Biomechanics Commons^™

Physiological And Psychological Differences Between 20% Grade Incline Walking And Level-Grade Jogging At Isocaloric Intensity, Motoki Sato

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

High-incline walking is a relatively new trend with little comparative information. This study compared physiological and psychological differences between high-incline walking at 20% grade (HIW) and level-grade jogging (LGJ) at isocaloric intensities in young adults. Twenty-two participants (M=11, F=11) aged 19-31 years completed the study. Participants completed HIW and LGJ on a treadmill for twenty minutes on two separate occasions and matched at isocaloric intensities. Rating of perceived exertion (RPE), maintainability (HCM), and affective valence using the Feeling Scale (FS) were measured at minutes 2, 10, and 20. Gas exchange and heart rate (HR) were continuously recorded. Post-exercise, participants completed …

Accelerations And Emg Differences Between Isocaloric High-Incline Walking And Level Grade Jogging, Taj Krieger

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Purpose: To examine muscle activation and biomechanical differences between high-incline walking (HIW) at 20% grade and level-grade jogging (LGJ) at isocaloric intensity on a treadmill. Methods: Physically inactive men and women between 18-31 completed the study. Participants (n=19) completed two isocaloric exercise trials (HIW and LGJ), each ten minutes in duration. EMG data was obtained from the Bicep Femoris (BF), Gluteus Maximus (GM), Lateral Gastrocnemius (LG), Tibialis Anterior (TA), Vastus Lateralis (VL), Anterior Deltoid (AD), Erector Spinae (ES) and Soleus (SOL). Resultant accelerations on the foot and sacrum were measured by IMU.

Results: When subjects were matched at isocaloric intensities …

The Interaction Of Treadmill Type And Incline Slope On Biomechanics And Muscle Activation During Human Locomotion, Rohit Kundu

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Treadmills are widely used in biomechanical research. However, variations in treadmill design and running surfaces may affect biomechanical variables such as muscle activation and impact acceleration. In addition, incline walking on treadmills leads to changes in the pattern of muscle activation, particularly at steeper inclines. Despite extensive research on the effects of running surfaces and inclines on biomechanical variables (gait, muscle activation, impact force), the impact of varying treadmill manufacturers on biomechanical variables at high inclines remains unclear. Purpose: To determine whether the type of treadmill deck influences surface electromyography (EMG) patterns and impact accelerations at high incline (20%) walking …

The Relationship Between Gluteus Maximus Activation And Running Kinematics In Recreational Distance Runners, Ricardo Sanchez

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Within the running community, there are strategies that a trainer will utilize to improve the performance of an athlete. One of these strategies suggests that an increase in activation of the Gluteus Maximus (GM) muscle will result in an increase in the efficiency of runners. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between GM activation and running kinematics.

Methods: Three female and seven male recreational runners (27±8 yrs) from California Polytechnic State University, Humboldt and the local community. A Pearson product-correlation was used to determine the strength of the relationship between Gluteus Maximus activation and kinematic …

Effects Of A Dual-Task Paradigm On Tandem Gait Performance, Courtney Angela Perry

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In concussion management, a variety of cognitive and motor control tests, like the tandem gait, have been used for assessing the presence of a concussion injury at the sideline and through recovery. More recently, research suggests that introducing a secondary cognitive retention task during tandem gait (i.e., dual task) may provide a better assessment of concussion. The purpose of this study was to determine if a tandem gait test paired with a 6-digit retention is a valid and reliable tool. Participants completed three trials of both the single-task (ST) and dual-task (DT) tandem gait tests, and their average (MEAN) and …

The Effects Of Turn Amplitude And Spatial Frequency On The Energetic Cost Of Running, Adam B. Grimmitt

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Compared to road running, those who run off-road face many unique challenges that impact their running mechanics and energetics. Current literature fails to address how the turns encountered on off-road paths might influence running performance. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effects of turn angle and frequency on the energetic cost of running. Twelve young adult runners (21±3 years) who run ≥ 30 miles/week and who can run < 22 min for 5 kilometers participated in this study. All subject performed four trials: one straight path trial and three turning paths trials with combined spatial frequencies (ξ- cycles per meter) and amplitudes (meters) of 0.083SF:4AMP, 0.167SF:4AMP, and 0.167SF:2AMP, respectively. Using breath by breath portable gas analysis, we measured V̇O2 and V̇CO2 in the last 2 minutes of each 6-minute trial to determine metabolic power (Watt/kg). Statistical analysis utilized a repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a post-hoc paired-sampled T-test to evaluate differences in energetic costs between paths. Compared to a virtually straight path, runners on average consumed 14% and 27% more metabolic energy on a path with turns of 0.167:2 (p=.002) and 0.167:4 (p

