Terry Nicola
Director of Sports Medicine Rehabilitation at UI Health; Assistant Professor of Clinical Rehabilitation
Biography
Dr. Terry Nicola (Photo: Jenny Fontaine/University of Illinois Chicago)
Dr. Terry Nicola, director of sports medicine rehabilitation at UI Health and assistant professor of clinical rehabilitation, has been the head medical director for numerous Chicagoland runs, races and marathons over the last several decades.
He has run the Chicago Marathon multiple times himself, with a best time of 2:35 in 1985, when he came in 106th place, placing him in the elite runners’ category.
Nicola, who coaches distance runners at the elite and beginning level, has seen an increase in injuries — even deaths — because competitors are not taking training and conditioning as seriously as they should.
Nicola emphasizes that proper training is an absolute must for participation in any marathon.
Nicola trains and treats UIC student athletes, as well as Chicago-area runners, both at the super-elite level and beginners. His special interests include the nutritional needs of athletes, stress fractures, cross-training, exercising with different injuries and disease states, uses of prolotherapy, running footwear and overuse nerve injuries.
