Christina Allen MD
Associate Professor of Clinical Orthopaedics
Biography
Dr. Christina Allen specializes in the treatment of knee and shoulder injuries, especially those of women athletes. An avid soccer enthusiast, she is an expert in treating anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries and shoulder athletic injuries. Dr. Allen is the Team Physician for the USA Taekwondo National Team and has traveled with the team to China, Azerbaijan, and Mexico for international and Olympic qualification competitions. Most recently, Dr. Allen has served as a Team Physician at the 2011 Pan American Games for Judo, Wrestling, and Taekwondo and will be team physician for the USA Taekwondo National Team at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. She is also an Orthopaedic Team physician for the United States Soccer National teams and has traveled with teams to Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Germany, and the Netherlands. She traveled with the US Soccer team to Russia in August of 2006 for the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, and with the US Women’s National Team to China in January 2008 for the Four Nations Tournament. She is also an Orthopaedic Team Physician for Cal athletics at the University of California at Berkeley. Allen earned a bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering at Duke University and was chief of biomedical engineering at the Veterans Affairs medical centers in Philadelphia and San Francisco before attending the UCLA School of Medicine.
Career
- 2012 - present: Professor of Clinical Orthopaedics, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, San Francisco
- 2007-Present: Orthopaedic Team Physician, Cal Men's Soccer, University of California Berkeley, CA
- 2007-Present: Fellowship Director, UCSF Sports Medicine
- 2006 - 2012: Associate Professor of Clinical Orthopaedics, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, San Francisco
- 2004 - Present: Orthopaedic Team Physician, US Soccer Women's National Teams
- 2005 - Present: Orthopaedic Team Physician, US Taekwondo
- 2002 - Present: Orthopaedic Team Physician, Cal Athletics, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
- 2002 - Present: Orthopaedic Team Physician, Cal Women's Soccer, University of California Berkeley, CA
- 2002 - 2006: Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, San Francisco
- 2002 - Present: Orthopaedic Team Physician, Lowell High School, San Francisco, CA
- 2000 - 2001: Clinical Instructor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA.
- 1986 - 1991: Chief, Biomedical Engineering, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, CA.
- 1983 - 1986: Chief, Biomedical Engineering, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA.
Education
- 1983: BSE, Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
- 1991: MD, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA
- 1996: General Surgery Intern, Department of General Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA.
- 1997: Orthopaedic Research Resident, Musculoskeletal Research Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA
- 2000: Orthopaedic Surgery Resident, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA
- 2002: Sports Medicine Fellow, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Publications
- CR Allen, LD Kaplan, DJ Fluhme, and CD Harner. Posterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries, Current Opinion in Rheumatology, 2002, Volume 14, Issue 2, p. 142-149. PMID: 11845019
- CR Allen, R Giffin, CD Harner. Revision ACL Reconstruction, Orthopaedic Clinics of North
- CR Allen, G Nagpal. "Your Orthopaedic Connection: ACL Injuries", American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Patient Education Website, Sybil Biermann, ed. On-line September 2005, updated and revised 2009:
- CA Fontbote, TC Sell, KG Laudner, M Haemmerle, CR Allen, F Margheritini, SM Lephart, CD Harner. Neuromuscular and biomechanical adaptations of patients with isolated deficiency of the posterior cruciate ligament, American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2005, Volume 33, No. 7, p. 982-989. PMID: 15888720
- JC Giaconi, CR Allen, LS Steinbach. Anterior Cruciate Ligament Graft Reconstruction: Clinical, Technical and Imaging Overview. Topics in Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 2009 Jun, Vol 10, No. 3, pp 129-150. PMID 20410802
- RW Wright, LL Huston, W Dunn, A Haas, CR Allen, et al. (MARS Group) Descriptive Epidemiology of the Multi-Center ACL Revision Study (MARS) Cohort. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2010, Volume 38, p. 1979-1986. PMID: 20889962.
- SC Cheung, CR Allen, RA Gallo, CB Ma, BT Feeley. Patients' Attitudes and Factors in Their Selection of Grafts for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction. The Knee, 2011 Jan 4. PMID: 21211979
- JR Borchers, CC Kaeding, AD Pedroza, LJ Huston, KP Spindler, RW Wright, CR Allen, et al. (MARS and MOON Groups). Intraarticular Findings in Primary and Revision ACL Reconstruction Surgery: A Comparison of the MOON and MARS Study Groups. American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2011, Jun 6. PMID 21646434
- YJ Kao, J Ho, CR Allen. "Evaluation and Management of Osteochondritis Dissecans of the Knee”, The Physician and Sportsmedicine, Volume 2011, Number 4, November 2011.
