The Feedforward And Feedback Controls On Gait In Adults With Diabetes, Chun-Kai Huang

Theses & Dissertations

There are nearly 26 million people with diabetes mellitus (DM) in the US, and half of chronic DMs develop somatosensory deficits due to diabetic polyneuropathy or diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). The absence or impaired somatosensory feedback (e.g. touch sensation or joint proprioception) resulted from the damage of large nerve fiber, and motor deficits such as attenuated muscle strength and abnormal plantar pressure of lower extremity have been identified in DPN, and these sensorimotor impairments lead to an increased number of falls. To reduce the risk of falling, a well-coordinated and adapted limb movement driven by the feedforward (anticipatory) and feedback …

Acute Effects Of Whole-Body Vibration On Lower Extremity Muscle Performance In Persons With Multiple Sclerosis, Kurt Jackson, Harold Merriman, Paul Vanderburgh, C. Brahler

C. Jayne Brahler

Background and Purpose: Whole-body vibration (WBV) is a relatively new form of exercise training that may influence muscle performance. This study investigated the acute effects of high (26 Hz) and low (2 Hz) frequency WBV on isometric muscle torque of the quadriceps and hamstrings in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Participants and Method: Fifteen individuals (mean age = 54.6 years, SD = 9.6) with MS and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores ranging from 0-6.5 (mean = 4.2, SD = 2.3) participated in this randomized cross-over study. Following baseline measures of isometric quadricep and hamstring torque, subjects were exposed to …

Load Carriage Distance Run And Pushups Tests: No Body Mass Bias And Occupationally Relevant, Paul M. Vanderburgh, Nicholas S. Mickley, Philip A. Anloague, Kimber Lucius

Philip A. Anloague

Recent research has demonstrated body mass (M) bias in military physical fi tness tests favoring lighter, not just leaner, service members. Mathematical modeling predicts that a distance run carrying a backpack of 30 lbs would eliminate M-bias. The purpose of this study was to empirically test this prediction for the U.S. Army push-ups and 2-mile run tests. Two tests were performed for both events for each of 56 university Reserve Offi cer Training Corps male cadets: with (loaded) and without backpack (unloaded). Results indicated signifi cant M-bias in the unloaded and no M-bias in the loaded condition for both events. …

Glucose-Fructose Likely Improves Gastrointestinal Comfort And Endurance Running Performance Relative To Glucose-Only, P. B. Wilson, S. J, Ingraham

Athletic Performance Research

This study aimed to determine whether glucose-fructose (GF) ingestion, relative to glucose-only, would alter performance, metabolism, gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, and psychological affect during prolonged running. On two occasions, 20 runners (14 men) completed a 120-min submaximal run followed by a 4-mile time trial (TT). Participants consumed glucose-only (G) or GF (1.2:1 ratio) beverages, which supplied ~1.3 g/min of carbohydrate. Substrate use, blood lactate, psychological affect [Feeling Scale (FS)], and GI distress were measured. Differences between conditions were assessed using magnitude-based inferential statistics. Participants completed the TT 1.9% (−1.9; −4.2, 0.4) faster with GF, representing a likely benefit. FS ratings were …

Misrepresentation Of Carbohydrate For Exercise: ‘It Is Time To Bust The Myth Of Physical Inactivity And Obesity: You Cannot Outrun A Bad Diet’, Patrick B. Wilson

Athletic Performance Research

The contention from Malhotra et al1 regarding the unimportance of carbohydrate for exercise is misguided. First, the reference they provide is an editorial2 that should not be viewed as high-quality evidence. Several oft-cited exercise studies showing benefits with high-fat diets simultaneously utilized carbohydrate restoration strategies,3 which involves “carbohydrate loading” after a high-fat diet. Thus, the evidence provided does not contradict the established belief that carbohydrate is an important fuel for endurance exercise. Second, the authors’ use of the term “carbohydrate loading” is misleading in this context. No public health organizations advocate a diet containing carbohydrate in amounts used in “carbohydrate …

Acute Effects Of Whole-Body Vibration On Lower Extremity Muscle Performance In Persons With Multiple Sclerosis, Kurt Jackson, Harold L. Merriman, Paul M. Vanderburgh, C. Jayne Brahler

