Biomechanics Commons^™

The Effect Of Step Rate Training On Running Economy And Biomechanics, Nahir Negron-Fernandez

All NMU Master's Theses

It is known that running economy is a determinant of running performance. Increased step rate has been correlated with improved running economy, but it is unknown whether these improvements can be maintained with chronic training. The purpose of this study was to determine if a step rate training intervention improves running economy and improves lower body kinetic factors in distance runners. Nine participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention group (n = 7) undergoing a 6-week supplemental training program, or a non-training control group (n = 2). The intervention group trained three times a week, running at a higher …

A Framework For Biomechanical Analysis Of Jump Landings For Injury Risk Assessment, Srishti Sharma, Srikrishnan Divakaran, Kaya Tolga, Christopher B. Taber, Mehul S. Raval

School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications

Competitive sports require rapid and intense movements, such as jump landings, making athletes susceptible to injuries due to altered neuromuscular control and joint mechanics. Biomechanical features during landings are associated with injury risk, emphasizing proper movement and postural stability. Computer vision techniques offer a time-efficient, noninvasive, and unbiased method to assess jump-landings and identify injury risks. This study proposes a video analysis framework to evaluate jump landing biomechanics in athletes todetermineirregularmovementsandincorrectpostures.It providesadviceandrecommendationstocoachesforinjury predictionandtrainingimprovements.Theproposedframework istestedusingcountermovementjumpvideosof17NCAA DivisionIfemalebasketballathletes.Theresultsindicateda lowMeanAbsoluteError(0.97),highcorrelation(0.89),high averageaccuracy(98.31%)andF1score(0.98),signifyingthe framework’sreliabilityinidentifyinginjuryrisk.

Biomechanical And Psychophysical Underpinnings Of Balance Dysfunction In Individuals With Traumatic Brain Injury, Naphtaly Ehrenberg

Dissertations

Falls are a major burden on healthcare infrastructure, especially in older adults and even more so in older individuals that are living in institutions. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), from 2010 to 2020, unintentional falls were the leading cause of nonfatal emergency department visits for all age groups except among individuals from 15-24 years of age, where unintentional falls ranked a very close second to being unintentionally struck by or against. Among older individuals living in the community, approximately 30-35% fall at least once in a given year, and around three times as …

Du Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, And Creative Works, Caitlyn Aldersea, Justin Bravo, Sam Allen, Anna Block, Connor Block, Emma Buechler, Maria De Los Angeles Bustillos, Arianna Carlson, William Christensen, Olivia Kachulis, Noah Craver, Kate Dillon, Muskan Fatima, Angel Fernandes, Emma Finch, Colleen Cassidy, Amy Fishman, Andrea Francis, Stacia Fritz, Simran Gill, Emma Gries, Rylie Hansen, Shannon Powers, Jacqueline Martinez, Zachary Harker, Ashley Hasty, Mykaela Tanino-Springsteen, Kathleen Hopps, Adelaide Kerenick, Colin Kleckner, Ci Koehring, Elijah Kruger, Braden Krumholz, Maddie Leake, Lyneé Alves, Seraphina Loukas, Yatzari Lozano Vazquez, Haley Maki, Emily Martinez, Sierra Mckinney, Mykaela Tanino-Springsteen, Audrey Mitchell, Kipling Newman, Audrey Ng, Megan Lucyshyn, Andrew Nguyen, Stevie Ostman, Casandra Pearson, Alexandra Penney, Julia Gielczynski, Tyler Ball, Anna Rini, Christina Rorres, Simon Ruland, Helayna Schafer, Emma Sellers, Sarah Schuller, Claire Shaver, Kevin Summers, Isabella Shaw, Madison Sinar, Claudia Pena, Apshara Siwakoti, Carter Sorensen, Madi Sousa, Anna Sparling, Alexandra Revier, Brandon Thierry, Dylan Tyree, Maggie Williams, Lauren Wols

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

DU Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Works

Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation Does Not Decrease Torque Loss Over High Intensity Repetitions, Ian Koskinen

All NMU Master's Theses

Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation, TENS, has been used widely as an analgesic and ergogenic aid for many years. Compared to other modalities of electrical stimulation, TENS has been shown to provide some benefits in exercise performance by reducing pain and increasing endurance in low intensity applications, such as time trial cycling or isometric endurance. While TENS has been shown to have a significant effect on exercise induced pain in individuals performing endurance activities, to my knowledge it has not been examined in high intensity contractions. 18 active young adults (age: 23.11 years ± 2.08, resistance training experience: 7.08 years ± 3.79, …

