Todd Weitzenberg, MD

Bio

Dr.Weitzenberg was raised in Santa Rosa, California. He attended Madrone and Binkley Elementary Schools, Rincon Valley Junior High School and Santa Rosa High School. He then received his B.A. in Aquatic Biology at the University of California Santa Barbara in 1991.

Dr.Weitzenberg traveled to Chicago, Illinois where he completed his medical degree at The Chicago Medical School in 1996. He then returned to California to complete his Internship and Residency at the University of Califonia Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. Dr.Weitzenberg completed his residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitaion in June, 2000. He then completed a one year fellowship in Sports Medicine at the University of Califonia Davis Medical Center in July 2001.

Dr.Weitzenberg is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation since May 2001, and is a diplomate of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabiliation. He was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in November of 2001.

Dr.Weitzenberg joined Kaiser Santa Rosa in August of 2001 and works in the Departments of Physical Medicine and Occupational Medicine.


Education
1991 BA, Aquatic Biology, University of California Santa Barbara
1996 MD, The Chicago Medical School
1996-1997 Internship, The University of California Davis Medical Center
1997-2000 Residency, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, The University of California Davis Medical Center
2000-2001 Fellowship, Sports Medicine, The University of California Davis Medical Center



Dr. Weitzenberg in the News!
Feature article about Dr. Weitzenberg in 'Sonoma Medicine Magazine', a publication of the Sonoma County Medical Association "Coming Home" by Dr. Mark Sloan

A recent exercise and fitness article in Shape Magazine, by Eric Harr Shape Online: "Pushing Through Plateaus"

Penny Hastings article in the San Francisco Chronicle On-line, SFGate.com, S.F. Chronicle Sports July 30, 2004 "Santa Rosan Bounces Back from Tough Injury"

North Bay Business Journal article, April 11, 2005 by Lindsay Riddell, "Active Population is Sports Medicine Winner"

Press Democrat article May 26, 2005 by Susan Swartz, "Calling Nurse Google: Patients are taking advantage of the variety of health Web sites - some good, some not so good"

A Special Tribute to All My Teachers

I am forever indebted to all of my teachers. From my kindergarten teacher to my current mentors in medicine, it is through their patience and efforts that I have been able to accomplish all that I have thus far. I also consider all of my coaches in sports as teachers. The lessons I have learned through athletics have proven to be infinitely valuable in the challenging pursuits of the practice of medicine. I think of you all often and will always cherish all that you have taught me.

I feel that education is the most important thing a person can have and strive in my free time to dedicate my personal efforts to ensure that we continue to improve our educational systems and extracurricular activities.

My Medical Specialty

More details about my specialty:

I have been an avid athlete my entire life. I was a competitive soccer player as a young boy and traveling throughout the state by age 9. I seriously injured my ankle when I was 12 and had a prolonged medical course that included periods of time out of sports with casting of my ankle. When I was unable to contribute to my team’s efforts, standing helplessly on the sidelines, I felt depressed and lost. When my cast would come off, I’d immediately re-injure my ankle and the process would repeat. Ultimately I was told by a surgeon that I should give up soccer, nothing more could be done.

That was equivalent to telling me not to breathe. My life was soccer and at that moment I knew I had to help myself. Through a physical therapy exercise program I was able to regain the strength in my ankle muscles to prevent recurring injuries and return to competitive soccer. This experience and other experiences recovering from injury throughout my life inspired me to pursue a career in Sports Medicine. My continued participation in competitive athletics gives me a special insight into the mind of the athlete struggling with injury.

I chose a medical specialty called Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation because I felt it gave me the best medical education and experience to diagnose and treat musculoskeletal injuries non-operatively. Of course many of these injuries require surgery, but the majority do not and I feel every possible strategy to treat these injuries non-surgically should be tried before resorting to surgery.

I completed my 4 year medical residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (P.M.&R.) at the University of California Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. I had attending physicians who provided me with an amazing medical education. My specialty focuses on the function of an individual and maximizing one’s function after injury. This includes injuries such as spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, stroke, neuromuscular disease and amputations.

I then completed an additional one year fellowship in Sports Medicine at the University of California Davis Sports Medicine program. This fellowship allowed me to further develop my musculoskeletal skills and learn the intricacies of managing competitive athletes and their complex injuries.

I had the opportunity to work with an incredible group of attending physicians. I worked with the physicians, training room staff and athletes for U.C. Davis, U.C. Berkeley, Sacramento State, American River College, the Sacramento Kings professional basketball team, the Sacramento Monarchs professional women’s basketball team, the Sacramento Knights professional indoor soccer team and the Sacramento River Cats semi-professional baseball team.

I also had the privilege of working with Dr. Massimo Testa in the U. C. Davis Sports Performance Center, that provides testing and develops custom training programs for high level athletes.

Currently I use my musculoskeletal and rehabilitation medicine skills to manage all types of injuries in multiple clinical settings. I work in the Physical Medicine clinic, the Spine Clinic, the Occupational Medicine clinic and have developed Santa Rosa’s Sports Medicine program. I treat all my patients with the skills I have developed for the management of high level athletes. I believe in taking a thorough history and completing a detailed physical examination. I believe in evidence based medicine and utilize the current medical literature to help guide my clinical decision making. I also spend as much time possible explaining to my patient’s their diagnosis and helping them to understand the pathology involved in their injury. As a team, we then work together in the formation of an active treatment plan.

Current projects or research:

I am currently working to create an innovative Sports Medicine Program within the Kaiser Permanente system at Kaiser Santa Rosa.

I hope to utilize the power of Kaiser Permanente's integrated systems and internet technology to provide state of the art delivery of Sports Medicine services.

Photos from My Training Years or of Practicing Medicine in My Field:

Dr.Weitzenberg teaching at a regional spine conference.

Interests

Currently reading:
Deep Survival, By Laurence Gonzales

My favorite book or author:
The 'Song of Fire and Ice' Series by George R.R. Martin

Great movie:
The Star Wars Series, by George Lucas

Hobby Photos & Links:

Racing in Nevada City 2005

Dr.Weitzenberg racing at the Burlingame Criterium in 2005

Racing in Visailia 2002

Dr.Weitzenberg in his element!

Family & Friends

People in my life:

My family is the most important thing in the world. My wife Tracy has been with me since High School, through all of my education and training and I couldn't have done it without her. I have two sons, Trevor and Gavin, who are the greatest boys in the universe. I have a wonderful family here in Santa Rosa and we spend lots of time together.

Travel