Harold L. Merriman

Background and Purpose: Whole-body vibration (WBV) is a relatively new form of exercise training that may influence muscle performance. This study investigated the acute effects of high (26 Hz) and low (2 Hz) frequency WBV on isometric muscle torque of the quadriceps and hamstrings in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). Participants and Method: Fifteen individuals (mean age = 54.6 years, SD = 9.6) with MS and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores ranging from 0-6.5 (mean = 4.2, SD = 2.3) participated in this randomized cross-over study. Following baseline measures of isometric quadricep and hamstring torque, subjects were exposed to …

Inter-Segment Coordination Variability Post Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction, Devin K. Kelly

Masters Theses

INTER-SEGMENT COORDINATION VARIABILITY POST ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT RECONSTRUCTION

SEPTEMBER 2015

DEVIN K. KELLY, B.S., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST

M.S., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST

Directed by: Dr. Joseph Hamill

There is an increased risk for ipsilateral graft rupture and contralateral ACL rupture following ACL reconstruction surgery (ACLR) despite return to sport clearance. The reason for this increased risk is not well understood. Previous literature has shown that decreased coordination variability is indicative of an injured system regardless of the absence of pain. PURPOSE: To quantify inter-segment coordination variability during three portions of the stance phase of gait in athletes at three …

Removable Shoe Spike System, Alex Adams, Nutech Ventures, Inc.,

Athletic Performance Research

The present system, method and apparatus are adapted for the quick and easy exchange of spikes on athletic shoes. More specifically, the system, apparatus and methods comprise a spike having an opening, an aglet adapted for coupling to the shoe, for example by way of a shoelace, and a coupling head affixed to the aglet which is adapted to couple with the opening on the spike so as to allow a user to quickly and easily replace, remove or install spikes in the athletic shoe. The disclosure thus allows the user to have the tool attached to their shoe at …

Plantar Pressure, Cutaneous Sensation And Stochastic Resonance: An Examination Of Factors Influencing The Control And Perception Of Posture, Michael A. Busa

Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation was to understand how people control posture in the context of sensory loss. To do so we explored three potential influences on the detection of external information and how they relate to the control of posture and perception of body orientation: 1) does changing posture alter the forces under the foot, and do these changes impact the ability to detect external vibrations? 2) Does decreasing the temperature of the foot influence the ability to detect external vibrations, the perception of body orientation, and the control of posture? And 3) does stochastic resonance (SR) improve the …

Validation Of A 5k Age And Weight Run Handicap Model, Paul M. Vanderburgh, Lloyd L. Laubach

Paul M. Vanderburgh

Though increasing age and body weight (BW) have been widely known to be associated with slower distance run times, the common convention in 5K road races is to categorize competitors by age and, sometimes, BW. This has the disadvantage of assigning only small numbers of competitors to age categories and giving advantage to runners close to the minimum age or BW values allowable. Using recent advances in the modeling of distance run performance by BW combined with empirical evidence quantifying the independent effect of age on cardiovascular endurance, we previously published the derivation of the 5K Handicap (5KH), an age …

Body Weight Penalties In The Physical Fitness Tests Of The Army, Air Force, And Navy, Paul M. Vanderburgh, Todd A. Crowder

Paul M. Vanderburgh

Recent research has empirically documented a consistent penalty against heavier service members for events identical or similar to those in the physical fitness tests of the Army, Air Force, and Navy. These penalties, not related to body fatness, are based on biological scaling models and have a physiologic basis. Using hypothetical cases, we quantified the penalties for males, 60 vs. 90 kg body weight, and females, 45 vs. 75 kg, to be 15-20% for the fitness tests of these three services. Such penalties alone can adversely impact awards and promotions for heavier service members. To deal equitably with these penalties …

Body Mass Bias In A Competition Of Muscle Strength And Aerobic Power, Paul M. Vanderburgh, Lloyd L. Laubach

Paul M. Vanderburgh

Recently, a fitness competition called the Pump and Run (PR) has been popularized. Composed of 2 events, a 5-km road race time (RT) in seconds and a maximal-repetition bench press (BPR) with resistance based on a percentage of body mass (M), the final score (RTadj) equals RT - 30(BPR). From published findings, the authors hypothesized that the PR would impose a bias against heavier competitors. Furthermore, the potential for age bias in this event has not been evaluated. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate M and age bias in the PR for men and women. For 74 …

