Department of Physical Therapy Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones
Theses/Dissertations from 2026
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Investigating the role of external stressors on baseline autonomic function in patients with neuropathic pain, Jessica Lisette Bolanos
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Intramuscular Dry Needling Dosage for Patients with Mechanical Low Back Pain, Dominic Severino
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Frailty Phenotypes, Functional Trajectories, and Long-Term Rehabilitation Outcomes Among Elderly Stroke Survivors in the United States, Shivananda Venkata Reddy
Theses/Dissertations from 2025
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Effectiveness and predictors of clinical outcome for knee joint osteoarthritis using extracorporeal shockwave therapy: a prospective study with pretest, posttest, and follow-up measures using a single cohort, Tinu Thomas Chacko
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: The Use of Musculoskeletal Ultrasound in Entry-level and Post-Professional Physical Therapy Education: A Mixed Methods Study, Casey Charlebois
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Perceived Stress and Locus of Control in People Living with Chronic Wounds, Renee Cordrey
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Impact of Physical Therapy Residency or Fellowship Training on Job Satisfaction, Carl A. Gustafson
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Understanding the Pain Experience in Lateral Elbow Tendinopathy: A Biopsychosocial Perspective, Christopher Keating
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Influence of Soccer Specialization on the Adolescent Athlete, Steven Lachowski
Theses/Dissertations from 2024
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: The Biophysical Impact of an Alternating Compression Profile, Jacqueline Suzanne Ehmann
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: The Knowledge to Practice Gap in Physical Therapy Management of Low Back Pain: Implications on Clinical and Financial Outcomes, Arun Garg
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Aligning Perspectives: Patient and Physician Views on Person-Centered Care for Chronic Low Back Pain, Carla Rauseo
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Reliability, Validity, and Stakeholder Satisfaction of an Adapted Version of the Clinical Internship Evaluation Tool for Part-Time Integrated Clinical Education, Steven Edward Sullivan
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: The Effects of a Home-Based Fall Prevention Program on Community-Dwelling Elderly’s Fall Risk Category, Dilshaad Basrai Vad
Theses/Dissertations from 2023
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Patient and Facility Factors As Predictors of Surgical Class and Same Day Discharge After Total Joint Arthroplasty, Susan Camillieri
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Identification of Positive Predicting Factors for Orthotic Intervention in the Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis, Matthew Scott Casale
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: The Impact of a Mindfulness Meditation Program on Perceived Stress, Anxiety, and Resilience of Doctor of Physical Therapy Students: A Mixed Methods Study, Jessica Hartmann
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Telehealth Simulation in Pain Neuroscience Education: A Mixed Methods Study, Shannon Logan
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Peyton’s Four-Step Approach for Teaching Lumbar Spine Thrust Joint Manipulation to Student Physical Therapists, Cory Manton
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Clinical tests of foot posture and mobility and midfoot and ankle joint kinetics and quasi-stiffness during gait, Sean McBride
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Utilization of Upper Extremity Strength Percentage Ratios in the High School-Aged Baseball Athlete, Ryan Monti
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Dry needling versus Manual Therapy in patients with Mechanical Neck Pain: A Randomized Control Trial, Jeevan Pandya
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Factors Influencing Selection of Fall & Balance Assessment Tools & Patient Management by Home Care Physical Therapists, Christopher Voltmer
