Gail Bursch, Associate Professor of Physical Therapy, received the 2015 Carol Likens Award (CLA) presented by the Tennessee Physical Therapy Association (TPTA) at their annual meeting recently. The award is given annually to a TPTA member who has provided exceptional service to the profession of physical therapy.  Bursch served as Chair of the Nashville District of TPTA for 11 years, was Vice President of the Tennessee Chapter for 5 years and most recently chaired the TPTA Nominating Committee for 4 years.  The Likens award is named for its first recipient who served the chapter as president from 1985 to 1995 and whose vision, leadership and commitment to the profession brought the TPTA through one of its greatest periods of growth and service to members.

The TPTA meeting also provided Belmont’s School of Physical Therapy with the opportunity to present student research projects.   One group, mentored by Dr. Cathy Hinton, Professor of Physical Therapy, presented a poster entitled “A Comparison of the Effects of Superficial Heat and Thermal Ultrasound on Hamstring Extensibility”.  The group consisted of students Danielle Wisse, Jennifer Braswell, Morgan McBride, Chelsea Taylor and Katie Wood.

Another poster was presented by a group mentored by Dr. Renee Brown, Professor of Physical Therapy, and adjunct professor, Penny Powers.  The research measured the “Effects of Educational Intervention on use of Tilt-in-Space, Functional Mobility, and Pain in Full-time Wheelchair Users”.  Student researchers included Ashley Barrett, Leigha Cuellar, Meagan Heney and Martha Schumpert.

A third student research group, also mentored by Dr. Brown, was awarded a TPTA grant for their study, “Exploring the Effects of Kinesiotaping on the Gait and Level of Pain in Individuals with Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease”.   The team of grant recipients included Kelly Weaver, Casie House and Lisa Farrar.