Digital Commons Network^™

Causes And Consequences Of The Risk Of Generalizability Biases In Health Behavioral Interventions, Lauren Von Klinggraeff

Theses and Dissertations

Preliminary testing of health behavior interventions (e.g., pilot, feasibility studies) are used to evaluate intervention viability prior to additional testing and resource investment (e.g., larger trials). This initial testing provides valuable information, but promising estimates of effectiveness produced during early testing are rarely reproduced in larger studies, stalling the development of effective, scalable health interventions. In the obesity intervention literature, external validity biases, features of the intervention that are not (or cannot) transfer to the larger study, are associated with these diminished effects. These study features, such who delivers the intervention, the characteristics of the population receiving the intervention or …

Effects Of Parkinson’S Disease On Motor Asymmetry, Deborah Mazanek Watson

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Persons with Parkinson’s disease (PD) experience changes cortically, subcortically and behaviorally. This dissertation examines the asymmetry of motor behavior to explore the role of asymmetry in persons with PD and its connection to clinical symptoms. Purpose: Project 1: To assess the hand asymmetry difference in young adults versus older adults. Project 2: To investigate the difference in hand asymmetry in older adults and persons with PD. Project 3: To explore the correlation between function and clinical symptoms of persons with PD. Methods: 55 right-handed participants [Young Adults (YA) = 20, Female = 10; Older Adults (OA) = 20, Female …

A Comparison Of Ground Reaction Forces And Muscle Activity Of The Tsunami Bar® Against A Rigid Barbell During Back Squat Phases, John Carver Middleton

Theses and Dissertations

An Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved study was conducted to investigate the effects of the Tsunami Bar® (TB), a flexible barbell, on ground reaction force (GRF) production and muscle activity in the quadricep, hamstring, and gluteal muscle groups during phases of the squat exercise and compare the effects to the effects to using a rigid barbell (RB). A two-by-two repeated measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test was used to compare the results. Descriptive statistics showed significantly higher GRFs for the TB during the unweighting phase, significant differences in GRFs between speeds for each phase, significantly higher forces on average with the …

The Impact Of A Body Self-Compassion Program On Body Image And Experiences Of Exercise, Gretchen Paulson

Theses and Dissertations

Body image concerns are a prevalent and pervasive issue among young adult women and are associated with a host of physical and psychological consequences including disordered eating, depression, and anxiety. Body image concerns play a role in physical activity and exercise behavior, where negative body image is related to lower levels of exercise engagement. Self-compassion is a way of relating to oneself with kindness and understanding, particularly in the presence of suffering or feelings of inadequacy. Self-compassion consists of three interrelated components: self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness, and has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing body image concerns, while fostering positive body …

Using Music To Modify Step-Rate And Running Biomechanics In Healthy Runners, Erin Marie Lally

Theses and Dissertations

Context: Running-related injury (RRI) is a significant public health issue that may be caused by injurious running biomechanics. Increasing step-rate (SR) using gait retraining may prevent and treat RRI. The Optimizing Performance Through Intrinsic Motivation and Attention for Learning (OPTIMAL) theory indicates enhanced expectancies, autonomy, and external focus of attention will optimize motor learning. Music has been shown to create enhanced expectancies, can provide incidental choices (autonomy), directs attention externally, and may increase compliance. No studies have investigated if music can be used to alter SR and running biomechanics or strategies that may improve compliance to gait retraining. Objective: The …

The Effects Of Low Volume High-Intensity Interval Training Vs. Moderate-Intensity Interval Training With Blood Flow Restriction On Body Composition, Hormone Concentration, And Arterial Elasticity In Overweight And Obese Male Adults, Alexis Lopez

Theses and Dissertations

PURPOSE: This study compared the effects of HIIT and MIIT+BFR on the adaptations in body composition, salivary hormone concentration, peak oxygen uptake, anaerobic parameters, and arterial elasticity in young overweight and obese male adults.

RESULTS: There was a significant increase in total BMC (p<0.01), leg BMC (p<0.05), and trunk BMC (p<0.05) from baseline in response to HIIT. MIIT+BFR significantly increased LFM/TFM Ratio from baseline (p<0.01). HIIT significantly decreased AIx@75 (p<0.05) and CI (p<0.05). There was a significant increase in ISO 180o Away (p<0.05), Thor Begin. (p<0.01), and Thor Mid. (p<0.05) in response to HIIT. MIIT+BFR had a superior increase in Thor Mid. (p<0.05) and significantly increased ISO 180o Toward (p<0.01), VO2peak (p<0.05), and VO2peak:Time (p<0.05). In the last training session, HIIT significantly increased salivary leptin (p<0.05), but MIIT+BFR had a superior increase in salivary leptin (p<0.01) from pre- to post exercise.

