J W Thomas Byrd, MD

Dr. J. W. Thomas Byrd has been practicing his passion, orthopaedic surgery, for the last two decades. The principles of sports medicine emphasize a comprehensive team approach in the conservative treatment of injuries with the goal of helping the patient return to a healthy state, and focuses on the prevention of new or recurrent injuries. When surgery is necessary, Dr. Byrd’s specialty in arthroscopic techniques emphasizes less invasive surgery for a potentially easier and quicker recovery. These principles, initially developed for the competitive athlete, apply to all injuries whether they occur in the recreational environment, work place, or at home.

A native Nashvillian, Dr. Byrd is the third generation of physicians in his family to serve this community. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Miami, graduating magna cum laude. He obtained his medical degree from Vanderbilt University and performed his orthopaedic training at the University of Louisville. Dr. Byrd participated in fellowship training programs in two specialty areas of orthopaedics. The first, sports medicine and arthroscopic surgery under Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Alabama, has remained the focus of Dr. Byrd’s career. Additionally, Dr. Byrd gained fellowship training in joint replacement and reconstructive surgery at New England Baptist Hospital in Boston.

Dr. Byrd is team physician for the Tennessee Titans and has served as physician for the U.S. Olympic Team. He is a consulting orthopaedic surgeon for numerous professional sports franchises from the NFL, NHL, NBA, WNBA, and MLB, as well as the ATP professional tennis tour. For twenty years, Dr. Byrd also served as team physician for area universities including Trevecca Nazarene University and Martin Methodist College, in addition to numerous high schools and attending physician to the Nashville Ballet.

Dr. Byrd is the founder of Nashville Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center which allows him to continue his dream of providing highest quality, state of the art, specialty orthopaedic care. He has held numerous local, national, and international appointments. He has authored several textbooks on hip arthroscopy and contributed numerous textbook chapters on this and other select orthopaedic topics in addition to publishing over 50 scientific articles. His referral base of patients is international and he is visited by orthopaedic surgeons from all parts of the world to learn his techniques. As a scientist, Dr. Byrd has been active in clinical research. He developed several surgical techniques that are commonly employed throughout the orthopaedic world and invented numerous instruments that have revolutionized aspects of orthopaedic surgery. Dr. Byrd has served as a visiting surgeon and lectures frequently at national and international meetings.