Bruce E. Heck, M. D. graduated from Youngstown State University (1986-1988) at the age of 20 with a Bachelor of Science in Combined Science (Summa Cum Laude). Dr. Heck received his M.D. From Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (NEOUCOM/NEOMED) in 1992, he was inducted as a member of Alpha Omega Alpha in his junior year. After completing a residency in Orthopedic Surgery at Medical College of Ohio (University Toledo Medical Center) Toledo, Ohio, he began practice in Findlay, Ohio, in 1997. Dr. Heck is certified with the American Board of Orthopedic Surgeons and maintains subspecialty certification in Orthopedic Sports Medicine. Dr. Heck has maintained academic affiliation with the University of Toledo Medical Center, where he is actively engaged as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Orthopedics.

Bruce E. Heck, M.D. specializes in sports medicine, rotator cuff surgery, and industrial-related orthopedic injuries. He has numerous publications in the orthopedic field and, over the last several years, has focused research interest on mesenchymal stem cell applications to orthopedics and inflammatory disorders.

As a Board-Certified Orthopedic Surgeon living and raising his family in a midsize town, he treats all general orthopedic conditions. With Dr. Heck’s specialization in sports medicine, he has cared for many athletes at surrounding universities, including but not limited to the University of Findlay, the University of Tiffin, and Heidelberg University. Dr. Bruce E Heck has developed a team approach to caring for the athlete and the industrial worker. Dr. Heck was the founder of Northwest Ohio Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, Findlay, Ohio, in 2001. The practice and its physicians currently see patients in Findlay, Fostoria, Tiffin, and Fremont. Under his direct supervision, Northwest Ohio Orthopedics and Sports Medicine have grown from one employee to over 100 employees since 2001, including the addition of other medical specialties, including orthopedic surgeon specialist, podiatry, chiropractic, nutrition, alternative medicine, pain management, occupational medicine, family practice, and others. With cooperative affiliations from larger healthcare institutions, Dr. Heck has provided specialty services to his community, including spine specialists, rheumatologic specialists, allergists, and cardiologists. To care for patients with complex orthopedic conditions, he assembled and integrated a team that can diagnose and treat these conditions, including on-site x-ray, C.T. scans, MRI scans, ultrasound, and a rehabilitation/physical therapy department. With the diverse industry in Findlay, Ohio, Dr. Heck has had the opportunity to tour fabricating plants/manufacturing facilities and understands at the ground level what jobs an individual performs. This facilitates not only the care and return of injured workers but aids in preventing industrial-related injuries by addressing proper ergonomics and orthopedic work conditions. Also, communication between the employer, the patient, and the physician is enhanced, which makes for a winning combination when caring for an injured worker.

Bruce E. Heck, M.D. has been instrumental in the development and leadership of medicine in his community. In addition to being the founder of Northwest Ohio Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, he is co-founder of Northwest Ohio Medical Institute, Tiffin, Ohio. He was responsible for joint venturing with a local hospital for the NWO Urgent Care and developing NWO Family Medicine. Dr. Heck is a founding member of Findlay Surgical Center, Findlay, Ohio, where he is currently an active board member. He is an active member of Hancock County Medical Society, where he was Past President. He is actively engaged with the hospitals in his community. He is on active staff at Blanchard Valley Hospital, Findlay, Ohio, where he serves on the quality assurance committee. He is an active staff member at Mercy Tiffin Hospital and serves on the surgical care review committee. Dr. Heck has served Promedica Fostoria Community Hospital on the Board of Trustees since 2006. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Orthopedics at the University of Toledo Medical Center. Dr. Heck is engaged in teaching and mentoring students from many disciplines.

Bruce E. Heck, M.D. is committed to his patients and the development of improved medical technology. Dr. Heck became a surgeon after medical school as the rewards of fixing a fracture, removing a mass, or replacing an arthritic joint was immediate, with often curative results. In contrast to his training years, most medical treatments could not cure an underlying disease. After 20 years of orthopedic surgery practice, Dr. Heck was disheartened with the current treatments for his patients. He realized that many surgical procedures were performed due to insufficient medical management of a given condition. He observed that the treatment of Osteoarthritis had remained unchanged during his years in practice. The mainstay of therapy, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), addressed the symptoms but did not change the underlying disease progression. Total joint replacements, although practical, are invasive and subject the patient to significant risk. “As a doctor, you’re taught how to treat a given medical condition based on the current facts supplied by your educators and accept them,” says Dr. Heck. He recounts in medical school, a lecture on arthritis that he felt Osteoarthritis was hereditary as he observed this condition to occur in certain families; however, he was advised it was just “wear and tear” and not genetic. Indeed, the absence of proof does not mean the lack of existence. Currently, there is evidence in the literature that genes and inflammatory markers are associated with this disorder. Dr. Heck also realized that aging was associated with increased inflammation and incidence of most diseases, including arthritis and osteoporosis. “Unlike Clinical Medicine where you’re taught to treat a given medical condition with an algorithmic protocol based on science that you should not deviate from lest being judged by peers or suffer legal consequences,” Heck states, “Research Medicine requires innovation and creativity based on science that allows the frontier of discovery to expand and ultimately the suffering of the human pathologic condition to be improved.” He is grateful for his clinical medical experience and education that have enabled a greater understanding and need for medical research. Over the last several years, he has focused research interest on the mesenchymal stem cell and its application to the treatment of orthopedic conditions and inflammatory disorders. He is the President and co-founder of NWO Stem Cure, LLC, and Miracle Stem Cure, LLC. Dr. Heck and his team currently research herbal supplements and their combination effects on the stem cell as an equally efficacious yet safer alternative for arthritis and other inflammatory disorders, research applications of synthetic analogs and other small molecules to the mesenchymal stem cell for arthritis, osteoporosis and other musculoskeletal conditions and have grant applications to the National Institutes of Health.