Theses/Dissertations from 2022
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: The Effects of Self-Application of Quadriceps Kinesiotaping on Pain, Muscle Strength, Balance, Range of Motion, and Functional Performance in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Controlled Study, Shawky F. Ali
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Neurodynamic Dosing for Patients with Nerve-Related Low Back Pain, TErry Cox
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Predicting PTCPI Scores: The Role of Student Personality, Heidi McDermott
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: The Staged Approach for Rehabilitation Classification for the Shoulder: A Preliminary Examination of Patient Outcomes, Laura Podschun
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Exploring the Lived Experience of Patients with Neurological Disorders In Pro Bono Physical Therapy Teaching & Learning Clinics: An Interpretive Phenomenological Approach, Becky Schoeneberg
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: The Relationship of Pain Intensity, Perceived Injustice and Pain Catastrophizing to Heart Rate Variability in Acute Pain, Karin Steere
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Effects of a Proprioceptive Rehabilitation Protocol for the Cervical Spine Using a Laser Head Light in Older Community Dwelling Individuals, Verner Michael Swanson Jr
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: The Effect of Lumbopelvic Manipulation on Sacral Multifidi Thickness, Lumbar Active Range-of-Motion, and Self-Reported Low Back Pain, Christopher H. Wise
Theses/Dissertations from 2020
Dissertation: Neck Muscle Composition in Persistent Whiplash Associated Disorder: A Relationship with Disability, Bradford G. Callan
Dissertation: Neurophysiological Effects of Dry Needling to the Thoracolumbar Junction Multifidi in Subjects with Low Back Pain and Decreased Hamstring Length, Nicole Ginette Clark
Dissertation: Does the range of walking speeds produced by community-dwelling older adults relate to or predict function, disability, and community mobility?, Michelle Germaine Criss
Dissertation: Impact of Strength and Range of Motion on Loss of Ambulation and Functional Change Measures in Boys with DMD, Tina Duong
Dissertation: Does the Type of Dual Cognitive Task Impact Gait Variability Using the Quantitative Timed Up and Go (QTUG) in Community-Dwelling Adults?, Laurie G. Hiatt
Dissertation: Can A Prescribed Walking Program with or without Monitoring Impact Dizziness in the Older Adults? A Pilot Study, Amie Marie Jasper
Dissertation: Financial Impact Associated with Implementation of the Low Back Pain Clinical Practice Guideline in Outpatient Physical Therapist Practice, Heidi Kosakowski
Dissertation: Development and validation of the Self-Management Assessment for the Residuum and prosThesis (S.M.A.R.T.), Daniel Joseph Lee
Dissertation: Effects of Cueing on Sit to Stand Transfers in Parkinson Disease, Rebecca Ann Martin
Dissertation: Does One Session of Pre-Operative Pelvic Floor Muscle Training Aid in Improving Urinary Incontinence Immediately Following Robotic Assisted Radical Prostatectomy? A Retrospective and Pilot Study, Francine Noel-Ford
Dissertation: Comprehensive Physical Function Measure for the Intensive Care Unit: The use of Rasch Analysis and Item Response Theory, Michelle Lynn Peterson
Dissertation: Are Finger Width Palpation, Tape Measure, and Caliper Reliable, Valid, and Accurate to Diagnose Diastasis Recti Abdominis (DRA)?, Tamara L. Roehling
Dissertation: Impact of Physical Therapist Attitudes and Beliefs on the Outcomes of Patients with Low Back Pain, Adam P. Rufa
Dissertation: Impact of Psychological Factors on Adolescents with Anterior Knee Pain, Mitchell Selhorst
Dissertation: Correlation of Trust and Outcomes Following Physical Therapy for Chronic Low Back Pain, Kory J. Zimney
Theses/Dissertations from 2019
Dissertation: Mental Health Disorders in DPT Students: Identifying Needs, Support Systems, & Challenges, Jennifer M. Bogardus
Dissertation: Caring for Children with Severe Cerebral Palsy: The Lived Experience of Parents, Jason Eric Cook
Dissertation: Cognitive Load Theory Principles Applied to Simulation Instructional Design for Novice Health Professional Learners, Susan M. Grieve