Correction Factors For Body Mass In Military Physical Fitness Tests, Paul M. Vanderburgh

Paul M. Vanderburgh

Recent research findings combined with the theoretical laws of biological similarity make the compelling case that all physical fitness test items for the Army, Air Force, and Navy impose a 15-20% physiologic bias against heavier, not fatter, men and women. Using the published findings that actual scores of muscle and aerobic endurance scale by body mass raised to the 1/3 power, correction factor tables were developed. This correction factor can be multiplied by one’s actual score (e.g., push-ups, sit-ups, abdominal crunches, or curl-ups repetitions or distance run time) to yield adjusted scores that are free of body mass bias. These …

Derivation Of An Age And Weight Handicap For The 5k Run, Paul M. Vanderburgh, Lloyd L. Laubach

Paul M. Vanderburgh

The adverse effect of increasing age and/or body weight on distance run performance has been well documented. Accordingly, nearly all five kilometer (5K) road races employ age categories and, sometimes, a heavier body weight classification. Problems with such conventions include small numbers of runners within older age categories and the advantage given to the lightest runners within each weight category. We developed a 5K Handicap (5KH), a model that calculates an adjusted run time based on the inputs of actual 5K run time, age, and body weight for men and women. This adjusted time, then, can be compared between runners …

Occupational Relevance And Body Mass Bias In Military Physical Fitness Tests, Paul M. Vanderburgh

Paul M. Vanderburgh

Recent evidence makes a compelling case that U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force health-related physical fitness tests penalize larger, not just fatter, service members. As a result, they tend to receive lower scores than their lighter counterparts, the magnitude of which can be explained by biological scaling laws. Larger personnel, on the other hand, tend to be better performers of work-related fitness tasks such as load carriage, heavy lifting and materiel handling. This has been explained by empirical evidence that lean body mass and lean body mass to dead mass ratio (dead mass = fat mass and external load to …

Body Mass Bias In Exercise Physiology, Paul Vanderburgh

Paul M. Vanderburgh

In certain physically demanding occupations, especially the military, body mass bias has substantive implications. Work physiologists have determined that despite body mass bias in the common military physical fitness tests, the larger service members were often better performers of the physically demanding occupational tasks (Bilzon et al., 2002; Lyons et al., 2005; Rayson et al., 2000). That is, they could carry more, more easily evacuate casualties, and better engage in heavy materiel handling. Yet, the smaller personnel were achieving better scores on the physical fitness tests, the results of which have significant promotion and advancement implications (Vanderburgh & Mahar , …

Load Carriage Distance Run And Pushups Tests: No Body Mass Bias And Occupationally Relevant, Paul M. Vanderburgh, Nicholas S. Mickley, Philip A. Anloague, Kimber Lucius

Paul M. Vanderburgh

Recent research has demonstrated body mass (M) bias in military physical fi tness tests favoring lighter, not just leaner, service members. Mathematical modeling predicts that a distance run carrying a backpack of 30 lbs would eliminate M-bias. The purpose of this study was to empirically test this prediction for the U.S. Army push-ups and 2-mile run tests. Two tests were performed for both events for each of 56 university Reserve Offi cer Training Corps male cadets: with (loaded) and without backpack (unloaded). Results indicated signifi cant M-bias in the unloaded and no M-bias in the loaded condition for both events. …

Validity Of Boston Marathon Qualifying Times, Paul M. Vanderburgh

Paul M. Vanderburgh

Purpose: To assess the validity of Boston Marathon qualifying (BMQ) standards for men and women. Methods: Percent differences between BMQ and current world records (WR) by sex and age group were computed. WR was chosen as the criterion comparison because it is not confounded by intensity, body composition, lifestyle, or environmental factors. A consistent difference across age groups would indicate an appropriate slope of the age-vs-BMQ curve. Inconsistent differences were corrected by adjusting BMQ standards to achieve a uniform percentage difference from WR. Results: BMQ standards for men were consistently ~50% slower than WR (mean 51.5% ± 1.4%, range 49.6–54.4%), …

