Sandra Shultz

Bio & Education

Dr. Sandra Shultz (Sandy) is co-director of the Applied Neuromechanics Research Laboratory in the Department of Kinesiology and Director of the Center for Women’s Health and Wellness in the School of Health and Human Science at UNC Greensboro.  Dr. Shultz’s research interests stem from her clinical practice as certified athletic trainer and strength and conditioning specialist, focusing on the underlying factors that increase a female’s susceptibility to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.  She has received over $2.0 million in grant funding and published more than 150 peer-review publications, including 9 consensus statements addressing ACL injury risk and prevention. Her research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, National Athletic Trainers Association, NFL Charities, and the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. She has chaired 19 doctoral dissertations and 28 masters theses.  Dr. Shultz is a Fellow of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, the National Academy of Kinesiology and the American College of Sports Medicine. She was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame in 2015.

Courses Taught

• KIN 353 Injury and Illness
• KIN 730 Neural Aspects of Motor Control
• KIN 798 Doctoral Seminar in Grant Writing

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

• Schmitz RJ, Ford KR, Pietrosimone BG, Shultz SJ, Taylor JB.  ACL Research Retreat IX Summary Statement:  The Pediatric Athlete. Journal of Athletic Training. 2022;57(9):990-995. doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-1004.22 
• Shultz SJ, Rodriguez-Cruz M, Casey E, Dompier T, Ford KR, Pietrosimone B, Schmitz RJ, Taylor JB.  Developmental Trajectories of ACL Injury Risk Factors in Males and Females between 8 and 18 Years of Age.  Journal of Athletic Training. 2022; 57(9):830-876. 10.4085/1062-6050-0038.22 
• Shultz SJ, Valovich McLeod TC.  Editorial: The Growing Influence of Female Athletic Training Scholars.  Journal of Athletic Training.  2021;56(3):1. PMCID: PMC8010925 
• Shultz SJ, Schmitz RJ, Kulas AS, Labban JD, Wang HM.  Quadriceps Muscle Volume Positively Contributes to ACL Volume.  Journal of Orthopaedic Research 2022; 40:268-276.  PMID: 33506964. DOI: 10.1002/jor.24989  
• Wang HM, Shultz SJ, Ross SE, Henson RA, Perrin DH, Schmitz RJ.  The Relationship of ACL Volume and T2, Relaxation Times to Anterior Knee Laxity.  Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine. 2021; 9(2):2325967120979986. PMCID: PMC7925955. 
• Casey E, Anderson T, Wideman L, Schofer F, Shultz SJ.  Optimal Paradigms for Measuring Peak Serum Relaxin in Eumenorrheic, Active Females. Reproductive Medicine International 2018;1(2):1-8 DOI: 10.23937/RMI-2017/1710006.    
• Montgomery MM, Tritsch AJ, Cone JR, Henson R, Schmitz RJ, Shultz SJ. The Influence of Lower Extremity Lean Mass on Landing Biomechanics during Prolonged Exercise.  Journal of Athletic Training.  2017;52(8): 738-746.  PMC5561774 
• Vacek PM, Tourville TW, Sturnick DR, Gardner-Morse M, Holterman LA, Smith HC, Slauterbeck J, Hashemi J, Shultz SJ, Johnson RJ, Beynnon BD.  Multivariate analysis of the risk factors for first-time non-contact ACL injury Part II: A prospective cohort study of college and high school athletes with a nested, matched case-control analysis.  American Journal of Sports Medicine. 2016;44(6): 1492-501.  PMID:27217522 
• Shultz SJ, Schmitz RJ, Cone JR, Henson RA, Montgomery MM, Pye ML, Tritsch, AJ.  Changes in Fatigue, Multi-planar Knee Laxity, and Landing Biomechanics during Intermittent Exercise.  Journal of Athletic Training. 2015;50(5):486-97. PMC4560009 Wideman L, Montgomery MM, Levine BJ, Beynnon BD, Shultz SJ. Accuracy of Calendar Based Methods for Assigning Menstrual Cycle Phase in Women.  Sports Health. 2013; 5:143-149.  PMC3658377 
• Wideman L, Montgomery MM, Levine BJ, Beynnon BD, Shultz SJ. Accuracy of Calendar Based Methods for Assigning Menstrual Cycle Phase in Women.  Sports Health. 2013; 5:143-149.  PMC3658377 
• Shultz SJ, Wideman L, Montgomery MM, Beasley KN, Nindl BC.  Changes in Serum Collagen Markers, IGF-I and Knee Joint Laxity Across the Menstrual Cycle. Journal of Orthopaedic Research. 2012; 30:1405–1412. PMC3371148 
• Shultz SJ, Schmitz RJ, Kong Y, Dudley WN, Beynnon BD, Nguyen AD, Kim HS, Montgomery MM.  Cyclic Variations in Knee Joint Laxity Profiles Influence Landing Biomechanics.  Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise. 2012 May;44(5):900-9. PMID22033513 DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e31823bfb25   
• Shultz SJ, Wideman L, Montgomery MM, Levine BJ.  Some Sex Hormone Concentrations Are Consistent Over Time in Normal Menstruating Females. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2011;45:735-742. PMC2937098 
• Shultz SJ, Schmitz RJ.  Effects of Transverse and Frontal Plane Knee Laxity on Hip and Knee Neuromechanics During Drop Landings.  American Journal of Sports Medicine 2009; 37(9): 1821-1830. PMCID: PMC2894638 
• Shultz SJ, Sander TC, Kirk SE, Johnson ML, Perrin DH.  Relationship Between Sex Hormones and Anterior Knee Laxity Across the Menstrual Cycle.  Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise. 2004; 36(7): 1165-1174. PMCID: PMC1993893