Dissertation: Lived Experience of Exemplary Physical Therapist Students in Clinical Education: A Phenonenological Study, Laura Hagan
Dissertation: Trigger Point Dry Needling, Manual Therapy and Exercise versus Manual Therapy and Exercise for the Management of Achilles Tendinopathy: A Feasibility Study, Alex Michael Koszalinski
Dissertation: Influence of Clinical Instructor and Physical Therapist Student Characteristics on the Use of Standardized Tests and Measures in Clinical Practice, Vicki LaFay
Dissertation: Effects of Generic Group-Based Versus Personalized Individual-Based Exercise Programs on Balance, Gait, and Functional Performance of Older Adults with Mild Balance Dysfunction and Living in Residential Care Facilities - A Randomized Controlled Trial, Varatharajan Lingam
Dissertation: Effectiveness of a Manual Therapy Approach in Treatment of Patients with Lumbar Spinal Stenosis, Haitham Ramadan
Dissertation: Thrust Joint Manipulation to the Cervical Spine in Participants with a Primary Complaint of Temporomandibular Disorder (TMD): A Randomized Clinical Trial, Breanna C. Reynolds
Theses/Dissertations from 2018
Dissertation: Diagnostic Musculoskeletal Imaging: How Physical Therapists Utilize Imaging in Clinical Decision-Making, Hilmir Agustsson
Dissertation: Influence of a post-graduate physical therapy residency program on clinical reasoning, professional development, and career advancement in Nairobi, Kenya, Shala Cunningham
Dissertation: Shoulder-Specific Patient Reported Outcome Measures for Use in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer:An Assessment of Reliability, Construct Validity, and Overall Appropriateness of Test Score Interpretation Using Rasch Analysis, Melissa Michelle Eden
Dissertation: Effect of Individual Height and Testing Methods on Outcome of the Forward Functional Reach Test, Jill Elaine Heitzman
Dissertation: Shoulder Symptom Irritability: Development and Testing of a New Construct, Stephen Michael Kareha
Dissertation: Physical Therapists’ Beliefs about Preparation to Work in Special Care Nurseries and Neonatal Intensive Care Units, Joyce Lammers
Dissertation: Predictors of shoulder injuries in female collegiate swimmers, Eric Lee Lippincott
Dissertation: Relationship Between Rehabilitative Ultrasound Imaging and the Modified Prone Straight Leg Raise Test to Identify Multifidus Weakness, Mitchell T. Maione
Dissertation: Use of a Telerehabilitation Delivery System for Fall Risk Screening, Robert W. Nithman
Dissertation: Impact of an Exercise Program on Stress, Fatigue, and Quality of Life for Individuals Living with Primary Immunodeficiency Disease, Kerri Sowers
Dissertation: Impact of an Exercise Program on Stress, Fatigue, and Quality of Life for Individuals Living with Primary Immunodeficiency Disease, Kerri Sowers
Theses/Dissertations from 2017
Dissertation: Efficacy of Kinesio Taping as an Adjunct Intervention to Traditional Physical Therapy in the Treatment of Nonspecific Acute Low Back Pain: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial, Hossameldien Elkholy
Dissertation: Educational Program Attributes and Faculty Teaching Behaviors as Predictors of National Physical Therapy Examination Success, Natonya Frazier-Early
Dissertation: Risk Factors for Low Back Pain in Recreational Distance Runners, Jonathan Gallas
Dissertation: Immediate Effects of a Seated versus Supine Upper Thoracic Spine Thrust Manipulation Compared to Sham Manipulation in Individuals with Subacromial Pain Syndrome – A Randomized Clinical Trial, Jason Keith Grimes
Dissertation: Gait analysis following Total Knee Arthroplasty during Inpatient Rehabilitation: Can findings predict LOS, ambulation device, and discharge disposition?, Janet Anne Herbold
Dissertation: Effects of Functional Electrical Stimulation Cycling versus Cycling Only on Walking Performance and Quality of Life in Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis: A Randomized, Clinical Pilot Study, Lori Hochman
Dissertation: Dry Needling of Myofascial Trigger Points: Quantification of the Biomechanical Response Using a Myotonometer., Joseph P. Kelly
Dissertation: Cost of Physical Therapists Serving as a Musculoskeletal Providers Compared to Family Practice Providers in a Military Treatment Facility, Troy Edward McGill
