Michael Schaefer, MD

About

Michael Schaefer, MD is a board-certified, fellowship trained sports medicine and physical medicine & rehabilitation physician at University Hospitals. His special clinical interests include musculoskeletal ultrasound and ultrasound-guided procedures, an area in which he is certified. He also performs fluoroscopically-guided spinal injections and peripheral nerve stimulator implants. In his role of associate professor, he regularly teaches residents and fellows and presents national-level instructional courses in his specialties.

As Division Chief of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation for University Hospitals, Dr. Schaefer leads the physician group working in UH’s rehabilitation hospitals, consult services and outpatient practices. He enjoys networking with other UH leaders to form integrative care teams for complex orthopedic and neurological conditions.

Dr. Schaefer often uses injection techniques both to help patients with painful conditions and to aid in difficult diagnoses. Therefore, many patients seek him out for conditions of the hip and shoulder region, where the spinal structures may or may not be involved. He is uniquely skilled at determining a diagnosis in these cases, because he specializes in both spinal conditions and orthopedic/joint problems. In addition, he also works closely with physical therapists and chiropractors to provide comprehensive conservative care.

Prior to joining the medical staff at University Hospitals, Dr. Schaefer held the position of Director of Musculoskeletal Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at the Cleveland Clinic. During this time, he was also the director of the Cleveland Clinic musculoskeletal medicine fellowship. In addition, he has formerly held staff positions at the Mayo Clinic and MetroHealth Medical Center.

Dr. Schaefer completed his undergraduate education at Case Western Reserve University, after which he went on to earn his medical doctorate at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. After an internship in internal medicine at Riverside Methodist Hospitals, Dr. Schafer completed residency training in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Mayo Clinic. He remained at the Mayo Clinic to further advance his training by completing a fellowship in sports medicine and physical medicine and rehab.

The author and co-author of multiple publications and book chapters, Dr. Schaefer enjoys family activities in his free time. He is an avid outdoorsman, triathlete, and cross-country skier, and in college he was a runner and NCAA national qualifier in decathlon. As an athlete himself, he finds particular satisfaction in getting patients back to the activities that they love.

Selected publications and chapters

Schaefer MP, Fox K. Ultrasound Guided Shoulder Joint and Bursa Injections. In: Atlas of Ultrasound-Guided Procedures in Interventional Pain Management. Editor: S Narouse Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Ch. 22, pp 293-306. New York, NY 2010

Schaefer MP. Head, Ears, Eyes, Nose and Throat Conditions. In: Sports Medicine: Study Guide and Review for the Boards. Editors: Harrast M and Finnoff, J Techset Composition Ltd. Ch 31. pp 331-38. New York, NY 2011

Foorsov V, Schaefer MP, Shoulder Joint and Bursa Injections. In: Guide to Musculoskeletal Injections with Ultrasound. Editors: M Agha and D Murphy. Demos Medical New York, NY 2015

Konya M, Schaefer MP. Ch 18, Joint Pain. In: Fundamentals of Pain Medicine. Editor: Jianguo Cheng and Richard W. Rosenquist. Springer Gewerbestrasse Cham, SUI 2018

Schaefer MP. Bilateral L2 Spondylolysis: Nonsurgical or Surgical Treatment? Spinemonitor, June 11th, 2008

McGrath JM, Schaefer MP, Malkamkai DM. Incidence and Characteristics of Complications from Epidural Steroid Injections. Pain Medicine. 12(5):726-31, 2011

Daftari AP, Jaffer J, Homer SH, Schaefer MP. Bovine Shoulder and Hip Models to Teach Ultrasound Guided Injections. American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation 90(9):746-55, 2011

McCrady BM, Schaefer MP. Sonographic Visualization of a Scapular Body Fracture: a case report. Journal of Clinical Ultrasound 39(8): 466-8, 2011

Pierson EH, Bantum B, Schaefer MP. Exertional Rhabdomyolysis of the Elbow Flexor Muscles From Weight Lifting. PM&R 6, pp. 556-59, 2014

Sully K, Schaefer MP, Allen A, Werntz CL 3rd, Ma G, Sayeed Y. Letter to the Editor, "Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Use Among Occupational Medicine Practitioners at the American Occupational Health Conference J Occup Environ Med. 2016 Aug;58(8):e315-7