Kinesiology Commons^™

The Effect Of An 8-Minute Yoga Breathing Program On Fitness, Weight Loss And Breathing Capacity, Jerrold S. Petrofsky, Michael S. Laymon, Iman Akef Khowailed, Haneul Lee, Allie Petrofsky

College of Health & Human Services (TUN) Publications and Research

This was a single blinded randomized study with an intervention group and a control group to examine a modification in lifestyle and an 8-minute exercise session each day to lose weight. Fifty-seven female subjects participated. Subjects underwent girth measurements at the umbilicus, hips, thigh and upper arm; weight, height (for BMI), body fat, heart rate, blood pressure, abdominal strength, leg strength, arm strength, sedentary O2 saturation, treadmill challenged O2 saturation, resting metabolism (which includes fat metabolism), and lung capacity. Measures were repeated at baseline and the end of the 6-week period. During the 6-week period, they followed a healthy recommended …

Review Of Foot Plantar Pressure—Focus On The Development Of Foot Ulcerations, Jessica Deberardinis, Mohamed B. Trabia, Janet S. Dufek

Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences Faculty Research

There are many causes of plantar ulceration, which is a painful sore that occurs in the plantar tissue, common in cases of diabetes, peripheral arterial disease, obesity, and even high cholesterol. By way of perspective, approximately 15% of over 29.1 million diabetics in the U.S. will develop foot ulceration [1] and [2]. These causes could be diagnosed using multiple methods with reasonable accuracy; however, ulcers will still occur due to trauma to the plantar tissue. Measurement of the pressures within the plantar tissue has been suggested to be a suitable surrogate to the measurement of trauma; thus, many methods have …

A Comparison Of Cleated Footwear Conditions And The Effects On Ground Reaction Forces During The Phases Of A Side-Cut Task, Zachary Bridges

Honors Theses

Within sports and athletics, one area of interest is finding methods to increase the performance of athletes while simultaneously minimizing their risk for injury. In two of today's most popular sports (soccer and American football), cleated footwear is common equipment used to increase performance during sport-specific tasks. The interaction between cleated footwear and sport-specific tasks is one area of interest researchers are beginning to investigate and analyze the concerns of performance and safety. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effects of American football cleats, soccer cleats, and running shoes have on ground reaction forces (GRF's) in …

Quantifying Muscle Fatigue Of The Low Back During Repetitive Load Lifting Using Lyapunov Analysis, Elias Spyropoulos, Anastasia Kyvelidou, Nicholas Stergiou, George Athanassiou

Journal Articles

Background: Occupational low back disorders are often associated with exposure to work-related physical risk factors such as muscle fatigue in the low back.
Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the possible relationship between the divergence of the kinematic trajectories of the low back system and the different stages of fatigue during the execution of a repetitive lifting task.
Methods: The patterns of the low back system were recorded using markers on specific vertebras during the repetitive load lifting from the floor to a 0.75 m height table. The maximum Lyapunov exponent, λmax of the recorded patterns was …

Maximal Strength Effects Of Cross Education Training On The Elbow Flexors, Molly Dyer

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare the absolute and relative changes in maximal bilateral elbow flexion strength increase after a four-week intervention protocol between a unilateral and bilateral resistance training program in college age females.

Methods: Five non-athlete females, with a mean age of 21.6 years, completed the study. Eligible subjects were randomly assigned to one of two groups; unilateral elbow flexion resistance training (n=2) or bilateral elbow flexion resistance training (n=3). Both groups completed a four-week resistance training three days per week using three sets of ten repetitions at 65% of their predicted one repetition maximum. Maximal …

Development Of An Elderly Female Torso Finite Element Model For Restraint System Research And Development Applications, Anil Kalra Kalra

Wayne State University Dissertations

Elderly females are found to be one of the most vulnerable segments of population during motor vehicle crashes and their population is increasing in the coming decades. Current design of restraint systems as well as other passive safety measures are designed based on anthropomorphic details of younger population. Developing another dummy representing elderly female population is a costly effort, while a finite element (FE) model of elderly female with similar anthropomorphic details and age- and gender-specific material properties can be a better alternative solution. The current research focuses on the development of a FE model of an elderly female torso, …

How Do Social Norms Affect Physical Activity And Performance On An Endurance Task?, Keith David Randazzo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Despite the extensive benefits associated with a physically active life style, less than 50% of US adults engage in recommended levels of physical activity (PA), so finding ways to structure environments to promote PA is an important concern. Social norms, conceptualized as an individual’s perception of peer behavior, provide a framework for exploring factors that influence decisions to be physically active. Although researchers have investigated how social norms influence a variety of behaviors, the PA domain has not been fully explored. The focus of this dissertation is to apply social norms theories to investigate how normative information influences PA intentions …