Longitudinal Sport Science Implementation In American Collegiate Men’S Basketball, Jason Stone

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The expanding opportunities to implement sport science frameworks in elite-level basketball environments coincide with the sport’s increasing global prominence. Concomitant to these opportunities is the continual growth of the sport technology market (e.g., wearables, force plates) and computational power (e.g., data management tools, coding capabilities), which yields solutions and challenges for both athletes and practitioners. Due to the rapid influx of new sport technologies in high performance environments, particularly American Collegiate Men’s Basketball, more formal and ecologically valid research on how to effectively utilize data derived from them, particularly over long periods of time (i.e., multiple seasons) is needed. To …

Comparison Of Spine–Pelvis Kinematics Variability During Sit-To-Stand And Stand-To-Sit In People With & Without Chronic Low Back Pain: A Vector Coding And Statistical Parametric Mapping Approach, Narges Jangjoo, Elham Alijanpour, Saeid Khodabakhsh, Seyed Sadredin Shojaedin, Roozbeh Naemi

Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty Publications

There is evidence in the literature to suggest that low back pain may change spine–pelvis coordination during activities of daily living. This study aimed to compare the variability of the spine– pelvis coordination during sit-to-stand in people with and without LBP. Ten healthy individuals with a history of LBP and ten individuals without history of LBP participated in this study. Three-dimensional kinematic data of the upper trunk (UT), lower trunk (LT), lower back (LB), and pelvis segments during sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit were recorded using a multi-segmental spine and pelvis models using a motion capture system. The coordination patterns and the …

The Effects Of Vitamin D Supplementation On Athletic Performance And Injury Prevention, Amani Adeeb Abushamma

Journal of Sports Medicine and Allied Health Sciences: Official Journal of the Ohio Athletic Trainers Association

Vitamin D supplementation has numerous effects on athletic performance and plays a significant role in preventing an athlete’s risk of getting injuries. Vitamin D has an impact on numerous physiological functions such as: bone health, muscle function, inflammatory response, and immune function. An athlete’s bone and muscle health are essential for maximum performance and career success. A bone fracture due to vitamin D deficiency can delay an athlete’s training and ultimately inhibit obtaining a collegiate scholarship and/or contract. A cross sectional study found that more than half of athletic trainers did not view 25-hydroxyvitamin D(25[OH]) testing and vitamin D supplementation …

The Effect Of Dietary Nitrate Supplementation On Physical And Cognitive Performance During Load Carriage In Military Cadets, Nicholas C. Bordonie

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of dietary nitrate supplementation on physical and cognitive performance during exercise conducted under heavy pack load in military cadets. Methods: Ten college-aged males (VO_2max 56.2 ± 3.7 ml/kg/min) consumed 140mL/d of concentrated beetroot juice (BRJ; containing 12.8 mmol of dietary nitrate) or a placebo (PL; flavor, color, energy, and texture-matched with no dietary nitrate) for six days preceding an exercise trial. The trial consisted of 45 min of constant-load exercise on a treadmill at 4.83 km/h and 1.5% grade, followed immediately by a 1.6-km time-trial completed at maximal …

The Associations Of Cardiovascular Disease, Physical Activity Intensities, And Measures Of Obesity On Static Balance In Middle-Aged And Older Adults, Hannah Martha Twiddy

Human Movement Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The burden of falls is widely known in older adults, though less research has targeted middle-aged adults (40-64 years of age), particularly at the population level. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the roles of cardiovascular disease, physical activity (PA) intensity, and body anthropometrics on balance among middle-aged adults. Study 1 sought to determine if balance was impaired in middle-aged adults with poor ankle-brachial pressure index (ABPI), a marker of cardiovascular disease. Study 2 determined the associations between PA intensity with odds of having good static balance. Study 3 explored how strongly a variety of anthropometric measures, including …

The Benefits Of Therapeutic Ultrasound For Improving Recovery Of Collegiate Soccer Players In Between Friday And Sunday Matches, Adam Armijo

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Collegiate soccer athletes face physical and physiological stressors during match play that can lead to ailments such as inflammation, muscle soreness, decreased range of motion, and skeletal muscle damage. Through the use of evidence-based studies coaches, trainers, and collegiate soccer athletes can determine best practices for optimized recovery in a collegiate soccer setting. One of the lacking supplemental recovery modalities in collegiate soccer is therapeutic ultrasound. Therapeutic ultrasound is a machine that utilizes vibration and thermal effects to help decrease skeletal muscular damage, reduce soreness of skeletal muscles, improve blood flow, and increase relaxation of the muscles. Therapeutic ultrasound in …