- T Miller, G Jones, CR Allen (member of MOON Shoulder Group). Arthroscopic evaluation and treatment of biceps brachii long head tendon injuries: A survey of the MOON shoulder group. International Journal of Shoulder Surgery july-sept 2011 vol 5 issue 3, p 68-71
- Book Chapters:
- 1. CR Allen, J Rihn, CD Harner. Posterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries: Diagnosis and Decision-making. Arthroscopy, Miller and Cole, eds. Saunders Publishing, 2004.
- 2. CR Allen, MS Safran. Clinical Evaluation of the Painful Elbow. MRI of the Upper Extremity: Shoulder, Elbow, Wrist, and Hand. Steinbach, Chung, eds., 2010.
- 3. SA Aviles, CR Allen. Knee Arthroscopy: The Basics. Operative Techniques in Orthopaedic Surgery, Sam Wiesel, ed. Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, July 2010.
- 4. BT Feeley, H Kim, CR Allen: Autologous Cartilage Implantation. Masters Techniques in Sports Medicine, Freddie Fu, ed.Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, December 2010.
- 5. LJ Morse, CR Allen: Physical Examination of the Rotator Cuff. Basic Principles and Operative Management of the Rotator Cuff, Benjamin Ma and Brian Feeley, ed. Slack Incorporated, Thorofare, NJ, In Press May 2012.
Selected References
- Allen, C: Patellar Dislocation- How to Manage 2004. Northern California Chapter of Western Orthopaedic Association's 72nd Annual Scientific Conference, April 16-18, 200
- Allen, C: Women's ACL Injuries: The etiology of the epidemic. Australian Orthopaedic Association Scientific Session, Melbourne, Australia, July 22, 2005
- Allen, C: Age- and gender related differences in athletic performance. Brisbane Private Hospital Grand Rounds, Brisbane, Australia, July 2005.
- Allen, C: The importance of the medial meniscus in the ACL-deficient knee. Philippines Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Scientific Session, Manila, Philippines, August 10, 2005.
- Allen, C: MRI of Soccer Injuries, Stoller 14th Annual Current Issues in MRI, San Francisco, CA August 24, 2005.
- Allen, C: The Impact of ACL deficiency and ACL reconstruction on knee in-situ forces and kinematics. William Beaumont Army Medical Center and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Orthopaedic Surgery Program Resident Research Day Visiting Professor, May 31-June 1 2007, El Paso, Texas.
Presentations
- Allen, C: Patellar Dislocation- How to Manage 2004. Northern California Chapter of Western Orthopaedic Association's 72nd Annual Scientific Conference, April 16-18, 200
- Allen, C: Women's ACL Injuries: The etiology of the epidemic. Australian Orthopaedic Association Scientific Session, Melbourne, Australia, July 22, 2005
- Allen, C: Age- and gender related differences in athletic performance. Brisbane Private Hospital Grand Rounds, Brisbane, Australia, July 2005.
- Allen, C: The importance of the medial meniscus in the ACL-deficient knee. Philippines Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Scientific Session, Manila, Philippines, August 10, 2005.
- Allen, C: MRI of Soccer Injuries, Stoller 14th Annual Current Issues in MRI, San Francisco, CA August 24, 2005.
- Allen, C: The Impact of ACL deficiency and ACL reconstruction on knee in-situ forces and kinematics. William Beaumont Army Medical Center and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Orthopaedic Surgery Program Resident Research Day Visiting Professor, May 31-June 1 2007, El Paso, Texas.
Grants and Awards
- 1997, AOSSM O'Donoghue Award, The effects of PDGF-BB on healing of the rabbit medial collateral ligament, an in-vivo study.
- 2002, Arthroscopy Association of North America Research Grant, Functional Analysis of the Posterior Cruciate Ligament Deficient Knee.
- 2002, The Pittsburgh Foundation Albert B. Ferguson, Jr., M.D. Orthopaedic Fund Grant, Functional Analysis of the Posterior Cruciate Ligament Deficient Knee.
- American Orthopaedic Society of Sports Medicine Travelling Fellowship to Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines July-August 2005
- 2012 OREF/GOLDBERG RESEARCH GRANT IN ARTHRITIS Quantitative MR Imaging Evaluation of Articular Cartilage and Kinematic Changes in the Knee After Meniscectomy Funding made possible by the Dr. Victor and Mrs. Harriet Goldberg Endowment Fund
Membership & Committees
- Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, 1995
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), Active Fellow, Class of 2006
- University of Pittsburgh Orthopaedic Alumni Association, 2001
- American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) Active Member, 2005
- Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA) Associate Member, 2002
- American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Member, 2002
- Forum Society of Fellowship-Trained Women in Orthopaedic Surgery, 2005
- Magellan Orthopaedic Society of Sports Medicine Traveling Fellows, 2005
