academic center for sports medicine in the United States, which provided exemplary care to athletes and served as a foundation for prolific research. In 1978, Dr. Torg was recruited to establish the University of Pennsylvania Sports Medicine Center. Throughout his career he served as a mentor to numerous fellows, residents, and students and served as a team physician for most of the professional teams in Philadelphia.
Dr. Torg’s brilliant and inquisitive mind prompted him to relentlessly challenge existing paradigms regarding the care of injured athletes. He possessed exceptional self-assuredness and once he solved a research question, nothing would deter him from bringing his thesis to fruition. His integrity was remarkable and he was passionate about any injustice, especially concerning avoidable injury.
His research findings were game changers and resulted in seismic shifts in sports medicine. In conjunction with Ted Quedenfeld, Dr. Torg recognized that football shoe cleat designs created excessive levels of turf friction and potentiated catastrophic knee injuries. Their published groundbreaking research on the cleat-turf interface resulted in the transition to the modern cleat design. The number of knees spared devastating ligamentous damage is incalculable.
In a landmark article in 1976, Dr. Torg described an exam to accurately diagnose ACL tears and labelled it the Lachman Test to honor his mentor. This test has become the most cited examination tool in sports medicine and has empowered clinicians to accurately diagnose ACL tears in an expedient fashion with extraordinary sensitivity.
iant and inquisitive mind prompted him to relentlessly challenge existing paradigms regarding the care of injured athletes. He possessed exceptional self-assuredness and once he solved a research question, nothing would deter him from bringing his thesis to fruition. His integrity was remarkable and he was passionate about any injustice, especially concerning avoidable injury.
His research findings were game changers and resulted in seismic shifts in sports medicine. In conjunction with Ted Quedenfeld, Dr. Torg recognized that football shoe cleat designs created excessive levels of turf friction and potentiated catastrophic knee injuries. Their published groundbreaking research on the cleat-turf interface resulted in the transition to the modern cleat design. The number of knees spared devastating ligamentous damage is incalculable.
In a landmark article in 1976, Dr. Torg described an exam to accurately diagnose ACL tears and labelled it the Lachman Test to honor his mentor. This test has become the most cited examination tool in sports medicine and has empowered clinicians to accurately diagnose ACL tears in an expedient fashion with extraordinary sensitivity.
The hallmark of Dr. Torg’s storied career was his revelation that spear tackling, or tackling with the crown of the head, caused axial loading on the cervical spine, which sometimes led to quadriplegia. He overcame resistance from the NCAA to change the rules, and the subsequent ban on spear tackling reduced the rate of quadriplegia in football from an average of 30 cases per year to 5–6 cases per year.
Through his creation, the National Football Head and Neck Registry, Dr. Torg described cervical cord neuropraxia (CCN) as a distinct benign entity, which does not preclude the return to football. He recognized the relationship of CCN with cervical canal stenosis and the risk of recurrence based on the degree of stenosis. His recommended use of the “Cowboy Collar” reduced the risk of extension “burners,” protecting countless “neurons” from repetitive trauma. In addition, he published comprehensive criteria for the safe return to sports following cervical spine injury.
Dr. Torg challenged the existing paradigm of delayed reduction of traumatic unilateral and bilateral facet dislocations. He passionately advocated for immediate reduction and stabilization of these injuries, enhancing the chances of neurologic recovery.
With his unparalleled insight, Dr. Torg was the first to recognize that tarsal navicular and 5th metatarsal stress fractures could be problematic and required early diagnosis and non-weightbearing to allow for healing. He published the index article demonstrating that most isolated PCL injuries can be treated non-operatively and crusaded against surgery for this condition. He contributed to the understanding of the non-contact ACL injury mechanism as an axial compression force. Lastly, he developed the first classification scheme for concussions which was the foundation for more contemporary characterizations of this common sports affliction.
The hallmark of Dr. Torg’s storied career was his revelation that spear tackling, or tackling with the crown of the head, caused axial loading on the cervical spine, which sometimes led to quadriplegia. He overcame resistance from the NCAA to change the rules, and the subsequent ban on spear tackling reduced the rate of quadriplegia in football from an average of 30 cases per year to 5–6 cases per year. Through his creation, the National Football Head and Neck Registry, Dr. Torg described cervical cord neuropraxia (CCN) as a distinct benign entity, which does not preclude the return to football. He recognized the relationship of CCN with cervical canal stenosis and the risk of recurrence based on the degree of stenosis. His recommended use of the “Cowboy Collar” reduced the risk of extension “burners,” protecting countless “neurons” from repetitive trauma.
In addition, he published comprehensive criteria for the safe return to sports following cervical spine injury. Dr. Torg challenged the existing paradigm of delayed reduction of traumatic unilateral and bilateral facet dislocations. He passionately advocated for immediate reduction and stabilization of these injuries, enhancing the chances of neurologic recovery. With his unparalleled insight, Dr. Torg was the first to recognize that tarsal navicular and 5th metatarsal stress fractures could be problematic and required early diagnosis and non-weightbearing to allow for healing. He published the index article demonstrating that most isolated PCL injuries can be treated non-operatively and crusaded against surgery for this condition. He contributed to the understanding of the non-contact ACL injury mechanism as an axial compression force. Lastly, he developed the first classification scheme for concussions which was the foundation for more contemporary characterizations of this common sports affliction.
Dr. Torg was a man of traditional values and revered his wife of 63 years, Barbara, and their three children: Joseph (Kathy), Betsy (Mark) and Jay (Cynthia) as well as seven grandchildren. He was a proud veteran and served as a Captain, U.S. Army 1962–1964.
Dr. Torg’s brilliant insight, tireless work, determination, and courage of his convictions, regardless of the fallout, distinguished him. We revered Dr. Torg and his portrayal of the power of indomitable will. Dr. Torg was a true renaissance man who transformed our beloved vocation of sports medicine into the modern era, all in the name of benevolence and defending the vulnerable. For all who have engaged in a contact sport, they must humbly acknowledge they likely were spared from potential catastrophic cervical or knee injury thanks to the genius of Dr. Torg.