University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus · Biomedical EngineeringShoulder Recovery Initiative
Richard E Debski · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Research Focus
Dr. Richard E. Debski's lab focuses on understanding and improving exercise therapy for individuals with rotator cuff tears, particularly in older adults. Their research investigates how personalized exercise programs can help restore shoulder function and prevent the need for surgery, aiming to enhance patient outcomes and develop effective clinical guidelines for treatment. By analyzing biomechanical and clinical factors over time, the lab seeks to create individualized rehabilitation strategies for better long-term results.
rotator cuff tearsexercise therapyshoulder rehabilitationmusculoskeletal modelingpatient outcomes
Research Aims
3AIM 01Determine the long-term effectiveness of exercise therapy in treating rotator cuff tears.
AIM 02Assess improvements in shoulder joint biomechanics in individuals undergoing exercise therapy versus control subjects.
AIM 03Evaluate the maintenance of shoulder joint stability after an exercise therapy regimen.
Skills the Lab Values
biomechanical analysismusculoskeletal modelingpatient-reported outcomes assessmentexercise program designdata collection and analysis
Output against the department
Publications287top 33% of dept.198th of 595
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations11ktop 34% of dept.200th of 595
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.