Assessment Of Anti-Saccades Within 24 To 48 Hours Post-Concussion, Nathan D'Amico

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

INTRODUCTION: Oculomotor control dysfunction is present in about 90% of concussed athletes, with anti-saccades being the most prominent. PURPOSE: To investigate anti-saccades, reflexive gaze deviations from a fixed point or area of interest, between NCAA Division I athletes 24 to 48 hours post-concussion (PC) and healthy, matched controls (MC). METHODS: 10 PC (4 female, 6 male; age: 18.9 ± 0.9 years) and 10 MC (4 female, 6 male; age: 18.3 ± 0.6 years) wore a monocular eye tracker (240Hz) while performing 2 trials of the 60-second WiiFit Soccer Heading game. During play, participants were instructed to not deviate their gaze …

Effects Of Sex, Age, Body Height And Body Weight On Spinal Loads: Sensitivity Analyses In A Subject-Specific Trunk Musculoskeletal Model, F. Ghezelbash, A. Shirazi-Adl, N. Arjmand, Z. El-Ouaaid, A. Plamondon, J. R. Meakin

Études primaires

Subject-specific parameters influence spinal loads and the risk of back disorders but their relative effects are not well understood. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of changes in age (35–60 years), sex (male, female), body height (BH: 150–190 cm) and body weight (BW: 50–120 kg) on spinal loads in a full-factorial simulation using a personalized (spine kinematics, geometry, musculature and passive properties) kinematics driven musculoskeletal trunk finite element model. Segmental weight distribution (magnitude and location along the trunk) was estimated by a novel technique to accurately represent obesity. Five symmetric sagittal loading conditions were considered, and …

Role Of Altered Gut Microbiota In Tumor Development, Mucus Production And Inflammation In Apc Min/+ Mouse Model, Kamaljeet Kaur

Theses and Dissertations

The microbiome forms an integral part of the gut microenvironment. Once ignored, the topic has gained momentum in research during the past decade, where studies have strongly suggested the association of microbiota with health and a misbalance thereof, to many disease conditions ranging from inflammation and colitis to diabetes, obesity and colon cancer. The Human Microbiome Project (HMP, NIH common fund - 2008) has used a variety of high throughput analyses in order to study gut microbiota in health. The consortium has so far been able to isolate and characterize more than 1,300 reference bacterial strains from the human body. …

Investigating The Relationship Between Personality Traits And Athletic Performance Among Elite Hockey Players, Brittney H. Conway

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

"An interesting trend in the personality literature has been the assessment of the relationship between personality traits and athletic performances. In non-sport settings, the conscientiousness trait has been found to be strongly related to a number of good outcomes including job and training proficiency, academic performances, and physical activity (Barrick & Mout, 1991; Poropat, 2009; Rhodes & Smith, 2006). In the athletic setting, similar findings have been found with soccer players (Piedmont, Hill, & Blanco, 1999), football players (Tran, 2012) and Division 1 collegiate athletes (Saale-Prasad, 2014). However, in professional hockey these findings have generally not been replicated (Karp, 2000; …

Upper Extremity Strength And Power Field Tests As Predictors Of Pole Vault Performance In Female Collegiate Athletes, Carmen Schluter

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

"The purpose of this study was to determine if select upper-extremity strength and power field tests, and the test battery, predict pole vault performance in female pole vaulters. There is very little research on female pole vault athletes, specifically non-elite athletes. Field tests previously shown to be predictive of performance in males were examined to determine if they were also predictive for females. Four tests were used (8 lb backwards medicine ball (MB) throw, 3 m seated rope pull, three pull-ups for time, and maximum pull-ups) to determine if pole vault performance (season personal record for each athlete) could be …

The Effects Of Eating Disorders And Menstrual Irregularity On Bone Mineral Density In Sorority Women: A Cross-Sectional Study, Rachel Robertson

Honors Theses

Past research has reported bone loss among women diagnosed with eating disorders as a direct result of estrogen imbalance (Cobb et al., 2003; Gibson et al., 1999; Kim et al., 2012; Zuckerman-Levin et al., 2014). Menstrual irregularity may result from estrogen imbalance, which is characteristic of an eating disorder and ultimately causes bone loss. Past studies have focused on this three-way relationship between eating disorders, menstrual irregularity, and bone mineral density (BMD) specifically in female athletes (Cobb et al., 2003; Gibson, Mitchell, Reeve, & Harries, 1999) but rarely in recreationally trained or sedentary females. Previous research has also focused on …

What Lies Past Remission: The Perceived Late Effects Of Pediatric Cancer, Monica L. Molinaro

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Objective

Pediatric cancer survival rates are increasing (Childhood Cancer Canada Foundation, 2011) and with this, so are the late effects of pediatric cancer (Oeffinger et al., 2006). This research examines the lived experiences of the perceived long-term effects of pediatric cancer on adult survivors and their primary support persons in order to understand the multifaceted nature of the illness on adults, and how it affects others close to them.