A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis On The Efficacy Of Stem Cell Therapy On Bone Brittleness In Mouse Models Of Osteogenesis Imperfecta, Lauren Battle, Shoshana Yakar, Alessandra Carriero

Publications and Research

There is no cure for osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), and current treatments can only partially correct the bone phenotype. Stem cell therapy holds potential to improve bone quality and quantity in OI. Here, we conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies to investigate the efficacy of stem cell therapy to rescue bone brittleness in mouse models of OI. Identified studies included bone marrow, mesenchymal stem cells, and human fetal stem cells. Effect size of fracture incidence, maximum load, stiffness, cortical thickness, bone volume fraction, and raw engraftment rates were pooled in a random-effects meta-analysis. Cell type, cell number, injection …

From Professor To Patient X, Anne R. Crecelius

Health and Sport Science Faculty Publications

I walked into the classroom feeling nervous. It wasn't my first time teaching undergraduate students about human endocrine physiology. I knew the material well. But today's lecture was different. I pulled up slides depicting a hypothetical cancer patient and told them, “Patient X had a biopsy that detected invasive carcinoma in her breast.” I described the many months of chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation treatments she went through before going into remission. Then I taught the students about the hormonal therapy she was prescribed—drugs her doctor hoped would limit the growth of any remaining cancer cells and prevent a recurrence. On …

Effects Of Different Stretching Modalities On The Antagonist And Agonist Muscles On Isokinetic Strength And Vertical Jump Performance, Samuel Montalvo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Warm-ups are essential components of all training sessions, sports, and physical activities. Warm-ups are typically composed of a variety of stretches. Two stretching modalities that are commonly performed before any physical activity are the static and dynamic stretching modalities. Historically, static stretching has been used as a preferred stretching modality during the warm-up period. However, research indicates that static stretching â?? if done prior to the training session â?? may inhibit the expression of muscular strength, muscular activation, and vertical jump height. On the contrary, dynamic stretching has been shown to improve the expression of muscular strength, muscular activation, and …

Self-Selected Maximum But Not Jogging Speed Decreases With Age In Male And Female Runners, Heather Hamilton, Rumit Singh Kakar

College of Health Sciences Posters

Introduction: Running velocity decreases with age, likely resulting from physiological and musculoskeletal changes associated with aging. Females experience a more rapid decline in physical performance during middle age than males, therefore it is important to consider separate-sex analyses when studying running biomechanics and running-related injury. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between age and different running speeds separately for female and male runners.

Methods: Male (n=33) and female (n=46) runners (ages 18–65 years) ran at their self-selected JOG (long distance) and MAX (maximal running) pace on a treadmill. Running velocity was recorded. Simple linear regression was …

Trunk Kinematics Using Musculoskeletal Modeling During Range Of Motion Tasks, Maryam Moeini, Ruth M. Higgins, Hunter Bennett, Stacie Ringleb

College of Health Sciences Posters

A spine model can be used to predict post-spinal fusion motion needed to perform physical activities in individuals with scoliosis. Full body lumbar spine (FBLS) model (Raabi et al., 2016) allows for modeling lumbar spine and pelvis movement and was validated for jogging. However, like other existing adult spine models, FBLS model does not allow for a motion providing thoracic and spine. Purpose: To adapt the FBLS model for simulating thoracic, lumbar and pelvis motion during trunk rotation in all 3 planes of motion. Methods: Since T12-L1 in FBLS model is designed as a dependent joint (axial rotation analogous to …

Modeling Individual Muscle Forces In The Lower Extremity During Loaded And Unloaded Hexbar Vertical Jumps, Abigail Salvadore

Theses and Dissertations

Hexagonal barbell (HB) loaded jumps are often used in training to increase lower extremity power. Given the importance of coordinated muscular effort in achieving maximal power output, an understanding of how the lower extremity musculature individually performs during loaded jumps would be advantageous. The purpose of this study is to describe the effect of load on individual muscle forces, muscle torques, and the contribution to the net joint moment (NJM) during the concentric phase of loaded HB jumps.10 male collegiate athletes performed 5 maximal HB jumps at 0%, 20%, 40% and 60% of their HB deadlift 1-repetition maximum. Filtered Ground …

Characteristics Of Physiology And Physiology-Related Pre-Health Degree Programs In The Physiology Majors Interest Group, Yvonne Ogrodzinski, Erica A. Wehrwein, Kevin Kelly, James M. Poteracki, Valerie Vanryn, Anne R. Crecelius

