Sports Medicine physician, Arkansas Specialty Orthopedics

What do you get when you mix a chemist dad and RN mom? Three sons, all healthcare providers. Leading the charge: first-born Michael Cassat, MD, a sports medicine physician at Arkansas Specialty Orthopedics, specializing in the non-surgical treatment of musculoskeletal injuries.

“My main area of interest is in the evaluation of complex hip disorders, and hip preservation surgery,” said Cassat.

Cassat frequently collaborates with James Tucker, MD, at Arkansas Specialty Orthopedics to evaluate and treat patients of all ages with hip pain.

“We commonly see patients with tears of the acetabular labrum, with hip impingement, or with hip dysplasia,” he said. “I function in this role for the clinic through careful examination, interpretation of imaging, coordination of physical therapy, and imaging guided therapeutic and diagnostic injections. Ultimately, if surgical intervention is required, Dr. Tucker and I work together as a team to optimize outcomes. Minimally invasive arthroscopic techniques now allow for repair of many causes of hip pain, but careful evaluation of the disease process is critical for excellent outcomes.”

Over the next year, the number of hip arthroscopy cases is expected to double in the United States.

“Dr. Tucker and I already have years of expertise in these complex evaluations and procedures, and reflect the highest level of expertise in the state of Arkansas,” he said.

Even though medicine seemed a natural calling for Cassat, it wasn’t until he served in the U.S. Navy as a hospital corpsman, providing medical care to active duty sailors, before it became his goal.

“After years of struggling in college to find a career, I found a love of medicine through my time of service,” he explained. “After serving in the military, I returned to college to pursue a degree in microbiology, and ultimately entered medical school.”

After earning a medical degree from UAMS, Cassat completed a family medicine residency at the Area Health Education Center Northwest in Fayetteville.

“I was always drawn to the care of musculoskeletal conditions in my private practice office,” he said. “In 2011, I had the opportunity to train in sports medicine under a group of the top orthopedic doctors in the country at The Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado. After spending several years in Colorado, I had the opportunity to return to Arkansas and be closer to our family.”

Cassat has also served as a team physician for various high school, college, and professional athletic teams.  He rotates between the practice’s Sherwood, and Little Rock locations.

“As we learn more about hip pathology, research has shown that many of the conditions we see are the likely early cause of hip arthritis,” he said. “The ultimate goal is to determine how to better recognize these injuries early while they’re minimally symptomatic and treatable. Through early recognition of these disorders, we hope to dramatically reduce the overall incidence of hip arthritis.

“My personal goal is to continue to refine examination and imaging techniques to improve the quality of outcomes after arthroscopic surgery.”

A native Arkansan and former collegiate soccer player, Cassat is the son of Richard and Susan Cassat. His younger brothers are Jeffrey Cassat, RN, an operating room circulator, and James Cassat, MD, a pediatric infectious disease specialist. Cassat and his wife, Jennifer have two children a freshman in college and a son serving in the military. In his spare time, the energetic sports medicine physician enjoys duck and deer hunting, fishing, and training for triathlons.