Methods

The theoretical orientation used to guide the research was phenomenology in order to present an accurate depiction of all the participants’ lived experiences. Specifically, background questionnaires were administered and one-on-one …

Class-Related Emotions In Physical Education: A Control-Value Theory Approach, Kelly L. Simonton

LSU Master's Theses

This study investigated a model of students’ control beliefs and task value in physical education (PE). Specifically, it examined relationships among students’ perceptions of their teachers’ communication and instructional clarity, control beliefs and values toward PE, and academic emotions. High school students (N= 529) completed valid and reliable instruments assessing perceptions of teacher characteristics, control, value, enjoyment, and boredom in PE. Descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations, and internal reliability estimates were calculated. A path analysis was used to test the hypothesis that teacher communication and clarity would be related to control-value appraisals which would in turn, positively predict enjoyment or boredom. …

An Investigation Of The Generalizability Of Buoyancy From Academics To Athletics, Jackie Rae Victoriano

LSU Master's Theses

Buoyancy, the ability of an individual to handle everyday setbacks, has been applied successfully to academics, and has implications for performance and well-being. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if the concept of buoyancy can be successfully applied to the domain of sports (i.e., athletic buoyancy). This study sought to examine the relationship between academic and athletic buoyancy, as well as the efficacy of five sport-oriented predictors (5Cs), confidence, coordination (planning), commitment, composure (anxiety), and control, on both athletic and academic buoyancy. Sport club athletes (N = 285) aged 18 to 31 years completed a one-time survey assessing …

Cardiovascular And Autonomic Nervous System Function: Impact Of Glucose Ingestion, Hydration Status And Exercise In Heated Environments, Kate Suzanne Early

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Cardiovascular function is under the influence of autonomic nervous system, both of which can be assessed non-invasively. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine these non-invasive markers of cardiovascular and autonomic function and their relationships with exercise training, glucose ingestion and hydration status. A series of three studies were conducted to gain insight to various influences on cardiovascular and autonomic function. The first study examined the influence of exercise training of brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (BAFMD) using meta-analytic techniques. Sixty-six studies included in the analysis demonstrated exercise training improves BAFMD compared to controls. Results indicated exercise training significantly alters …

Relationship Between Metabolic By-Products And Nervous System Failure/Fatigue, Tyler Mitchell Farney

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Fatigue has generally been defined as an acute impairment of exercise/sport performance that includes both an increase in the perceived effort necessary to exert a desired force or power output, and the inability to produce the desired force or power output. The majority of research to date looking at fatigue has focused upon substrate utilization, however, what is relatively unknown is the contribution the nervous system has upon fatigue. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation was to investigate potential mechanisms that relate to neural fatigue. An additional purpose was to determine if there were any relationships between metabolic by-products and …

Estimates Of Persistent Inward Current Decline In Human Soleus Motor Units During Fatigue, Kirby Mendes

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Fatigue is defined as any exercise induced reduction in strength or power, and can be attributed to central and peripheral components. Many central and peripheral mechanisms have been extensively studied, but few studies have looked at the changes in the intrinsic properties of motor neurons and their contribution to fatigue. Persistent inward current (PIC) is an important intrinsic property of motor neurons responsible for setting a large increase in the gain of motor output and may contribute to fatigue. Inhibitory inputs such as reciprocal inhibition (RI) have been shown to turn off PICs and reducing the gain of output. PIC …

An Exploratory Approach To Manipulating Dynamic Stability: Investigating The Role Of Visual Control During A Precision Foot Placement Task, Russell Cg Kennedy

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

ABSTRACT

Background: The visual system provides the body with an accurate sensory system; designed to gather information at a distance and acts as a feedforward control mechanism during human locomotion. By doing so, visual information contributes coordination of the head-arm-trunk (HAT) segment and modulating foot placement. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a constrained pathway during a complex navigational stone-stepping task on HAT segment control and how the visual system guides locomotion during a complex foot placement task.

Methods: Nine university-aged females (Mean age: 22.5 years old +/-1.75) participated in this study. Participants …