Sports Medicine Commons^™

The Clinical Value Of Oculomotor Assessments Across The Continuum Of Concussion, Dillon Richards

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Concussions are complex conditions that are difficult to manage medically. Variations in symptom presentation, intricate neurophysiological processes, and the availability of a variety of possible assessment tools may contribute to this complexity. Clinicians must use a broad approach, employing both subjective symptom assessment and objective assessments to confirm a diagnosis and/or monitor progression and recovery. Oculomotor function after concussion may be an important indicator of injury, given the interconnectedness of oculomotor function, vestibulo-ocular and visual systems, and even cognition. Oculomotor function may be assessed objectively or indirectly using patient-reported symptom checklists as part of subjective assessments. One way of objectively …

The Role Of Pre-Participation Exams In Identifying Student Athletes At Risk For Sudden Cardiac Arrest, Elizabeth Frey

Honors Projects

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is the leading cause of death in young student athletes (Drezner et al., 2007). With athletes being recognized as some of the healthiest members of society, a catastrophic event like this can stimulate debate over pre-participation screening and appropriate emergency actions. With 55-80% cases of sudden cardiac death (SCD) being asymptomatic before the event (Drezner et al., 2007), looking into how well pre-participation screenings identify at risk individuals becomes much more important. This project investigates to what extent pre-participation physicals (PPE) can be improved to better identify student athletes at risk for sudden cardiac death and …

Visuomotor Adaptation During Asymmetric Walking, Charles Napoli

Masters Theses

Necessary for effective ambulation, head stability affords optimal conditions for the perception of visual information during dynamic tasks. This maintenance of head-in-space equilibrium is achieved, in part, by the attenuation of the high frequency impact shock resulting from ground contact. While a great deal of experimentation has been done on the matter during steady state locomotion, little is known about how head stability or dynamic visual acuity is maintained during asymmetric walking.

In this study, fifteen participants were instructed to walk on a split-belt treadmill for ten minutes while verbally reporting the orientation of a randomized Landolt-C optotype that was …

Assessment Of Landing Biomechanics And Rehabilitation After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction, Sheila S. Gagnon

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Aberrant landing biomechanics increase the risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and are a focus of rehabilitation after ACL reconstruction. The purpose of the present thesis was to develop and evaluate methods of assessing landing mechanics and investigate the effects of different rehabilitation strategies after ACL reconstruction. Three studies were conducted. The first study used a Delphi process to develop the content of a Clinician-Rated Drop Vertical Jump Scale to evaluate jump landing mechanics during rehabilitation after ACL reconstruction. Twenty experts participated in four rounds of questioning, resulting in 92% agreement for knee valgus collapse, lateral trunk lean, insufficient …

The Feasibility Of Gathering Patient-Reported Outcome Measures On Individuals With Acute Ankle Sprains In A Busy Clinic Environment, Ryan Reeson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Ankle sprains are the most common sports injury and can lead to long-term deficits. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) may assist clinicians in evaluating the recovery trajectory of patients with ankle sprains. However, before a large-scale study can be performed, it is necessary to determine whether it is feasible to collect PROMs in a busy clinic environment. This study had a narrow recruitment window but the consent rate was 100%. Ten patients at Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic were followed for up to six visits. Three PROMs that characterized lower extremity function were measured. The measurement completion rate decreased from 100% …

Examining Injury Data Reporting Practices Among Wildland Firefighters, Erin M. Boggs

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Wildland Firefighter (WLFF) Crews lack an injury surveillance program to collect information on non-traumatic and traumatic injuries. Tactical athletes including: police, military and structural firefighters all have a variety of collection systems in place for injury data collection. The lack of injury data prevents WLFF crews from identifying high-risk environments, implementing injury prevention programs, and improving the overall quality of care on the job. Over the last several decades the recent rise in wildfire occurrences and wildfire suppression costs creates a need for healthy and strong individuals in the field. The cost of firefighter salaries and medical care can be …

Biomechanical Testing Of An Exercise For Strengthening The Proximal Femur., Alyssa Osbourne

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Based on the principles of cutting edge bone remodeling research, a unique therapeutic exercise device was designed specifically to improve bone quality at the most critical location of the proximal femur prone to fracture: the superior-lateral femoral neck where the fracture first initiates during a fall. The exercise/device is intended to work by inducing enough strain in the bone to stimulate the body’s natural bone remodeling mechanisms to increase bone density in the proximal femur and consequently prevent a fracture from arising if a fall to the side does occur.

In order to test the proposed exercise, experiments simulating the …

Perceptions Of Ncaa Division I Baseball Pitchers On Treatment Modalities For Pitching Arm Health, Thomas Williams

Graduate Theses

Throwing athletes of all sports have similarities, even if the sport itself is very different. Throwing an object creates a great amount of stress on the body, particularly at the shoulder and the elbow. A baseball pitcher should train and compete in all three planes of movement-sagittal, frontal and transverse. Training for throwing athletes has two main goals: to increase throwing power and to reduce throwing injuries. Analyzing training habits of a throwing athlete includes an understanding of the modalities they perform in order to prevent potential injuries from occurring. Baseball pitchers are extremely susceptible to throwing injuries, and must …

The Reliability Of The Navicular Drop Test And Its Transferability To Dynamic Movement, Joshua Krispin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Navicular drop can be defined as the distance the navicular tuberosity moves from a standing weight bearing to a standing neutral position, as the subtalar joint moves from a relaxed position to a neutral position. Navicular drop is an important measurement for clinicians used to describe foot function, pronation, and excessive movement seen in several pathologies. Objective: The purpose of this study is to see if navicular drop is influenced by mode or speed of locomotion, if it is will there be other influences such as the forefoot and heel soft tissue, and will those factors influence those measures. …

The Effect Of Intensity Of Aerobic Vo2max Resting Heart Rate And Blood Pressure, Shannan Elizabeth Gormley

Human Movement Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The AGSM recommends 20 to 60 minutes of continuous or intermittent activity 3 to 5 times per week to maintain cardio respiratory fitness (Pollock et al., 1998). The 1996 Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health indicates that Americans are not meeting these physical activity recommendations (DHHS). Several clear consequences of physical inactivity are the appearance of cardiovascular disease risk factors, such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia and obesity. Two recent review articles suggested that higher intensity exercise will elicit a greater reduction in cardiovascular disease risk factors (Swain and Franklin, 2002; Swain and Franklin, 2006). In order to determine whether …