THE AWARD NOTIFICATIONS ARE OUT, and four faculty members from the USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy will be recognized with publication awards at the CPTA Annual Awards Conference, taking place at the end of September 2024. Here are the awardees and the ways in which they are expanding the knowledge base for the physical therapy profession:

Joseph Derian

Assistant Professor of Clinical Physical Therapy Joseph Derian DPT ’16 has earned a 2024 CPTA Clinician Non-Research Publication Award for an article, titled “Early Initiated Multimodal Postoperative Physical Therapy Program for Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion: A Case Report with 2-Year Outcomes.” Published in the Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy Case Report, the case study investigates the efficacy of multimodal physical therapy after an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion for cervical radiculopathy. Derian found significant improvement in outcome measures 12 weeks postoperatively, which were maintained up to two years without any adverse events.

Joe Godges

Clinical Professor of Physical Therapy Joe Godges earned a 2024 Clinician Non-Research Publication Award for the article “Low Back Pain Decision Tree,” which was published in the journal Orthopedic Practice. In the article, Godges et al. set out to integrate recommendations from the Low Back Pain Clinical Practice Guidelines (2012), elements of best practice consistently recommended in clinical practice guidelines for the management of patients with low back pain as well as the 2021 revision of the Low Back Pain Clinical Practice Guidelines to assist healthcare providers by providing an algorithmic presentation of the decisions that healthcare practitioners, along with individuals who are experiencing low back pain, should make for addressing the impairments of body function, activity limitations, and participation restrictions associated with low back pain.

Justin Lantz

Associate Professor of Clinical Physical Therapy and Director of USC’s Spine Physical Therapy Fellowship Justin Lantz was awarded a 2024 CPTA Clinician Research Publication Award for the article “Incidence of complications associated with cervical spine surgery and post-operative physical therapy and implications for timing of initiation of postoperative physical therapy: a retrospective database study.” Published in European Spine Journal, the study aims to describe the incidence of complications associated with cervical spine surgery and post-operative physical therapy and to look at whether the timing of post-operative PT (looking at 2, 8 or 12 weeks postoperatively) impacts incidence rates. Professor-Clinical Scholar Lori Michener also contributed to this study.

Pamela Mikkelsen

Assistant Professor of Clinical Physical Therapy Pamela Mikkelsen DPT ’14 was recognized with a 2024 Faculty Research Publication Award for her article, titled “Flexor hallucis longus tendon morphology in dancers clinically diagnosted with tendinopathy.” The study, published in the Journal of Ultrasound, investigates whether morphological alterations in tendon structure occur as an adaptive response to dance activity by comparing the flexor hallucis longus tendon in dancers and non-dancers and if pathology further alters tendon morphology in dancers clinically diagnosed with tendinopathy.

—John Hobbs MA ’14