Mark Harrast, MD

Clinical Associate Professor
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physician
Sub-specialty: Sports and Spine Medicine

Patient Care
Dr. Harrast's clinical interests include spine pain in the active individual, sports medicine (especially for the runner and triathlete), overuse injuries of athletes, and rehabilitation approaches for the treatment and prevention of general musculoskeletal injuries.

Dr. Harrast not only specializes in sports and non-operative spine medicine, injury prevention, and wellness, he is also a competitive Ironman triathlete and understands, first-hand, the desire to stay active. He is the Medical Co-Director of the Seattle Marathon.

Teaching
Dr. Harrast is Co-director of the Sports and Spine Fellowship and of the Clinical Musculoskeletal Medicine core course in the residency program. He also serves as chairperson of the annual University of Washington Musculoskeletal and Sports Medicine Symposium. Recent conferences include: "Overuse Injuries in the Runner," "An International Symposium on Low Back Pain," and "An Advanced Course on the Shoulder."

Training
Dr. Harrast earned his undergraduate degree with honors from the University of Chicago and his medical degree from Northwestern University. He completed his residency at the University of Washington, where he served as Chief Resident and was honored with the Outstanding Resident Award. Finally, he completed a fellowship at the University of Michigan. He is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Electrodiagnostic Medicine, and Pain Medicine.

Selected Publications:

Barr K, Harrast, M “Low Back Pain” In Braddom R (ed): Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Third Edition, 2007. pp 883-928.

Akuthota V, Harrast M (ed) Running Injuries. PM&R Clinics of North America 16(3) 2005.

Harrast M, Paynter K, Barr K (ed) Shoulder Rehabilitation, Parts I and II. PM&R Clinics of North America 15(2&3) 2004.

On the Web:

Conquering Low Back Pain: A Rehabilitation Approach (UWTV Healthy Lifestyles Series)
www.uwtv.org/programs/displayevent.asp?rid=2500

Articles related to performance and health issues for marathon training and racing: www.seattlemarathon.org click on: “Medical Team Overview"