Life Sciences Commons^™

Exercise, Learning And Emotional Health: Interdisciplinary Approaches To Translational Action, Tessa L. Koschel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Exercise positively effects physical, psychological and neurological wellbeing. Though the population at large is becoming increasingly aware of the multi-faceted benefits of exercise, the majority of people fail to meet daily exercise recommendations. Largely, demands of everyday life such as work, school and family take priority over fitness. The issue therefore becomes a matter of time. In a world of media multi-tasking and immediate gratification, the challenge to health professionals becomes incorporation and manipulation of these consistencies to improve exercise uptake and adherence. Focus must shift from the idea of making additional time for exercise, to adding exercise to time …

The Influence Of Crossfit Training On Running Mechanics, Sophia D. Bradley

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Introduction

40 million Americans run regularly.1 Contrary to many runner’s beliefs, increased strength may be beneficial while not adding body mass. An increase in strength in specific muscles may improve running gait and performance. 9,6 Strength training may also play an important role in preventing common overuse injuries in running 11,12 Depending on the style of strength training, it may also have an enhanced benefit on running economy.4,16

Participation in CrossFit is also widely popular, with an increase in participation of 923% in the past ten years.2 CrossFit is a type of strength training in which most movements performed utilize …

Analysis Of Human Movement Patterns During Endurance Running, Joshua Paul Bailey

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Endurance running and participation in racing events has flourished over the last decade. Recreational runners enter the training period for an upcoming race at differing levels of fitness and training. As individuals sign-up for the race, they typically follow the commitment with an increase in training load. The increases in training load are accomplished through a combination of increasing mileage, or duration of running, and running intensity through increase velocity. These increases are theoretically being applied in a progressive overload principle, where the musculoskeletal system has time to adapt to the breakdown provided from the previous training session. Progressive overload …

Optimization Of Prosthetic Hands: Utilizing Modularity To Improve Grip Force, Grasp, And Versatility, Jordan William Harris

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

It has been demonstrated that although many varieties of upper limb prosthetics exist, commercially available prosthetics are outdated and unsatisfactory. Ineffectiveness and limitations have led to some prosthesis wearers having to own multiple devices, whereas others have given up on them entirely. Even though ample research has been conducted to design and test new hand designs, the industry appears to rest in an overall stagnated state.

It was proposed here, that one problem with prosthetic research is an excess of variables involved in testing, and therefore the improper application of the scientific method. It seems that each time a research …

Hip Adduction: Abduction Ratio Differences Between Collegiate Male And Female Soccer Players, Addie Lucci

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Context: Soccer is a high-intensity sport resulting in injuries. Strength ratios have been used to identify areas of weakness and help prevent further injuries. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference in hip adduction: abduction ratios in collegiate male and female soccer players. The hypothesis was that males will have a lower ratio than females. Design: Cohort Study. Setting: Research Center. Participants: Five male and nine female NCAA Division 1 soccer players were recruited for this study. Intervention: Independent variable is gender. Biodex Isokinetic Dynamometer was used for data collection. The subjects performed …

Upper Extremity Muscle Activity During Simulated Dryland Swimming While Wearing Wetsuit, Ciro J. Agnelli

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Triathletes typically wear a wetsuit during the swim portion of an event, but it is not clear if muscle activity is influenced by wearing a wetsuit. The purpose of this study was to investigate if shoulder muscle activity was influenced by wearing a full sleeved wetsuit vs. no wetsuit during simulated dryland swimming. Subjects (n=10 males; 179.07±13.18cm; 91.20±7.25 kg; 45.6±10.52 years) completed two dry land simulated swimming conditions (VASA Ergometer Trainer): No Wetsuit (NWS) and with Wetsuit (WS). Electromyography (EMG) of four upper extremity muscles was recorded (Noraxon telemetry EMG, sample rate = 1000 Hz) for each condition: Trapezius (TRAP), …

Concussion Prevention Strategies: A Survey Of Division I And Division Ii Female Soccer Teams, Kori Kendall Jeffries

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study is to evaluate concussion prevention strategies that are being used in NCAA Division I and Division II schools, perform an investigation of cervical strengthening programs and the concussion rates associated, and determine beliefs of Certified Athletic Trainers about equipment for concussion prevention. Participants included Certified Athletic Trainer’s (ATs) employed at NCAA Division I and Division II universities in the United States, and provide services to the universities’ female soccer team. Data was collected via questionnaire e-mailed to participants through Qualtrics survey software. A prompt was sent out two weeks and four weeks following the initial …