Health and Sport Science Faculty Publications

The Physiology Majors Interest Group (P-MIG), a grassroots organization of educators, has collected data on the history and characteristics of Physiology and highly related undergraduate programs (ex: Human Biology, Pre-Medicine, Biomedical Sciences, etc.) that serve a common population of prehealth students. Data was obtained as part of an online survey sent out to P-MIG conference attendees at the 2017-2019 annual meetings (n=30). Participating institutions indicate that 25.9% have degrees called Physiology aligned with 28% being housed in a department of physiology, 75.9% are a Bachelor of Science program, 34.9% are affiliated with a College of Arts and Sciences, and 80% …

Age And Sex Differences In Load-Induced Tibial Cortical Bone Surface Strain Maps, Alessandra Carriero, Behzad Javaheri, Neda Bassir Kazeruni, Andrew A. Pitsillides, Sandra J. Shefelbine

Publications and Research

Bone adapts its architecture to the applied load; however, it is still unclear how bone mechano-adaptation is coordinated and why potential for adaptation adjusts during the life course. Previous animal models have suggested strain as the mechanical stimulus for bone adaptation, but yet it is unknown how mouse cortical bone load-related strains vary with age and sex. In this study, full-field strain maps (at 1 N increments up to 12 N) on the bone surface were measured in young, adult, and old (aged 10, 22 weeks, and 20 months, respectively), male and female C57BL/6J mice with load applied using a …

Aortic Pressure And Heart Rate In The Lobster Homarus Americanus Are Modulated By Mechanical Feedback And Neuropeptides, Grace Marie Hambelton

Honors Projects

Baroreceptors are stretch receptors located in the aorta of mammals; in response to increased afterload, they elicit a decrease in heart rate, creating a negative feedback loop that lowers blood pressure. Although lobsters (Homarus americanus) do not have baroreceptors like mammals, closely related land crabs have been shown to have baroreceptor-like responses. Heart contraction is also regulated by the Frank-Starling response, where increasing stretch or preload increases the contractile force of the heart. In addition to these types of biomechanical modulations, lobsters use a central pattern generator, the cardiac ganglion, to maintain synchronicity of the heartbeat. The heart …

The Effect Of Backpack Load On Trunk Kinematics Of Imitated Pathological Gait: A Case Study, Kara Kracher

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

Background: It is well documented that loaded backpacks affect the biomechanics of gait in both children and adults. Minimal information is available with regard to the effects of backpacks on the biomechanics of gait in individuals with clinical gait abnormalities, such as those seen in cerebral palsy. Healthy, non-clinical populations can be taught how to ‘imitate’ typical gait abnormalities in order to study various experimental interventions without enlisting clinical patients. The objective of this study was to determine the acute effect of backpack load on kinematics of the trunk during typical and imitated pathological gait. Methods: COVID 19 restrictions precluded …

Power Amplification Strategies Across Animals, Rayhan Asif

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Animals use muscles for movement, but some have evolved mechanisms to exceed maximum power used in a motion known as power amplification. In this literature review, I analyzed and compared the evolution of structures capable of power amplification between species. Structures capable of power amplification were broken down into the basic components of the engine, amplifier, and tool. The species analyzed were found to possess necessary structures for power amplification which were relatively similar to each other in morphology, but varied greatly in function. The ease with which these structures evolved was evaluated based on the amount of divergence which …

The 2019 P-Mig Student Survey Report And Capturing The Undergraduate Perspective Of Physiology Programming, Jennifer Rogers, Jenny L. Mcfarland, Claudia I. Stanescu, Patrick L. Crosswhite, Anne R. Crecelius

Health and Sport Science Faculty Publications

The aim of the 2019 Student Survey was to inform the Physiology Majors Interest Group (PMIG) of characteristics of undergraduates enrolled in physiology courses or degree programs from across the United States, to be used as one input source for development of program-level guidelines. 1389 participants from seven universities completed the 2019 P-MIG Student Survey. 37% reported enrollment in a physiology/human physiology major; allied health related programs were the second most common (24%). 61% of respondents reported attending a community college, the majority of whom enrolled in one or more courses at a community college while in high school (44%). …

Advising Physiology Students: Perceptions From The Programs, Anne R. Crecelius, Patrick L. Crosswhite

Health and Sport Science Faculty Publications

Academic advising outcomes can be linked to both student success and retention. Yet relatively little is known specifically related to advising in physiology programs. Pro- fessional organizations dedicated to academic advising in general, and more specifically advising future health professional students exist, yet, whether current physiology programs utilize these resources remains unknown, as does a number of other demographic informa- tion about advising in physiology programs. Here we present data gathered from a sample of physiology educators to inform what current advising practices of physiology students are. Forty-five re- spondents from a variety of institutions and programs provided information on …

