Christi Williams

Biography

Dr. Christi Williams received her Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Clemson University in 2002 and obtained her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Belmont University in 2005.  Dr. Williams is an APTA Board Certified Clinical Specialist in Orthopedics and has also received her certification from the McKenzie Institute as a specialist in Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy of the Spine. In addition, Dr. Williams has specialized training in the use of motion analysis equipment for the evaluation and treatment of lower extremity orthopedic conditions, running analysis and ACL prevention / return to sports assessments.  Dr. Williams’ clinical practice focuses heavily on education and injury prevention in gym settings and workplace wellness programs. 

At Belmont University, Dr. Williams serves as the Director of Anatomy and teaches Human Anatomy in the physical therapy program, which includes full cadaveric dissections.   In addition, she teaches Clinical Pathophysiology II and Kinesiology labs which help link the students’ basic understanding of anatomy & physiology to understanding the disease process and developing basic clinical examination skills such as manual muscle testing, goniometry, palpation and hand-held dynamometry.  

In addition to her teaching responsibilities at Belmont, Dr. Williams provides continuing education courses with the use of human anatomy dissections for practicing physical therapists.  Dr. Williams also serves as an adjunct faculty member at Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesiology in their Acute Surgical Pain Management Fellowship program where she performs dissections and provides anatomy education for practitioners who are developing skills for ultrasound-guided anesthesia injections, as well as educating Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists on how to perform neuromuscular assessments on their patients.   

Dr. Williams is very involved in organizing and coordinating various annual community service activities involving the physical therapy students at Belmont University.  She serves as a board member for the Sara Walker Foundation which is a Foundation that was created in honor of a former 2003 Belmont DPT alumna, Sara Pigg Walker.  Williams believes that Sara’s story is the perfect representation of Belmont University’s mission and what it is that makes the physical therapy program here at Belmont so special.   Williams has organized several student groups to volunteer at the annual Sara Walker Run and Kids For Kids Fun Run which raises money to support several mission trips to Africa, the Sara Pigg Walker Scholarship Fund which was established for Belmont PT students, and future mission trip opportunities for Belmont students.  Another community service activity in which Belmont PT students are involved in annually under the direction of Dr. Williams, is Garrett’s Hero Run.  This event is organized by a fellow 2005 alumna in support of her son, Garrett who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.  Belmont students volunteer at this event and help raise money and awareness for the organization Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy. 

Dr. Williams’ scholarly and research activities revolve around her passions as a clinician, educator and volunteer.  Her clinical line of research includes the use of cadavers and ultrasound for improved safety with dry needling, and hand-held dynamometry assessments of strength.  Dr. Williams and colleague, Dr. Kevin Robinson, published a book in 2024 entitled, “Strength and Range of Motion Assessment for Today’s Student: The Abbreviated Guide” which includes hand-held dynamometry instruction. Her interests in the scholarship of teaching and learning focus around developing interdisciplinary and inter-professional teaching and learning opportunities related to cadaver-based education.  Her research related to volunteer work with animal-assisted therapy is her third line of research and focuses on assessing the impact of a therapy dog on stress and anxiety levels of students, healthcare employees and patients.  Williams has received several grants for her research on animal-assisted therapy and has presented at both the state and national levels. In 2022 Williams published a book about therapy animals in healthcare which became a #1 Best Seller on Amazon.com.  The book, “Healthcare Heroes: How Therapy Dogs Change Lives!”  was written to educate people of all ages about the benefits of therapy animals and to inspire others to volunteer in their community to help others in need.