Sports related injuries require specialized care to promote optimum healing. Whether you are a weekend jogger or tennis player, a professional soccer player or marathon runner, a child or senior citizen, or even a musician or actress, trauma to the muscles and joints can limit or prevent your participation in these activities. To provide proper diagnosis and prevent future injuries, The University of South Florida College of Medicine created the University of South Florida Sports Medicine Institute.  Our goal is to help athletes regain and retain the ability to play and compete at the highest level possible.

The University of South Florida offers complete sports medicine care to athletes of all ages and skill, and those who are physically active at home and work. The Sports Medicine Practice offers diagnosis and treatment of all athletic injuries as well as expert pre-sports participation exams.  Diagnostic evaluation and specialized treatment is available at the University of South Florida College of Medicine Physicians Group Practice, where leaders in the field evaluate injuries and educate professionals every day. Other treatments include custom-made orthotics, braces, sports splints and personalized home rehabilitation programs through multidisciplinary efforts with the School of Physical Therapy. Staff members also consult with high school and university coaches and offer second opinions. Seminars focusing on prevention and the latest treatment methods are conducted regularly for coaches, trainers, and physicians.

Eric Coris, MD, is one of the founding members of the Sports Medicine Institute and the current director of outreach. He is the head medical team physician for the Department of Athletics at the University of South Florida. He is an assistant professor of family medicine, board certified in both family medicine and sport medicine. He is also the current director of the sports medicine division in The Department of Family medicine.

He sees patients at the sports medicine clinic at the USF Medical Clinic three times a week as well as volunteering his comprehensive medical services to USF Bulls athletes. Dr. Coris works with the USF Athletics Training staff to address athletes' non-operative medical problems such as stress injuries and heat-related illness, exercise-induced asthma, fractures, immobilization, nutritional support and education to optimize athletic performance. He also consults with high school and university coaches and offers educational seminars on primary care sports medicine to coaches, trainers and physicians.

Dr. Coris has developed interdisciplinary sports medicine research initiatives in heat illness and concussions. He was recently awarded a NFL Charities grant to study early detection and prevention of heat-related illness in college football players, including how risk factors relate to the amount of fluid lost during practice.

Dr. Coris received his MD degree from the USF College of Medicine in 1996. While completing the St. Vincent's Family Medicine Residency Program in Jacksonville, he began to pursue an avid interest in sports medicine by providing medical care for the Jacksonville Lizard Kings East Coast Hockey League franchise, and the Terry Parker High School Braves football team.

Dr. Coris completed one of the top sports medicine fellowship programs in the country at Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. He continued to care for athletes as an assistant clinical professor at Ohio State's Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Division of Sports Medicine.

Dr. Coris joined the USF College of Medicine in 2001. He is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Sports Medicine, American Society for Sports Medicine's Education Committee and the USA Football Age and Weight Task Force.