Dr. Sheila Clemens is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Kentucky and a research scientist at the Lexington VA Medical Center. She received Master of Physical Therapy from the University of Michigan in 1995. After many years as a clinician, she returned to academia to attain her PhD in 2017 from the University of Miami with a specialization in amputation rehabilitation. As a clinician-scientist, her research focuses on examining factors associated with optimal outcomes after lower limb amputation. Dr. Clemens teaches amputation rehabilitation and prosthetics, and evidence-informed practice in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program.

Research/Scholarship:

• Outcomes after lower limb amputation
• Health disparities and social determinants of health in people with amputations
• Pelvic floor dysfunction and associations to lower limb amputation
• Prosthetic gait biomechanics

Educational Focus:

• Prosthetics and amputation rehabilitation
• Normal and pathological gait evaluation
• Fundamental principles of research

Publications:

• Clemens, S. M., Kershaw, K. N., Bursac, Z., & Lee, S. P. (2024). Association of race, ethnicity, and gender to disparities in functional recovery and social health after major lower limb amputation: a cross-sectional pilot study. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 105(2), 208–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2023.10.003
• Lee, S., Chien, L., Shih, H., Ho, S., & Clemens, S. (2024). Returning to work after dysvascular lower limb amputation—A novel multivariate approach to examine relative contributions of biopsychosocial predictors. Prosthetics and Orthotics International. https://doi.org/10.1097/pxr.0000000000000322
• Clemens, S., & Pew, C. (2023). A pilot study comparing prosthetic to sound limb gait mechanics during a turning task in people with transtibial amputation. Clinical Biomechanics, 109, 106077. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2023.106077
• Clemens, S., Gaunaurd, I., Raya, M., Kirk-Sanchez, N., Klute, G., & Gailey, R. (2022). Using theoretical frameworks to examine fall history and associated prosthetic mobility in people with nondysvascular lower limb amputation. Prosthetics and Orthotics International, 46(5), 484–490. https://doi.org/10.1097/pxr.0000000000000140
• Clemens S, Kershaw K, McDonald C, Darter B, Bursac Z, Garcia S, Rossi M, Lee P. Disparities in functional recovery after dysvascular lower limb amputation are associated with employment status and self-efficacy. Disability and Rehabilitation. 2022 Jun 16:1-8.
• Gailey RS, Kristal A, Al Muderis M, Lučarević J, Clemens S, Applegate EB, Isaacson BM, Pasquina PF, Symsack A, Gaunaurd IA. Comparison of prosthetic mobility and balance in transfemoral amputees with bone-anchored prosthesis vs. socket prosthesis. Prosthetics and Orthotics International. 2022 May 3:10-97.
• Gailey R, Kirk-Sanchez N, Clemens S, Symsack A, Gaunaurd I. Evidence-Based Amputee Rehabilitation: A Systematic Approach to the Restoration of Function in People with Lower Limb Loss. Current Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Reports. April 2022; 10:17-26.
• Symsack, A., Gaunaurd, I., Thaper, A., Springer, B., Bennett, C., Clemens, S., Lucarevic, J., Kristal, A., Sumner, M., Isaacson, B., Pasquina, P., & Gailey, R. (2021). Usability assessment of the rehabilitation lower-limb orthopedic assistive device by service members and veterans with lower limb loss. Military Medicine, 186(3–4), 379–386. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usaa428
• Lucarevic J, Gaunaurd I, Clemens S, Belsky P, Summerton L, Walkup M, Wallace SP, Yokomizo L, Pasquina P, Schubert M, Gailey R. The relationship between vestibular sensory integration and prosthetic mobility in community-ambulators with unilateral lower limb amputation. Physical Therapy. May 2020.
• Clemens, S., Doerger, C., & Lee, S. (2020). Current and Emerging Trends in the Management of Fall Risk in People with Lower Limb Amputation. Current Geriatrics Reports, 9(3), 134–141. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13670-020-00328-4
• Clemens, S., Kim, K. J., Gailey, R., Kirk-Sanchez, N., Kristal, A., & Gaunaurd, I. (2020). Inertial sensor-based measures of gait symmetry and repeatability in people with unilateral lower limb amputation. Clinical Biomechanics, 72, 102–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2019.12.007
• Gaunaurd, I., Gailey, R., Springer, B., Symsack, A., Clemens, S., Lucarevic, J., Kristal, A., Bennett, C., Isaacson, B., Agrawal, V., Applegate, B., & Pasquina, P. (2020). The Effectiveness of the DoD/VA Mobile Device Outcomes-Based Rehabilitation Program for High Functioning Service Members and Veterans with Lower Limb Amputation. Military Medicine, 185(Supplement_1), 480–489. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usz201
• Gailey, R., Clemens, S., Sorensen, J., Kirk‐Sanchez, N., Gaunaurd, I., Raya, M., Klute, G., & Pasquina, P. (2019). Variables that Influence Basic Prosthetic Mobility in People With Non‐Vascular Lower Limb Amputation. PM & R, 12(2), 130–139. https://doi.org/10.1002/pmrj.12223
• Clemens, S. M., Klute, G. K., Kirk-Sanchez, N. J., Raya, M. A., Kim, K. J., Gaunaurd, I. A., & Gailey, R. S. (2018). Temporal-Spatial Values During a 180° Step Turn in People with Unilateral Lower Limb Amputation. Gait & Posture, 63, 276–281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gaitpost.2018.05.016
• Clemens, S. M., Gailey, R. S., Bennett, C. L., Pasquina, P. F., Kirk-Sanchez, N. J., & Gaunaurd, I. A. (2017). The Component Timed-Up-and-Go test: the utility and psychometric properties of using a mobile application to determine prosthetic mobility in people with lower limb amputations. Clinical Rehabilitation, 32(3), 388–397. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269215517728324