Comparing Knee Joint Mechanics Across Phases Of The Menstrual Cycle, Bethany Kilpatrick

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are among the most commonly occurring knee injury. Compared to men in the same sports, females are two to eight times at higher risk for ACL injury. Research suggests that hormone fluctuations across the menstrual cycle (MC) play a crucial role in ACL injuries due to their effect on tendons and ligament's mechanical properties. PURPOSE: To examine knee joint laxity during dynamic movements across three-time points of the MC. METHODS: Seven young, healthy females with regular MCs performed three jump-landing tasks (double leg depth jump, single-leg lateral jump, and single-leg forward jump) across the early-follicular, …

The Independence Effects Of Gravitational And Inertial Forces On Gait Transitions In Humans, Nathan Frakes

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The Dynamic Similarity hypothesis suggests gravitational and inertial forces plays a role in determining preferred transition speed (PTS) for walk to run transitions (WRT) and run to walk transitions (RWT), and that humans prefer to transition gait when the ratio of inertial force (IF) to gravitational force (GF) (i.e. Froude #) is ~0.5. Purpose: To investigate the effect of gravitational and inertial forces on PTS, Froude # (Fr) and kinematics for both WRT and RWT. Methods: Twelve healthy adults (9 M, 3 F) performed WRT and RWT trials on a treadmill across seven combinations of altered body weight (BW) and …

The Effect Of Stride Frequencies On Running Performance At The Velocity Of Vo2max, Boram Lim

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Running economy(RE) is considered to be a critical factor to improve running performance. Stride frequency(SF) is an important variable for determining RE. The importance of SF has gained more attention in recent years, especially for recreational runners. However, no previous research has investigated the interaction between running performance and SF at the velocity of VO₂max. PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of five different SF variations on running performance until volitional fatigue at the velocity of VO₂max. METHODS: Fourteen male recreational runners (Age = 25.8 ± 4.96 years, Height = 171 ± 6.2cm, Body Mass = 71.9 …

The Effect Of Postural Alterations On Metabolic Cost In Running On Incline Slopes, Nikaela K. Hemminger

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In spite of an intuitive relationship between running technique and performance, the influence of specific techniques on metabolic cost remains unclear. While recent studies suggest that postural lean affects metabolic cost during level ground running, little information exists regarding the influence of postural lean on the metabolic cost of running on an incline slope. Purpose: This study sought to investigate the effect of postural lean on metabolic cost, kinematics, and muscle activation of running across a range of incline slopes. Methods: Sixteen healthy adult runners (21±2 years, 8M/8F) of different competitive standards participated in twelve running trials on a motorized …

The Effects Of Prophylactic Ankle Bracing On Knee And Hip Mechanics In Basketball Players During Jump Landing, Riann Thayer

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Background: Many athletes of various sports have been required to wear ankle braces for prophylactic uses. Ankle braces have been shown to decrease range of motion in all directions, which means the main force absorption mechanism of the ankle may be inhibited. This decrease in force absorption at the ankle may increase the mechanical demands at the more proximal knee and hip joints. In this study, the change in knee, hip and lower back mechanics will be investigated to gain understanding as to whether bracing the ankle could create a higher injury potential. Methods: In this study, 12 intercollegiate basketball …

The Effects Of A Concussion On Dynamic Stability And Cognitive Performance During Single And Dual Task Tandem Gait, Erin Lodwick

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

PURPOSE: It is estimated that between 1.6 and 3.8 million concussions occur in the United States every year during competitive sports. To limit the risk of returning an athlete to play too soon a sensitive and reliable assessment is needed. Static balance assessments that are used currently only detect very short term balance deficits (1-3 days). The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of a concussion on dynamic stability and more specifically if those effects are seen to a greater degree with the addition of a secondary cognitive task. METHODS: This study used 18 Humboldt State University …