About the author
Alister Hart
Exploring the science of healthy joints on the move.
“How we move today shapes how we live tomorrow. Through Movement is Medicine, I want to challenge familiar beliefs and help people make informed choices — long before they become patients.”
Professor Alister Hart is an orthopaedic surgeon and researcher whose work is changing how we understand our joints. His exercise research asks questions that matter to anyone who wants to stay active. Does running damage our knees? How do joints respond to demanding exercise? And how can we use movement wisely as we get older?
Alister holds the Chair of Academic Clinical Orthopaedics at University College London and is a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital. Alongside caring for patients with complex hip problems, he studies how exercise affects the knees, hips and spine, and what that means for ageing, pain and recovery.
His research teams have used more than 1,000 MRI scans to study everyone from beginners on the NHS Couch to 5K programme to first-time marathon runners, ultramarathon runners and cyclists. The findings challenge assumptions, revealing new insights into the relationship between exercise and joint health.
Alister’s wider research has made orthopaedic surgery safer. By analysing approximately 10,000 failed implants alongside patient records, his team helped explain why some hip, knee and spinal implants fail. That work has informed implant regulation, improved patient monitoring and helped avoid unnecessary surgery.
Through Movement is Medicine, he brings this science into everyday life: exploring the evidence, questioning received wisdom and helping readers make sense of what movement means for their long-term joint health.
About Alister
Research and clinical leadership
UCL Chair of Academic Clinical Orthopaedics since 2012.
Director of Implant Science at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital.
Leads a research team of surgeons, engineers and imaging specialists.
Consultant surgeon at RNOH and Cleveland Clinic London.
Former RNOH Director of Research and board member.
Complex hip surgery and surgical innovation
More than 3,000 operations, including over 500 revision hip replacements.
Treats complex cases referred by surgeons across England and Wales.
Uses advanced imaging, personalised 3D-printed implants and surgical guides.
Implant safety and regulation
Founded the London Implant Retrieval Centre in 2008.
Team has analysed approximately 10,000 failed implants.
Research has improved monitoring and informed the removal of unsafe implants.
Helped save the NHS more than £9 million in unnecessary surgery.
Has served as an expert assessor for the UK’s medicines and medical devices regulator, the MHRA.
Former sole UK representative on the EU’s orthopaedic expert panel.
Member of the European orthopaedic federation’s implant safety initiative.
Exercise science
More than 1,000 MRI scans studying exercise and joint health.
Research spanning beginner runners, marathon runners, ultramarathon runners and cyclists.
Devised, funded and published the first study of NHS Couch to 5K app participants.
Research, recognition and education
404 medical journal papers and approximately 9,500 citations.*
More than £10 million secured as lead investigator.
Supervised 26 PhD students.
Awards from leading US orthopaedic and radiology organisations, and UCL.
Implant safety research selected for UCL’s submissions to the UK Research Excellence Framework in 2014 and 2021.
Sharing science with the public
Research featured in The Times, The Guardian, The New York Times and The Washington Post.
Appeared in Michael Mosley’s Wonders of the Human Body on Channel 5.
Dubbed the “Hospital Hip Detective” by the BBC.
A personal connection to movement
Former youth Great Britain squad kayaker and university team champion.
Enjoys running, cycling, swimming and climbing mountains.
Recognition and impact
Excerpts from the Chief Executive of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust’s employer citation for Professor Hart’s 2022 NHS Impact Award:
“Professor Hart is a world leading expert and academician with an enormous body of research across major areas of orthopaedic practice, improving the health of millions of people worldwide.”
“Additionally, he maintains an extensive clinical commitment, delivering exemplary care and mentoring junior academics and students of all levels.”
His 2021 Research Excellence Framework impact case study reported reduced anxiety for approximately 56,000 patients affected by implant safety concerns. It also documented improvements to regulation and monitoring, and more than £9 million saved by avoiding unnecessary NHS surgery.
By September 2026, his research had received approximately 9,500 citations, with an H-index of 55 — reflecting sustained academic influence.
His 2023 NHS Impact Award submission reported that 95% of his referrals came from other orthopaedic consultants across England and Wales. He performed 60 revision hip operations a year, four times the national average cited in the submission.
His research has also attracted substantial public attention:
20 newspaper articles published over the five years to September 2026.
Two papers with Altmetric scores above 500 and two more above 100, measuring attention beyond academic journals.
Read Professor Hart’s professional profile at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital.