The first thing you notice about Dr. Alan Beyer is his energy. He walks fast –trekking miles every day, as he makes rounds in the hospital and in the orthopedic clinic. He thinks fast. Ask him a current sports question – about any team or individual sport – and he has a passionate opinion, complete with a well-thought rationale. Besides his talented hands and medical mind, perhaps that’s why sports fans, professional athletes and weekend warriors have been drawn to him for his entire medical career.
“I have always loved sports since I was a child, but my athletic skills never matched my desire,” he stresses. “So having a career in sports medicine and orthopedic surgery was my way of still being in the sports game. Keeping people active, doing what they love, became my life’s work.”
And his life’s passion. He prepares extensively for his weekly live sports medicine radio show, Doctor in the Dugout, that airs each Saturday at noon on KLAA Angel’s radio. He studies the “back-story” for insights into each guest and the week’s sports and injury news. He then prepares his opening monologue, typically a hot topic in sports medicine such as concussions or a professional athlete injury report. He then relates his own experience with the subject, offering up anecdotal stories that bring the human factor into focus.
“I think it’s his gift of language and personal experience with his own surgery that makes him such a great doctor, surgeon and radio talk show host,” said Dr. James T. Caillouette, an orthopedic surgeon colleague at Hoag Orthopedic Institute. “He knows what it’s like not to be able to do the things you love, such as golf or just being active. He’s lived it and he’s honest and candid about sharing the struggles of his own health issues.”
Keeping people active, doing what they love, became my life’s work.
A few years ago, Dr. Beyer had his own left hip replaced. “Walking, golfing and standing for sometimes 10 hours a day in the operating room took their toll on my hip, causing arthritis and intense pain,” he shares. So now I’m the patient, having the same fears and anxieties as all my patients do.”
Dr. Beyer shared with the world his own hip surgery, taping a video diary of his pre-op, operation and post-op experience. The videos are available online at www.orthopedichospital.com/video-center. “Self-recording myself after surgery was surreal,” he recalls. “But I wanted to share with others my point of view of the experience as both a patient and a surgeon. Patients have told me that my videos helped them and reduced their fears of having joint replacement surgery. It’s what we try to do each week on the radio show – share human stories about overcoming health obstacles and keeping our bodies active.”
Besides his busy orthopedic practice schedule and his weekly live talk show, Dr. Beyer also finds time to volunteer to the community. “During football season for most of my career, I was on the sidelines of University High each Friday night as a volunteer, ensuring high school players were in good hands if they were injured,” he says. He’s also been medical director for the Maccabee Games held in Orange County as well as the Orange County Breakers, professional tennis team. He currently lives in Newport Beach with his wife and two daughters.
He also been honored by the local Arthritis Foundation for his contributions to the community and has been actively involved in their Walk to Cure Arthritis event held at Angels Stadium each year.