Dissertation: Iliotibial Band Length and Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome: Relationship Between Two Measurement Techniques, Duane Michael Scotti
Theses/Dissertations from 2016
Dissertation: Validation of a Pressure Pain Threshold Scale in Patients Diagnosed with Myofascial Pain Syndrome and Fibromyalgia, Scott William Cheatham
Dissertation: Effect of Stance Symmetry on Perturbation-Induced Protective Stepping in Persons Poststroke and Controls, Katherine M. Martinez
Dissertation: Sub-clinical Neck Symptoms, Disability, Posture, and Muscle Function in Computer Users, and the Effect of Education versus Education and Deep Cervical Flexor Exercise, Donna Lynne Skelly
Theses/Dissertations from 2015
Dissertation: Achieving Competence: Clinical Instructors' Perspective, Kimberly W. Coleman-Ferreira
Dissertation: Humeral Retrotorsion in Developing Children and its Relationship to Throwing Sports, Elliot M. Greenberg
Thesis: Investigation of relationships between physical characteristics of recreational runners and lower extremity injuries, Steven Marc Jackson
Dissertation: Promoting professional behavior in physical therapist students : use of standardized patient feedback, Mary Anne Riopel
Dissertation: Most effective intervention for reducing posterior shoulder tightness acutely in the post-operative population : a single blinded randomized control trial, Paul A. Salamh
Theses/Dissertations from 2014
Dissertation: Student and clinical instructor perceptions of credentialed and noncredentialed clinical instructors, Lindsay Elchert
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Use of a Direction Tolerance System (DTS) in Patients with Low Back Pain: Intra-Rater Reliability and Outcome, Martin Lambert
Dissertation: High fidelity human simulation used in preparation for physical therapy student acute care clinical practice experiences, Nicki Silberman
Dissertation: Pelvic girdle pain, postpartum depressive symptoms, and perceived improvement in the first twelve weeks after delivery, Adrienne H. Simonds
Dissertation: Physical therapy student experiences regarding problem-based learning and development of professional core values, Michelle E. Wormley
Theses/Dissertations from 2013
Dissertation: Assessing student physical therapists' clinical reasoning competency, Wing Fu
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Effects of the Nintendo Wii Fit on Functional Gait, Balance and Quality of Life in Ambulatory Individuals with Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury, Tracy E. Wall
Dissertation: Lived experiences of physical therapists in inpatient rehabilitation facilities : an interpretive phenomenological analysis, Steve Wiley
Theses/Dissertations from 2012
Dissertation: Relationship between proximal hip stabilizer force and incidence of recurrent ankle sprains with female soccer players ages thirteen to seventeen, Jane G. Keehan
Dissertation: Reliability and validity of a functional measure of change in canine lameness : the canine timed up and go test, Cindy June McGregor
Dissertation: Effective mentoring in physical therapy : approaches for residency training, Anne E. O'Donnell
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Development of a Reliable and Valid Means to Measure the Physical Abilities of Young Male Gymnasts, Mark D. Sleeper
Dissertation: Using fMRI to determine if hemodynamic responses to pain change following thoracic spine thrust manipulation, Cheryl L. Sparks
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Incidence and Impact of Urinary Incontinence and Health Related Quality of Life for Postpartum Bangladeshi Women: Comparison by Birth Mode, Lori Marie Walton
Theses/Dissertations from 2011
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Understanding Clinically Meaningful Change in Walking and Balance Ability for Patients Undergoing Inpatient Physical Therapy after Stroke, Jennifer Canbek
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Criterion-Related Validity of the mini-BESTest: A New Clinical Combination Test Battery for Dynamic Balance and an Instrumented Test of Postural Sway (iSWAY), Demetrius Lynn Freeman
Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Expectations of Physical Therapist Employers, and Academic and Clinical Faculty Regarding Entry-level Knowledge, Skills, and Behavior of Physical Therapist Graduates in Acute Rehabilitation Practice, Claudia Capelle Gazsi