Meet the Expert: Doctor Bio Video Series
Introducing David Strothman, M.D., a spine specialist at Summit Orthopedics in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. His specialties include cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine disorders, and minimally invasive spine surgery, and adult scoliosis.
Meet David Strothman, M.D.
Dr. Strothman’s approach: “Spinal disorders are complex and disabling. As your surgeon I will explain your diagnosis and treatment options, both operative and non-operative, in a way that you can understand thereby allowing you to make informed decisions. I am rewarded daily by improving the quality of life of patients receiving my care.”
Dr. Strothman’s education: Following his undergraduate studies at Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut, Dr. Strothman earned his medical degree at the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis. He then went on to complete his residency at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Orthopaedics, and later participated in the Orthopedic Spine Fellowship program at Twin Cities Spine Center.
Summit Orthopedics offers comprehensive spine expertise
Our back specialists diagnose spine problems and design custom treatment plans built on a conservative, nonsurgical approach. Most patients find relief through treatments including guided injections, specialized physical therapy, biofeedback, exercise, activity modification, and medication. When conservative care does not relieve symptoms, our highly skilled surgeons offer proven, evidence-based surgical options. Together with you, we will determine the right course of action.
Start your journey to a healthy spine. Find your spine expert, request an appointment online, or call us at (651) 968–5201 to schedule a spine consultation.
Summit has convenient locations across the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, serving Minnesota and western Wisconsin. We have state-of-the-art centers for comprehensive orthopedic care in Eagan, MN, Plymouth, MN, Vadnais Heights, MN, and Woodbury, MN, as well as additional community clinics throughout the metro and southern Minnesota.
More resources for you
- Ask Dr. Strothman: What is Spinal Fusion Surgery?
- Ask Dr. Strothman: Guidelines for Evaluating Surgical Risks
Video Transcription
My name’s David Strothman. I’m an orthopedic spine surgeon, fellowship-trained in spine surgery. So I specialize in basically all conditions of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine. I have a special niche in minimally invasive spine surgeries. I, growing up, was very good at science, loved science above everything else. And so even in high school, knew I wanted to do something with the sciences. But also really enjoyed people. Enjoyed athletics, was very active playing hockey, racing sailboats. And so as I got to college, medicine was a very natural transition. Orthopedics was always an interest as well. When I started medical school, I knew I wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon. And that was a combination of my background in sports and athletics. But then also, just the practice of orthopedics itself is a really fun practice. There’s very few things we get to do in medicine where we get to take a problem and provide an intervention and truly help somebody. And then get them back to doing exactly what they want to do and what they were doing before. And I always thought that was really super cool. I’m married; I have a lovely wife, Alyson. We have four children, all girls – ages 10, seven, five, and three. They’re very active; they’re in gymnastics and hockey and sailing. And so we spend most of our time ferrying our kids around to different athletic events. The coolest part of what I do is we get to help people every day and make a measurable difference in people’s lives. Conditions of the spine can be severely, severely debilitating. And it can be really hard to appreciate how much pain somebody’s having, because the only person who feels it is the patient. The physician can’t feel it; friends can’t feel it. We can see it a little bit, right? But we don’t truly feel it. And so to be able to see somebody in clinic who’s having lots of pain, and then get them onto a road to recovery – be it with conservative treatments like injections, physical therapy or surgical treatment, be it a minimally invasive procedure or an open procedure. Then to see them back again after surgery getting back to the things that they haven’t been able to do for a considerable amount of time, that’s fun. And that’s why we do what we do.