CONCLUSION: HIIT significantly improved total BMC, leg BMC, trunk BMC, and AIx@75 but decreased CI from baseline. HIIT increased quad muscle strength, whereas MIIT+BFR increased hamstring muscle strength. HIIT and MIIT+BFR significantly increased peak torque in Thor Mid and salivary leptin. Only MIIT+BFR significantly improved VO2peak.

The Effects Of Task Complexity On Knee Mechanics And Joint Coordination Variability During A Side-Step Cutting Task, Carter Michael Schmitz

Theses and Dissertations

Injury to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a very common and debilitating injury suffered by athletes of all ages, genders, and abilities. Practitioners attempt to minimize risks by implementing ACL prevention programs designed to physically prepare athletes for the demands of sport, however, the success of these programs is very inconsistent. The majority of past ACL prevention programs prioritize constrained run and cut activities, the removal of motor variability - attempting to “idealize” mechanics - and limited task complexity. Due to the inherent complexities that exist within sport, it is possible that more task complexity and motor variability is …

The Role Of Environmental Context In Supporting Children’S 24- Hour Movement Behaviors; A Positive Deviance Perspective, Roddrick Dugger

Theses and Dissertations

Background: During summer, children display less favorable movement behaviors than the school year. To investigate the role of environmental context in supporting children’s ability to meet the 24-hour Movement Guidelines (i.e., Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity: ≥ 60 minutes, Sleep duration: 9-11 hours, Screen Time: ≤ 2 hours), this dissertation had three primary aims: 1) Utilize the Positive Deviance Framework to identify unique practices and resources that enabled children to meet guidelines, 2) Examine potential associations between the neighborhood built and social environment with movement behaviors by household poverty experience, and 3) Identify specific features of the family and home environment that …

Predictors Of Driving Performance Post-Stroke, Halle Elise Prine

Theses and Dissertations

Driving is a complex skill involving the interaction of various brain functions, making it challenging to determine the independent contributions of each process to driving proficiency. While past studies have identified assessments such as the Useful Field of View Test (UFOV) and the Trial Making Test (TMT) as strong predictors for driving skills, little research has explored the impact of visual search and movement inhibition on driving after stroke. This cross-sectional study includes participants between the ages of 21 to 80 years with residual disability caused by a unilateral middle cerebral artery stroke at least six months prior. The participants …

Mechanisms Of Social Stress Susceptibility And Resilience In Female Rats, Brittany Sara Pate

Theses and Dissertations

Social stress is the most common form of stress humans experience and often precipitates the onset of several comorbidities, including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and cardiovascular diseases. While many individuals experience social stress and can respond, cope, and recover, some individuals are more likely to develop subsequent health conditions. Importantly, women are particularly susceptible to stress-related disorders, and the prevalence rates for these comorbid conditions are 2-3-fold higher among females compared to males. Epidemiological data suggest that cycling ovarian hormones may play a role in promoting stress susceptibility in females. Therefore, the current studies aimed to examine the effects …

Effects Of Caffeine On Measures Of Clinical Outcome And Recovery Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury In Adolescents, Jacob Michael Eade

Theses and Dissertations

OBJECTIVE: The overarching purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of habitual caffeine consumption on mTBI outcomes in adolescents. BACKGROUND: Adolescents who suffer an mTBI have an increased risk for neurological impairment and symptomology. Thus, it is important to elucidate modifiable lifestyle factors that have the potential to influence injury outcomes and recovery. Caffeine is a legal psychoactive compound prevalent among the adolescent population. Marketed as an ergogenic aid caffeine coincides with recreational activities where incidence of mTBI is high. However, no human study has explored the influence of caffeine consumption on mTBI pathology. It was hypothesized that …

Educational Environments And Children's Physical Activity And Sedentary Behaviors, Nathan R. Tokarek

