Department of Physical Therapy & Athletic Training

Cara Lewis

Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy

BS, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN;
MS, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
PhD, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO

Courses Taught

HP 151 Introduction to the Health and Rehabilitation Professions

Scholarly, Research, and/or Practice Interests

Musculoskeletal causes of hip pain and motor adaptation to robotic assistance during gait

Scholarship – Recent Presentations

Plantar flexor response to a perturbation during human walking maintains ankle joint torque pattern, 33rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Biomechanics, State College, PA, August, 2009.


Invariant ankle moment patterns with plantar flexor assistance from a powered ankle orthosis. North American Congress on Biomechanics, Ann Arbor, MI, August, 2008.


Motor response during unexpectedly reduced plantar flexor torque provided by a powered orthosis during walking. Proceedings of the North American Congress on Biomechanics, Ann Arbor, MI, August, 2008.


Walking with increased push-off decreases hip moment. Proceedings of the 31st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Biomechanics, Palo Alto, CA, August, 2007.


Effect of hip rotation on anterior hip force during straight-leg raising. 30th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Biomechanics, Blacksburg, VA, September, 2006.

Modeling of anterior hip joint forces during straight-leg raising. Combined Sections Meeting of the American Physical Therapy Association, San Diego, CA, February, 2006.

Walking in greater hip extension increases predicted anterior hip joint reaction forces. 29th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Biomechanics, Cleveland, OH, August, 2005.

Scholarship – Recent Publications

Lewis CL. Extra-articular snapping hip: a literature review. Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Accepted.

Charnock BL, Lewis CL, Garrett WE, Queen RM. Adductor longus vulnerability in the maximal effort soccer kick. Sports Biomechanics. Accepted.

Sawicki GS, Lewis CL, Ferris DP. It pays to have a spring in your step. Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews. 2009;37(3):130-8.

Ferris DP and Lewis CL (2009) Robotic lower limb exoskeletons using proportional myoelectric control. Proceedings of the 31st Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, Minneapolis, MN. 2009;2119-24.

Lewis CL, Sahrmann SA. Muscle activation and movement patterns during prone hip extension in females. Journal of Athletic Training. 2009;44(3):238-48.

Lewis CL, Sahrmann SA, Moran DW. Effect of alteration in synergist muscle force contribution on hip forces when performing hip strengthening exercises. Clinical Biomechanics. 2009;24(1):35-42.

Lewis CL, Ferris DP. Walking with increased push-off decreases hip moment. Journal of Biomechanics. 2008;41:2082-2089.

Lewis CL, Sahrmann SA, Moran DW. Anterior hip joint force increases with hip extension, decreased gluteal force, or decreased iliopsoas force. Journal of Biomechanics. 2007;40(16):3725-3731.

Lewis CL, Sahrmann SA. Acetabular labral tears. Physical Therapy. 2006;86(1):110-121.

Klaesner JW, Hastings MK, Zou D, Lewis C, Mueller MJ. Plantar tissue stiffness in patients with diabetes mellitus and peripheral neuropathy. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 2002;83(12):1796-801.

Scholarship – Recent Activities

Grant Application Reviewer

Missouri Physical Therapy Association
U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command

Manuscript Reviewer:

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
BioMedical Engineering OnLine
Clinical Biomechanics
Journal of Applied Biomechanics
Journal of Athletic Training
Journal of Biomechanics

Professional Activities

Member, Examination Construction and Review Committee for the National Physical Therapy Examination, 1999-2004
Advanced Item Writer, National Physical Therapy Examination, 2004-09

Recent Grant Activity

Recipient, NIH Kirschstein-NRSA Individual Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship
Recipient, NIH Clinical Loan Repayment Program
Recipient, NIH Kirschstein-NRSA Institutional Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship
Recipient, NIH Kirschstein-NRSA Institutional Pre-Doctoral Research Fellowship

Licenses and Certifications:

Missouri State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts: Physical Therapist 112159

phone (617) 353-7509 | email: lewisc@bu.ed