The Case For Coordinating Efforts To Establish Program Guidelines And Strengthen Physiology Undergraduate Degree Programs, Erica A. Wehrwein, Lisa C. Anderson, Anne R. Crecelius, Claudia I. Stanescu, James M. Poteracki, John R. Halliwill, Nancy M. Aguilar-Roca, Jennifer Rogers

Health and Sport Science Faculty Publications

Undergraduate degree programs named “Physiology” have existed for over 50 yr. The number of programs and enrolled students have been growing since ~2005 (5, 9). There are many thousands of students currently enrolled in physiology pro- grams across the United States and indeed across the world. Despite the long history and current popularity of the physiol- ogy major, there is no coordinated plan articulated for the design, administration, or assessment of degree programs in physiology at the undergraduate level.

Although several professional societies have invested in under- graduate physiology education in various ways, none has under- taken the task of …

The Role Of Spine In Causing Lameness In Horses, Raja Zabeeh Ullah Khan

English Language Institute

Lameness is one of the most important problems of horses. It influences all communities who keep horses. Recent studies have shown the significance of spinal muscles and vertebrae in inducing lameness in horses. The field has not been explored much and requires application of biomechanics to define the role of spine in inducing lameness in horses. This presentation highlights the importance of spine in inducing lameness in horses by relating the solution with biomechanics.

Features Of Acceleration And Angular Velocity Using Thigh Imus During Walking In Water, Koichi Kaneda, Yuji Ohgi, Mark Mckean, Brendan Burkett

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Ten participants were assessed while walking in water and on land with wearable inertial measurement units (IMUs) attached to the right thigh. Longitudinal acceleration, anterior-posterior acceleration, and frontal axis angular velocity were measured at 100 Hz, matched with video analysis sampled at 25 Hz during the walking trials. The longitudinal acceleration showed almost 1 g from initial heel contact to 70% of one cycle, and the anterior-posterior acceleration showed a sinusoidal pattern, synchronizing the approximate posture of the thigh in water. The frontal axis angular velocity fluctuated less while walking in water compared with on land, because thigh motion speed …

Preliminary Study: Leucine Supplementation Exacerbates Muscle Wasting Independent Of The Ubiquitin-Proteasome System, Katarina Bejarano

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cancer cachexia is the rapid, drastic loss of muscle mass associated with cancer and is not reversible by conventional nutritional means (Brown et al., 2018; Brown et al., 2017). It occurs in ~80% of cancer patients and is responsible for 20-40% of cancer-related deaths (Brown et al., 2018; Brown et al., 2017). This condition leaves patients with fatigue, functional impairment, reduced quality of life, and a decrease in survival rates. Cachexia occurs through an imbalance between protein degradation and protein synthesis (Brown et al., 2018), which is associated with inflammation and altered metabolic processes.

Several studies have investigated the effects …

Where Do We Go From Here? A Forward-Thinking Vision For Physiology Undergraduate Education, Nancy M. Aguilar-Roca, Lisa C. Anderson, Anne R. Crecelius, Michelle B. French, Katie Johnson, Jenny L. Mcfarland, Jennifer Rogers, Claudia I. Stanescu, Erica A. Wehrwein

Health and Sport Science Faculty Publications

This paper is a summary of the special collection of papers in Advances in Physiology Education dedicated to the Physiology Majors Interest Group (P-MIG). P-MIG is a new and vibrant community (1, 2) of educators and administrators who are united by the common goal of creating physiology courses, curricula and programs that will prepare our students for the future. It is an independent consortium that welcomes anyone interested in physiology education at the level of the undergraduate degree in physiology and physiology-related fields. As demonstrated by this special collection of papers of Advances in Physiology Education, P-MIG has already made …

Spinal Motor Neuron Excitability And Balance Control Changes Following Downslope Walking, Nikki Aitcheson-Huehn

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Downslope walking (DSW) has been proposed as a rehabilitation tool for people with Multiple Sclerosis (PwMS) although there are mixed findings in young adults (YA) regarding the balance control changes, despite both populations experiencing depressed spinal motor neuron (MN) pool excitability. Our aim was to determine whether YAs could demonstrate improved balance control in conjunction with SOL H reflex depression (estimate of spinal MN excitability) following DSW. We also aimed to determine whether reciprocal inhibition was a potential mechanism for H reflex depression via conditioned SOL H reflexes. Thirty young adults (23±1.4y, 6 males) were assigned to 30-minutes of DSW …