The Effects Of An Acute Bout Of Exercise On Hunger Hormones In Individuals At Risk For Type 2 Diabetes, Sydney Spoon

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background: Hunger hormone levels are typically dysregulated in obese and diabetic

populations, however; postprandial exercise has been shown to influence hunger hormone levels. Purpose: To determine if hunger hormones including acylated ghrelin and GLP-1 levels are altered in response to an acute bout (15 minutes) of walking in individuals at risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods: Ten subjects at risk for prediabetes (fasting blood glucose 100–125mg/dL) participated in this randomized crossover design trial. Subjects arrived at the laboratory following an overnight fast and underwent one of two conditions: 1) Test meal with no walking (CON) or 2) Test …

Prediction Of Cardiorespiratory Fitness From Maximal Anaerobic Capacity, Elizabeth Ann Tanner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Incremental treadmill VO2max protocols are often considered the superior method of assessing cardiorespiratory fitness. These exercise test protocols stress aerobic energy production pathways. However, at the point of VO2max attainment anaerobic energy systems are the predominant mechanisms of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production. Likewise, the Wingate cycle test, a commonly accepted method of anaerobic capacity assessment stresses anaerobic energy pathways. Based on the utilization of energy production pathways at the point of VO2max and maximal anaerobic capacity attainment a relationship between VO2max and Wingate exercise test protocols may exist. This potential relationship may facilitate the prediction of cardiorespiratory fitness from maximal …

Stride Leg Ground Reaction Forces Pre- And Post-Fatigue In Collegiate Baseball Pitchers, Courtney Alley

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Context: Baseball pitching requires the coordination of the lower and upper extremities to effectively generate and transfer force to the ball. High-velocity pitchers have been found to have significantly greater stride leg force generation than low-velocity pitchers. The influence of stride leg fatigue on pitching has yet to be investigated. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of stride leg fatigue on peak vertical ground reaction forces (vGRFs) and hand velocity. Design: Pretest-posttest. Setting: Biomechanics laboratory. Patients or Other Participants: A convenience sample of 11 collegiate baseball pitchers (19.27 ± 0.64 years old; 85.88 ± 12.16 …

A Comparative Evaluation Of Gait Between Children With Autism And Typically Developing Matched Controls, Janet S. Dufek, Jeffrey D. Eggleston, John R. Harry, Robbin Hickman

Integrated Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Anecdotal reports suggest children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) ambulate differently than peers with typical development (TD). Little empirical evidence supports these reports. Children with ASD exhibit delayed motor skills, and it is important to determine whether or not motor movement deficits exist during walking. The purpose of the study was to perform a comprehensive lower-extremity gait analysis between children (aged 5–12 years) with ASD and age- and gender-matched-samples with TD. Gait parameters were normalized to 101 data points and the gait cycle was divided into seven sub-phases. The Model Statistic procedure was used to test for statistical significance between …

Vitamin D Status And Bone Mineral Density In Female Collegiate Dancers And Cheerleaders, Tara Sue Kenny, Damon Mccune, Laura J. Kruskall, James Navalta, John C. Young

Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences Faculty Publications

Bone mineral density reflects an athlete’s cumulative history of energy availability, physical activity, and menstrual status, as well as nutritional and environmental factors. Although sports with high-impact loading are associated with higher bone mineral density than low-impact or non-impact sports, confounding variables are differences in the athletes’ body size and sport-specific training. The purpose of this study was to determine if bone mineral density (BMD) and vitamin D status are different between two groups of female collegiate athletes who have comparable body size/weight requirements, but who engage in qualitatively different training regimens. Full body, spine and dual femur BMD was …

The Effect Of Intrinsic And Extrinsic Motivations On Health Behavior In College Students: A Systematic Review, Kristen Melendez, Sharon Jalene

AANAPISI Poster Presentations

When measuring the weight of individuals to create healthy lifestyle plans with proper diet and exercise it is alarming how many people follow even the MINIMUM requirement to live a long healthy life. Research has proven that even people who are aware that they are overweight will likely only have a short-lived maintenance of healthy behaviors. Therefore, both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations were examined in order to better understand the difference between the population who maintains healthy lifestyles and those whose healthy habits are not sustained. Methods: A systematic review process was used to filter and screen for applicable studies …