Luke Donovan

 

Profile

Dr. Luke Donovan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Physiology, Health, and Clinical Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Prior to coming to UNC-Charlotte, he was an Assistant Professor at the University of Toledo and served as the Director of the CAATE-accredited Post-Professional Graduate Athletic Training program. Currently, Dr. Donovan teaches within the undergraduate Athletic Training and Exercise Science Programs and advises students within the Interdisciplinary Biology PhD Program. Dr. Donovan’s research interests includes the utilization of an impairment-based rehabilitation model for the treatment of chronic ankle instability, in which he is further refining the model by studying novel assessment and rehabilitation techniques.

Education

  • BS.- Pennsylvania State University, 2009, Kinesiology (Athletic Training Option)
  • MEd- University of Virginia, 2010, Athletic Training
  • PhD- University of Virginia, 2014, Sports Medicine

Teaching

  • Anatomy and Physiology I for the Healthcare Professionals
  • Anatomy and Physiology II for the Healthcare Professionals
  • Applied Kinesiology
  • Evidence-Based Practice
  • Therapeutic Rehabilitation

Research Interests/Areas of Expertise

  • Dr. Donovan has completed numerous projects that contribute to the understanding of muscle function during gait and functional exercises in patients with chronic ankle instability (CAI). Furthermore, he has developed an impairment-based rehabilitation model for the treatment of patients with CAI. Recently, he determined that impairment-based rehabilitation is an effective rehabilitation strategy to improve both clinical and patient oriented outcomes in patients with CAI. Currently, Dr. Donovan has continued to research functional movement dysfunction and rehabilitation strategies for patients with CAI. Specifically, he is in the process of developing a low-cost biomechanical ankle assessment tool for clinicians and developing low-cost gait retraining instruments. Overall, his goal is to improve function and quality of life over the long term in patients with CAI and to develop prevention strategies that can be implemented in youth sports and in the general population to reduce the injury rates of lateral ankle sprains.

Awards & Honors

  1. The David H. Perrin Doctoral Dissertation Award, NATA Research and Education Foundation, 2017.
  2. Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant, Curry School of Education, University of Virginia, 2014.
  3. Doctoral Student Free Communications Oral Presentation Winner, National Athletic Trainers’ Association Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, NV, June 2013.
  4. Eagle Scout, 2004

Selected Publications

Herb CC, Donovan L, Feger M, Blemker SS, Hart JM, Saliba S, Hertel J. Effects of Rehabilitation on Joint-Coupling in Patients with Chronic Ankle Instability. Sports Biomechanics (In Press)

Feger MA, Donovan L, Herb CC, Hart JM, Saliba SA, Abel MF, Hertel J. Effects of 4-week Impairment-Based Rehabilitation on Jump-Landing Biomechanics in Chronic Ankle Instability Patients. Physical Therapy in Sport. (In Press)

Torp, DM, Thomas AC, Hubbard-Turner, T, Donovan L. Biomechanical Response to External Biofeedback During Functional Tasks in Individuals with Chronic Ankle Instability. Journal of Athletic Training (In Press)

Donovan L, Hetzel S, Laufenberg C, McGuine TA. Prevalence and Impact of Chronic Ankle Instability in Adolescent Athletes. The Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine (2020)

Donovan L, Torp DM, Thomas AC. Using a Cross-line Laser to Predict Peak Plantar Pressure during Walking. Journal of Athletic Training (2020)

Donovan L, Torp DM, Thomas AC. Using a Cross-line Laser to Predict Peak Plantar Pressure during Walking. Journal of Athletic Training. 2020.

Ifarraguerri AM, Torp DM, Thomas AC, Donovan L. Effects of Real-Time Video Feedback on Plantar Pressure Measures in Individuals with Chronic Ankle Instability during Walking. International Journal of Athletic Training and Therapy (2019)

McKeon PO and Donovan L. A Perceptual Framework for Conservative Treatment and Rehabilitation of Ankle Sprains: An Evidence-based Paradigm Shift. Journal of Athletic Training (2019)

Torp DM, Thomas AC, Donovan L. External Feedback during Walking Improves Measures of Plantar Pressure in Individuals with Chronic Ankle Instability. Gait & Posture. 2018.

Torp DM, Donovan L, Gribble PA, Thomas AC, Bazzett-Jones DM, Beard MQ. No Baseline Strength Differences between Female Recreational Runners who developed an Injury and Injury Free Runners during a 16-Week Training Program. Physical Therapy in Sport (2018)

Donovan L, Miklovic, TM and Feger MA. Step-down task identifies differences in ankle frontal plane kinematics during functional tasks in recreationally active adults. International Journal of Sports Medicine. (2018)

Donovan L and Feger MA. Relationship between ankle frontal plane kinematics during different functional tasks. Gait & Posture. 2017.

Donovan L, Hart JM, Saliba S, Park J, Feger MA, Herb CC, Hertel J. Effects of ankle destabilization devices and rehabilitation on gait biomechanics in chronic ankle instability patients: a randomized controlled trial. Physical Therapy in Sport. 2016

Donovan L, Feger MA, Hart JM, Saliba S, Park J, Hertel. Effects of an auditory biofeedback device on plantar pressure in participants with chronic ankle instability. Gait and Posture. 2016

Donovan L, Hart JM, Saliba S, Park J, Feger M, Herb CC, Hertel J. Rehabilitation for chronic ankle instability with and without destabilization devices: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Athletic Training. 2016

Feger M, Glaviano N, Donovan L, Hart JM, Saliba S, Park J, Hertel J. Current trends in the evaluation, treatment, and physical therapy referral patterns following lateral ankle sprain in the United States. Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine. 2016

Donovan L, Hart JM, Hertel J. Effects of 2 Ankle Destabilization Devices on Electromyography Measures during Functional Exercises in Individuals with Chronic Ankle Instability. Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy. 45.3 (2015): 220-232.

Feger M, Donovan L, Hart JM, Hertel J. Lower extremity muscle activation in patients with and without chronic ankle instability. Journal of Athletic Training. 2015.

Barlow G, Donovan L, Hart JM, Hertel J. Effect of lace-up ankle braces on electromyography measures during walking in subjects with chronic ankle instability. Physical Therapy in Sport. (2015)

Feger MA, Donovan L, Hart JM, Hertel J. Effect of ankle braces on lower extremity muscle activation during functional exercises in participants with chronic ankle instability. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. (2014)

Donovan L, Hart JM, Hertel J. Lower extremity electromyography measures during walking with ankle destabilization devices. Journal of Sport Rehabilitation. 2014.

Feger M, Donovan L, Hart JM, Hertel J. Lower extremity muscle activation during functional exercises in patients with and without chronic ankle instability. PM&R. 2014.

Donovan L, Hertel J. A New Paradigm for Rehabilitation of Patients with Chronic Ankle Instability. The Physician and Sportsmedicine. 2012;40(4).