By Ryan Clark
CHS Communications Director

Part of the great experience, I have been told, of attending classes in the College of Health Sciences, revolves around the opportunities our students have — to research, to publish and to gain real-world academic skills.

Nothing could illustrate this better than the list Timothy Uhl, PhD, ATC, PT, FNATA, recently compiled showcasing some of the notable achievements he and his students have made over the past few months.

Uhl teaches in three different departments (Physical Therapy, Rehabilitation and Health Sciences PhD Program and Athletic Training) so he works with a diverse group of young scholars.

“Needless to say, it has been a productive 2021 with most of these being in the hopper for a while and I am sure there is backlog for many folks following COVID,” he said. “We have been extremely fortunate to have so many publications in this last six months from my collaborators.”

Recent publications from DPT and Rehabilitation and Health Sciences PhD Program Students

Matsel KA, Weiss EE, Butler RJ, Hoch MC, Westgate PM, Malone TR, Uhl TL. A Nation-Wide Survey of High School Baseball Coaches’ Perceptions Indicates their Arm Care Programs Play a Role in Injury Prevention. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. 2021;16(3):816-826. doi: 10.26603/001c.24247

Emily Weiss is a second year DPT student in the PT program.
 

Matsel KA, Butler RJ, Malone TR, Hoch MC, Westgate PM, Uhl TL. Current Concepts in Arm Care Exercise Programs and Injury Risk Reduction in Adolescent Baseball Players: A Clinical Review. Sports Health. 2021 May-Jun;13(3):245-250. doi: 10.1177/1941738120976384. Epub 2021 Jan 29. PMID: 33514287; PMCID: PMC8083153.

Kyle Matsel defended his PhD in June and mentored Emily on the previous paper.
 

Recent publications from the Rehabilitation and Health Sciences PhD program

Lemaster NG, Hettrich CM, Jacobs CA, Heebner N, Westgate PM, Mair S, Montgomery JR, Uhl TL. Which Risk Factors Are Associated with Pain and Patient-reported Function in Patients with a Rotator Cuff Tear? Clin Orthop Relat Res.

Nicole Lemaster, formerly Cascia graduated last year from the PhD program and is work as a research assistant at the University of Kentucky.
 

Sciascia AD, McKeon, Nitz, Havens J, Uhl TL. Return to Pre-Injured Function Following Ankle Injury. International Journal of Athletic Therapy & Training. 26 (1): 47-58, 2021. doi: 10.1123/ijatt.2019-0100

Sciascia AD, Nitz AJ, McKeon PO, Havens J, Uhl TL. Return to Pre-Injured Function Following Knee Injury. International Journal of Athletic Therapy & Training. 2021;26(1):47-58.  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1123/ijatt.2019-0100

NATA presentation oral: Relationship of a Patient-Reported Outcome Measure at Time of Knee Injury to Days Missed due to Injury

Aaron Sciascia graduated from the Rehab Science program in 2016 and is currently an associate professor of Athletic Training at Eastern Kentucky University. These publications and abstracts from his dissertation that was supported by the Legacy Grant and from the American Academy of Sports Physical Therapy of the APTA.
 

Picha KJ, Valier AS, Heebner NR, Abt JP, Usher EL, Capilouto G, Uhl TL. Physical Therapists' Assessment of Patient Self-Efficacy for Home Exercise Programs. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2021;16(1):184-194.

Kelsey Picha is a 2018 graduate from the RHB program and is an assistant professor in clinical anatomy at A.T. Still University.
 

Evans NA, Konz S, Nitz A, Uhl TL. Reproducibility and Discriminant Validity of Posterior Shoulder Endurance Test in Healthy and Painful Populations. Physical Therapy in Sport. 47: January:66-71, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ptsp.2020.10.014

Neil Evans in a 2018 graduate from the RHB program and is an assistant professor at Ohio University in the DPT program.
 

Day JM, Lucado AM, Dale RB, Merriman H, Marker CD, Uhl TL. The Effect of Scapular Muscle Strengthening on Functional Recovery in Patients With Lateral Elbow Tendinopathy: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. J Sport Rehabil. 2021 Jan 13:1-10. doi: 10.1123/jsr.2020-0203. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33440342.

Joseph Matt Day is associate professor at the University of Dayton DPT program and graduated from the RHB program in 2013. This was funded by a grant that was derived from his dissertation and awarded by the American Academy of Orthopedic Physical Therapy soon after he graduated.   
 

Recent publications from our AT Post-professional

Slowik R, Morris C, Hoch M, Uhl T. Identifying Risk Factors of Upper Extremity Injuries in Collegiate Baseball Players: A Pilot Study. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. 2021;16(3):797-806. doi: 10.26603/001c.24146

Rob Slowik graduated last year from our AT program and is now working as an ATC in Ohio at Case Western University.
 

Silverson OA, Cascia NG, Hettrich CM, Heebner NR, Uhl TL. The Reliability and Validity of a Clinical Assessment Tool to Measure Scapular Motion in All Three Anatomical Planes. J Athl Train. 2020 Nov 5. doi: 10.4085/276-20. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33150418.

Oliver Silverson graduated in 2018 from our AT program and is now a PhD student at the University of Minnesota.
 

Uhl’s additional publications in 2021 

Burke W, Kibler WB, Uhl TL. Post-operative Rehabilitation for Scapular Muscle Reattachment: A Case Report. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. 2021;16(2):527-538.

Olds MK, Lemaster N, Picha K, Walker C, Heebner N, Uhl T. Line Hops and Side Hold Rotation Tests Load Both Anterior and Posterior Shoulder: A Biomechanical Study. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. 2021;16(2):477-487.

Margie Olds was a visiting scholar in 2017. This study began while she was here. 

 

Platt BN, Uhl TL, Sciascia AD, Zacharias AJ, Lemaster NG, Stone AV. Injury Rates in Major League Baseball During the 2020 COVID-19 Season. Orthop J Sports Med. 2021;9(3):1-7, doi: 10.1177/2325967121999646

Platt BN, Zacharias AJ, Uhl T, Freehill MT, Conley CE, Stone AV. Pitch Break and Performance Metrics Remain Unchanged in Those who Returned to the Same Level of Play after Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction in Major League Baseball Pitchers. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. DOI: 10.1016/j.jse.2021.04.036

Pitts G, Custer M, Foister RD, Uhl T. The hand therapist's role in the prevention and management of upper extremity injuries in the modern mass production industrial setting [published online ahead of print, 2021 Apr 28]. J Hand Ther. 2021;S0894-1130(21)00066-1. doi:10.1016/j.jht.2021.04.019
 

“Great work by all! Thanks for pushing the graduate students to publish,” said Esther Dupont-Versteegden, PhD, professor in Physical Therapy and Director of the Rehabilitation and Health Sciences PhD Program. “They need those publications, and we need them!”

Emily Weiss, a Physical Therapy student in the Class of 2022, said the experience meant a lot.

“The opportunity to contribute to the manuscript and have it published was a rewarding experience,” she said. “I was incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to have Dr. Tim Uhl and Dr. Kyle Matsel mentor me through the process; their experience and expertise is unparalleled. It was an honor to play a role in advancing the current knowledge in the field of physical therapy with their guidance.”

And it’s one of the most satisfying aspects of the job, Uhl, said.

“It has been a joy to see so many students get their work published,” he said. “This is by far my greatest accomplishment to help so many students get them going on their publication way.”