Welcome to La Salle High School's Sports Medicine page. Our sports medicine team inludes Dr. Robert Burger, Dr. Steve Hamilton, Dr. Robert Rolf, Head Athletic Trainer Dan Forcum, and Athletic Trainer Alex Popken. Our team provides a complete range of sports medicine services, including: injury prevention & care, physician referral, medical imaging and diagnosis, and rehabilitation.

Beacon Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine

TriHealth

Our Medical Team

Click on the image above to view Dr. Burger's profile

Team Physician - Dr. Robert Burger, M.D

Robert Burger, M.D. considers himself most blessed to have the privilege of practicing Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Surgery in his home town of Cincinnati. He is a founding member of Beacon Orthopaedics, served as President of Beacon for six years, and was a member of the Executive Committee for Beacon’s first 20 years.

Dr. Burger earned his Medical Degree in 1985 and completed his Orthopaedic Surgery Residency in 1990 at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. He then completed his Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Fellowship in 1991 at the nationally renowned Hughston Orthopaedic Clinic, where he worked directly with Dr. Jack Hughston, the first President of the American Orthopaedic Society of Sports Medicine and the first editor of the American Journal of Sports Medicine. Dr. Burger maintains active certification by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, along with subspecialty certification in Orthopaedic Sports Medicine.

Dr. Burger is actively engaged in the field of sports medicine, and he has been the Medical Director and Head Team Physician for Xavier University athletics since 1999. He has also served as Assistant Team Physician and 0rthopaedic Consultant for the Cincinnati Reds.  Further, Dr. Burger is the Head Orthopaedic Surgeon and Team Physician for Mount Saint Joseph University athletics, along with the Cincinnati Steam. He also proudly serves as the Head Team Physician for his alma mater, La Salle High School, a position he has held since 1992.

Dr. Burger was honored as the Outstanding Team Physician by the Ohio Athletic Trainers’ Association in 2009 and was recognized by the Ohio Joint Advisory Board of Sports Medicine as Outstanding Team Physician in 2010. In addition, he has been recognized nearly every year over the past twenty by his peers as a “Top Physician” in Orthopaedic Surgery by Cincinnati Magazine.

Dr. Rolf

Robert Rolf, M.D. is a native of Cincinnati and a graduate of La Salle High School. He attended the University of Notre Dame where he received a BS in Chemical Engineering. After working as a Sales Engineer for two years, he returned to Cincinnati to study at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

Dr. Rolf completed his orthopaedic surgery residency at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He continued his training as a shoulder and elbow specialist at the Boston Shoulder Institute at Harvard under the guidance of Jon JP Warner, M.D., Larry Higgins, M.D., and Tom Holovacs, M.D. He is not only board-certified in Orthopaedic Surgery, but also has his specialty certificate in Sports Medicine.

Throughout his fellowship he received extensive training in advanced arthroscopic techniques for shoulder instability and rotator cuff tears. He also received a world class experience in complex shoulder reconstructive procedures, including tendon transfers, shoulder replacement, and reverse shoulder replacement procedures. In addition, he has a strong interest in sports medicine as well as fracture management.

Dr. Rolf is the Co-Director of the Beacon Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine sports medicine fellowship program. This unique and highly competitive fellowship offers training to surgeons throughout the country about sports medicine and shoulder surgery.

When not at work, he stays busy with his four active children.

Book an Appointment with Dr. Rolf

Dr. Hamilton

Steve Hamilton, M.D. is a Cincinnati native and proud La Salle alumnus. He is a sports medicine physician and orthopaedic surgeon with specialized interests including minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery of the shoulder, hip, knee and ankle and treatment of fracture injuries.

Arthroscopic surgery allows doctors to operate using cameras, without making major incisions. Instead of opening a patient up to repair a joint, Dr. Hamilton is able to perform the procedure using the scope. This results in reduced scar tissue and less complications.

After graduating from La Salle High School, Dr. Hamilton stayed local and attended the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Upon graduation, he completed his residency in Orthopaedic Surgery at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He then fulfilled a one year fellowship at Steadman-Hawkins Clinic of the Carolinas in sports medicine and shoulder reconstruction.

While at Steadman-Hawkins, Dr. Hamilton received specialized training in hip arthroscopy. He spent three additional months at the Andrews Institute in Gulf Breeze, Florida. Dr. Hamilton returned to Cincinnati and joined Beacon Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine as the first sports medicine physician in the area with fellowship training in hip arthroscopy.

Book an Appointment with Dr. Hamilton

Head Athletic Trainer - Dan Forcum 

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Dan has been the Head Athletic Trainer at La Salle HS since 2005. He graduated from the College of Mount St Joseph in 2003 with a B.S in Athletic Training. Dan has been employed by Beacon Orthopedics since the spring of 2007 serving the La Salle community and helping in the West PT office.  In his spare time, he enjoys the outdoors, hiking and camping, obstacle course racing and training, the Bengals, and spending time with his family. Dan and his wife Nicole live in Westwood with their 2 children Logan and Holli.

Athletic Trainer - Alex Popken, AT, ATC, CSCS

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Alex currently works as a Certified Athletic Trainer at La Salle High School and Beacon West Physical Therapy Clinic. She received her BS in Athletic Training from The Ohio State University in 2017. She is from Cincinnati (White Oak) and attended Mount Notre Dame High School. In her free time, she enjoys working out, running Spartan Races, and hanging out with family and friends.