Contributions Of Body Fat And Effort In The 5k Run: Age And Body Weight Handicap, Anne R. Crecelius, Paul M. Vanderburgh, Lloyd L. Laubach

Paul M. Vanderburgh

The 5K handicap (5KH), designed to eliminate the body weight (BW) and age biases inherent in the 5K run time (RT), yields an adjusted RT (RTadj) that can be compared between runners of different BW and age. As hypothesized in a validation study, however, not all BW bias may be removed, because of the influences of body fatness (BF) and effort (run speed; essentially the inverse as measured by rating of perceived exertion (RPE)). This study's purpose was to determine the effects of BF and RPE on BW bias in the 5KH. For 99 male runners in a regional 5K …

Contributions Of Body Fat And Effort In The 5k Run: Age And Body Weight Handicap, Anne R. Crecelius, Paul M. Vanderburgh, Lloyd L. Laubach

Anne R. Crecelius

The 5K handicap (5KH), designed to eliminate the body weight (BW) and age biases inherent in the 5K run time (RT), yields an adjusted RT (RTadj) that can be compared between runners of different BW and age. As hypothesized in a validation study, however, not all BW bias may be removed, because of the influences of body fatness (BF) and effort (run speed; essentially the inverse as measured by rating of perceived exertion (RPE)). This study's purpose was to determine the effects of BF and RPE on BW bias in the 5KH. For 99 male runners in a regional 5K …

Reactive Hyperemia Occurs Via Activation Of Inwardly-Rectifying Potassium Channels And Na+/K+-Atpase In Humans, Anne R. Crecelius, Jennifer C. Richards, Gary J. Luckasen, Dennis G. Larson, Frank A. Dinenno

Anne R. Crecelius

Rationale: Reactive hyperemia (RH) in the forearm circulation is an important marker of cardiovascular health, yet the underlying vasodilator signaling pathways are controversial and thus remain unclear. Objective: We hypothesized that RH occurs via activation of inwardly rectifying potassium (KIR) channels and Na+/K+-ATPase and is largely independent of the combined production of the endothelial autocoids nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandins in young healthy humans. Methods and Results: In 24 (23±1 years) subjects, we performed RH trials by measuring forearm blood flow (FBF; venous occlusion plethysmography) after 5 minutes of arterial occlusion. In protocol 1, we studied 2 groups of 8 …

A Pilot Study Investigating The Reasons For Playing Through Pain And Injury: Emerging Themes In Men’S And Women’S Collegiate Rugby, Leilani Madrigal, Jamie Robbins, Diane L. Gill, Katherine Wurst

Athletic Performance Research

Collegiate rugby is a competitive, collision sport, yet insufficient empirical evidence exists regarding participants’ perspectives on pain and injury. This study addressed male and female rugby players’ experiences with injury, and their views about playing through pain and injury. Eleven rugby players (five male; six female) competing in USA Rugby’s National College 7’s tournament participated in semi structured interviews, which were recorded, transcribed, and content-analyzed. Two major themes emerged: passion for sport and sport ethic. Passion for sport was composed of (a) love of the sport, (b) meaning of the sport, and (c) desire to be on the field. Sport …

Influence Of Planning Resources On Gait Control In Parkinson’S Disease, Frederico P. Faria

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Movement disturbances in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) have been associated with difficulties to plan complex actions. Performance of simple and complex actions overloads resources for individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, it is unclear if central resources required to plan gait adjustments while walking exacerbate gait disturbances of patients with PD. More specifically, it is unclear how gait impairments, sensory processing, and the dopaminergic system influence the load on processing resources (e.g. cognitive load) during the planning of step modifications. In order to investigate the relative influence of these factors on cognitive load and its impact on gait control, …

The Effect Of Training Older Adults In Tai Chi And Compensatory Stepping On Balance Control, Hannah L. Moore Miss

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

Introduction: In Canadian society, there is a growing prevalence of older adults and one of the main problems facing this generation today is the risk of falling. Tai Chi (TC) is a martial art that has demonstrated improvements in balance control. It uses a series of fluid movements that engage head, neck and trunk rotation while simultaneously reducing base of support. In addition, it has been demonstrated that training older adults by administering unpredictable perturbations to challenge balance better equips them to react successfully in response to balance perturbations. This study aims to determine the potential balance specific benefits …