Richard J. Spelts, DO, FAAFP, specializes in the non-operative medical treatment of sports/orthopedic injuries in athletes and non-athletes, including the pediatric, adult, and geriatric populations. He provides pre-participation physical exams, exercise and rehabilitation prescriptions, and evaluation and treatment of athletes with medical problems related to sports participation.
Dr. Spelts was born and raised in Littleton, Colorado. He obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Redlands, in Redlands, California, where he played baseball. After graduating, Dr. Spelts moved back to the Denver area, where he worked as a professional research assistant in pulmonary medicine at the Webb Waring Institute for two years. Dr. Spelts returned to California for medical school at the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific in Pomona, California. He then completed his family medicine residency at Glendale Adventist Medical Center. There, he continued to be involved in sports medicine, volunteering in the Glendale area.
After residency, Dr. Spelts completed his fellowship at Michigan State University, where he worked closely with physicians well known in primary care sports medicine. His responsibilities included morning and evening training room sessions, working with the athletic trainers and high-level NCAA Division 1 athletes. Dr. Spelts was closely involved in the sideline and courtside evaluation and management of injuries of athletes from MSU in football, soccer, wrestling, field hockey, cross country, basketball, gymnastics, baseball, and track and field. He was one of the primary physicians covering the 2006 Big Ten Gymnastics Championship, the 2006 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships, and the traveling physician for Michigan State at the 2006 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament. He also had the opportunity to cover a minor league baseball team, the Lansing Lugnuts, a farm team for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Dr. Spelts is a fellow of the American Board of Family Practice and is board-certified in sports medicine. He is a member of many professional organizations, including the American Medical Society of Sports Medicine, American College of Sports Medicine, and American Academy of Family Physicians.
