Accomplishments: Department of Physical Therapy

The Physical Therapy department (Allied Health Sciences) has been ranked 79th in the nation in the 2016 Best Grad School Survey by U.S. News & World Report. The department improved its previous ranking by more than 80 points. According to information provided by U.S. News, all rankings are based solely on the results of peer assessment…
Szu-Ping Lee, Robbin Hickman, Sue Schuerman (all Physical Therapy), and Janet Dufek (Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences) co-authored "Influence of Procedural Factors on the Reliability and Performance of the Timed Up-and-go Test in Older Adults," which focused on a clinical assessment commonly used to quantify functional mobility and fall risk in…
Szu-Ping Lee (Physical Therapy) earned  “Reviewer with Best Overall Performance” recognition by the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy during the 2016 American Physical Therapy Association’s combined sections meeting.  
Daniel Young (Physical Therapy) co-authored “A prevention initiative to decrease HAPUs at two acute care hospitals,” which describes the implementation of a comprehensive pressure ulcer prevention program and its effects at two sister hospitals in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The article appeared in the November issue of Nursing Management.
Szu-Ping Lee (Physical Therapy) and Edward Neumann (Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction, Emeritus) spoke during the 2015 World Congress of the International Society of Prosthetics and Orthotics in Lyon, France. Their presentation, "Optimizing Functions for Individuals with Lower Extremity Amputation: Clinicians' Perspective on…
Kai-Yu Ho (Physical Therapy) spoke during the Fourth International Patellofemoral Pain Research Retreat in Manchester, England. An invited speaker, she presented, "The Effects of Patellofemoral Taping on Patellofemoral Joint Alignment and Contact Area," which addressed her study’s comparison of patellofemoral joint alignment and contact area…
Emilio "Louie" Puentedura (Physical Therapy) provided two keynote addresses during the 2015 New Zealand Manipulative Physiotherapists Association Biennial Scientific Conference in Christchurch, New Zealand. The first, titled “Safety in Manipulation,” focused on the relative risks of thrust joint manipulation to the spine, while the second, titled…
Merrill Landers (Physical Therapy) gave two poster presentations during the 18th International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders, which took place in Stockholm. He presented "Individuals with Parkinson's Disease who Report Fear of Falling Avoidance Behavior Exhibit More Depression, Anxiety, and Catastrophization than Non-…
Szu-Ping Lee (Physical Therapy) is the lead author of "Individuals with Diminished Hip Abductor Muscle Strength Exhibit Altered Ankle Biomechanics and Neuromuscular Activation during Unipedal Balance Tasks," which evaluated whether diminished hip abductor strength results in more frequent use of a person's ankle to maintain balance. The article…
Szu-Ping Lee (Physical Therapy), delivered a platform presentation titled "Individuals with Posterior Tibial Tendon Dysfunction Exhibit Diminished Ability in Maintaining Unipedal Balance" during the American Physical Therapy Association's combined sections meeting held in Las Vegas in February. The study investigated balance performance in…
Kai-Yu Ho (Physical Therapy) drew four illustrations that appeared in the January issue of the journal Physical Therapy. The illustrations appeared in an article titled "18th John H.P. Maley Lecture: Residencies in Physical Therapy."
Janet Dufek (Kinesiology) and Robbin Hickman (Physical Therapy) had their work published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise and referenced in Runner's World magazine. Their research focused on what part of the foot strikes the ground first while a person runs, which is termed footstrike, and whether changing that…