Betina B Hinckel, MD

Betina Hinckel, MD, PhD, is a fellowship-trained orthopedic sports medicine surgeon. She specializes in non-surgical and surgical care of the knee, shoulder and hip. She performs a wide variety of surgical procedures that aim to preserve the patient's own joint to avoid artificial joint replacements. She believes every patient is unique and requires an individualized approach to accommodate their needs to help them get back to the activities they love, whether that's guiding non-operative treatment (physical therapy, injections, etc.) or performing surgery when indicated.

Dr. Hinckel was born in Troy, NY and completed medical school, residency and a fellowship in knee surgery at the University of Sao Paulo, the largest hospital of Latin America. Additionally, she completed her PhD in the medial ligaments stabilizing the patella. Back in the US, she completed three fellowships in Sports Medicine at the University of Missouri, Kaiser Permanente in San Diego and the combined Harvard Brigham and Woman's and Massachusetts General Hospital. In those three years, she had in-depth training on treating knees, shoulders, elbows and hips with both arthroscopic and minimally invasive surgery, as well as treating more complex problems with open surgery to preserve the native joint. This includes leg realignment and transplants when the damage is too great to be repaired. First and foremost, she tries to treat patients without surgery when appropriate, including the use of standard cortisone injections and also more advanced biologic injections. She is currently an Assistant Professor at Oakland University and an attending physician at Corewell Health. She believes that knowledge and technology can lead to greater patient care and results, therefore she is an active researcher and has over 50 publications. In addition, she helps coordinate residents and medical student's research. She has a special interest and expertise in complex knee problems and is an internationally renowned expert in patellofemoral and cartilage problems. She is an active member of the IPSG (International Patellofemoral Study Group) along with experts from all over the world. In her spare time, Dr. Hinckel enjoys Pilates, Barre, traveling, and spending time with her husband, family and friends.