Theses and Dissertations

Children and adolescents spend the majority of their day engaged in sedentary behaviors (SB), while also not meeting physical activity (PA) recommendations. The failure to develop and maintain health enhancing behaviors from a young age may impact an individual throughout their life. With children and adolescents spending a large proportion of their waking hours in a school setting, the educational environment presents an opportunity in which children and adolescents’ PA and SB can be positively influenced. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation was to explore how children and adolescent’s school time PA and SB are associated with the educational setting, …

Exploring The Perceived Psychosocial Experiences Of Recreational Runners With Patellofemoral Pain: A Grounded Theory Approach, Kenneth Ildefonso

Theses and Dissertations

Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is a specific type of patellar or retropatellar pain aggravated by at least one physical activity that loads the patellofemoral joint during weight bearing on a flexed knee such as running (Crossley et al., 2016). Previous PFP research has highlighted the importance of psychosocial variables among PFP populations including recreational runners (Vicenzino et al., 2022). Upon reviewing the existing literature, much of it appears to be atheoretical and lack construct clarity. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the perceived psychosocial experiences of recreational runners with PFP. This dissertation aimed to (1) document recreational runners’ perceived …

Estimating Energy Cost Of Physical Activities From Video Using 3d-Cnn Networks, Pragya Shrestha Chansi

Theses and Dissertations

This research proposes a machine learning model that can estimate the energy cost of physical activities from video input. Currently, wearable sensors are commonly used for this purpose, but they have limitations in terms of practicality and accuracy. A deep learning model using three dimensional convolutional neural network (3D-CNN) architecture was used to process the video data and predict the energy cost in terms of metabolic equivalents (METs). The proposed model was evaluated on a dataset of physical activity videos and achieved an average accuracy of 71% on energy category prediction task and an root mean squared error (RMSE) of …

Exercise And Mental Health Over The Course Of A Semester, Jamie Alexis Whitney

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction and purpose: Anxiety and depression are two of the most common mental health struggles in the United States each year. There has been promising research noting the positive effects of exercise on lowering symptoms of both anxiety and depression. Anxiety and depression are highly prevalent on college campuses, especially during high stress portions of the semester. The purpose of this study was to observe the changes in mental health over the course of the semester and if exercise level mediated any of these changes in the university population. Methods: Participants scanned a QR code or followed a link to …

An Examination Of Inter-Limb Functional Asymmetry After A Fatiguing Bout Of Exercise In High Level Soccer Players, Nestor Urrea

Theses and Dissertations

INTRODUCTION: Inter-limb functional asymmetries greater than 15% have been linked to a greater incidence of injury. Moreover, asymmetries greater than 10% have shown greater risk of injury and worsened sport performance, especially for strength and power capabilities, in athletes of multiple sports. Fatigue and sex are factors that seem to influence injury rates as well as greater asymmetries between limbs. This research project aims to investigate the effects of a fatiguing bout of exercise in strength and power inter-limb functional asymmetries in male and female soccer players. It was hypothesized that strength and power asymmetries are negatively affected after a …

A Randomized, Placebo Controlled, Double-Blind, Crossover Study To Evaluate The Effects Of Two Novel Hydration Beverage Formulas On Rehydration In Healthy Adults, Nathaniel David Rhoades

Theses and Dissertations

Intro: Dehydration is common in athletes and can lead to reductions in cognitive and physical performance. While there are many commercially available hydration beverages, most contain high amounts of CHO and are marketed as functional beverages. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of two novel hydration beverage formulas (HMAA, HM) on hydration, cognitive performance, and time to exhaustion (TTE). Methods: Sixteen subjects (n=8 women, n=8 men) completed three experimental days where they consumed one of three conditions (HMAA, HM, or placebo) assigned randomly. The experimental protocol was completed in a heat chamber at 30-32℃ and 45-50% …

Effect Of Action Selection Demands On The Execution Of Goal-Directed Reaches, James Garrison Riedy

Theses and Dissertations

A well-studied model of cognitive motor function is the process of action selection. It is unclear how the planning demands of a reaching movement interact with the added complexity of s election. Therefore, this thesis investigated the effect of adding selection demands to the performance of skilled reaches in a virtual environment. Thirty young, healthy participants reached ipsilaterally or contralaterally with either their dominant (right hand) or non-dominant (left hand) under two conditions: execute only (EO) and action selection (AS). Selection accuracy was higher for the EO condition than the AS condition for both arms and both directions (left arm: …