Kinesiology Commons^™

An Exploratory Study Of Group Exercise Participants: Factors Contributing To Retention In A Medical Non-Profit Fitness Setting, Sharon Newcomer Stiteler

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

An exploratory study of group exercise participants was conducted to link group cohesion theory and perceived effects of social support to the retention of fitness club membership through building relationships. The study explored the level of group cohesion and social support experienced by participants in public group fitness exercise classes. In addition, participant loyalty was reviewed to understand membership retention based on group participation. A literature review was conducted to study previous research of group cohesive factors, social support and the role group exercise classes play in adherence to programs. Literature was also reviewed to understand effective membership retention efforts …

Drafting Effects Of The Third-Position Cyclist On The Second-Position Cyclist’S Power Output In A Three-Man Drafting Line, William Alan Norman

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a second-position cyclist benefitted, in terms of decreased power requirement, from the presence of a third-position cyclist. It was hypothesized that the second-position cyclist would experience a decrease in power requirement with the presence of a third-position cyclist compared to the absence of a third-position cyclist, and that this decreased power requirement would be magnified during the faster trials. Twelve trained cyclists served as second-position subjects. Subjects completed 12 total trials each: 2 solo trials at a moderate speed (MS), 2 solo trials at a high speed (HS), 2 MS trials …

Certified Athletic Trainer's Knowledge On Sports Hernias, Stephanie M. Pikus

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Context: Over the past twenty years, the number of athletes diagnosed and treated with a sports hernia has increased significantly. A sports hernia is a chronic injury which produces debilitating groin pain caused by a tear or weakness of the transversalis fascia causing compression of the ilioinguinal nerve. Athletes diagnosed with sports hernias are often unable to continue their sport unless they get surgery. Certified athletic trainers (ATCs) are commonly the first people to evaluate an injured athlete and must be knowledgeable in sports hernia recognition and treatment.
Objective: To examine if ATCs have the appropriate knowledge of sports hernias …

Actical Accelerometry Cut-Points For Quantifying Levels Of Exertion: Comparing Normal And Overweight Adults, Jamie Giffuni, Robert G. Mcmurray, Todd Schwartz, Diane Berry

International Journal of Exercise Science

Int J Exerc Sci 5(2) : 170-182, 2012. Weight, body fatness and ambulatory pattern all have the potential to affect accelerometer output and cause differences in output between overweight and normal-weight adults. The purpose of this study was to determine if Actical (Philips Respironics, Bend, OR) activity count cut-points for moderate and vigorous intensity exercise are different for overweight adults compared to normal-weight adults. Overweight adults with BMI >25 kg/m² (n=29) and Normal-Weight adults (n=25) walked at 3.2 and 4.8 km∙h^-1 and ran at 6.4 km∙h^-1 on a treadmill while simultaneously wearing an Actical accelerometer and obtaining measurements …

Physiologic Responses, Liking And Motivation For Playing The Same Video Game On An Active Versus A Traditional, Non-Active Gaming System., Gabriel J. Sanders, Antonia S. Santo, Corey A. Peacock, Kyle-Patrick Von Carlowitz, Megan L. Williamson, Jacob E. Barkley

International Journal of Exercise Science

Int J Exerc Sci 5(2) : 160-169, 2012. Evidence suggests that individuals playing certain video games on the Nintendo Wii® (Wii) exhibit increased energy expenditure versus traditional video games, although little research examines non-Wii Sports/Fit games. The purpose of this study is to assess physiologic responses, liking, and the relative reinforcing value (RRV) of a popular, non-Wii sports video game for the Wii relative to the same game played on a traditional, non-active system. Twenty-four college-aged students participated. Heart rate and oxygen consumption (O₂) was assessed during rest and when playing the following games: Madden NFL 2011® for …

Effect Of Tai Chi Exercise On Cognitive Function During Weight Loss In Obese Older Women, Alice R. Marolla

Senior Honors Projects

Obesity, defined as a body mass index (BMI) of ≥ 30 kg/m², is a major public health problem in the United States, affecting over 34% of Americans. Among the populations with the highest obesity prevalence is women aged 60 years and older. As a Kinesiology major, I find it very important to examine the complications that arise as a result of obesity.

We know that obese individuals run the risk of developing hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, and coronary heart disease. A potential health risk associated with obesity that is understudied is cognitive functioning impairment, like dementia. Dementia is …

Lower Extremities Muscle Strength Associated With Early Signs Of Mobility Dependence Among Older Adults Age 65 Years And Older, Moshe Marko

Exercise Science - Dissertations

Background: Loss of muscle strength is evident even in apparently healthy older adults. functionally limited due to an increasing discrepancy between their own physiological capabilities (i.e. physiological impairments) and the challenges set forth by the environment. Functional limitations lead to clinical mobility disability. Clinical mobility disability is associated with physical dependence, poor quality of life, and mortality. Treatment of age-related clinical mobility disability should focus on the prevention of the condition rather than its consequences. Identifying opportunities for early screening and prevention of clinical mobility disability requires a better understanding of the functional loss prior to this medical condition. …

Test-Retest Reliability Of Noninvasive Ambulatory Impedance Cardiography During Aerobic Exercise, Benjamin Germain

HIM 1990-2015

Impedance cardiography is an important tool in determining a person's hemodynamic properties. The makers obtained through thoracic impedance have been shown to be of great importance when monitoring critical care patients. Technological developments have made this process noninvasive and ambulatory, opening up new possibilities for potential use. A study was conducted by remotely monitoring healthy subjects (n=5), who performed an 8-minute mild-to-moderate aerobic exercise protocol, followed up by a four minute cognitive stress test. Testing was conducted onsite at Kennedy Space Center in association with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration using the MW1000A (MindWare Technologies LTD, Gahanna, OH) ambulatory …

Aerobic Exercise As A Means Of Reducing Low Back Pain A Systematic Review, Theresa Privett

HIM 1990-2015

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is considered the leading cause of inactivity and lost employment time. It can be extremely difficult to treat as most conventional therapies have poor success rates. People with LBP need to be made more aware of the diverse and economical treatments available in order to save on expenses and diminish stress. Patients and healthcare professionals have many choices when deciding on the best plan of care; however, it is often difficult to determine which option is best. Objectives: The purpose of this systematic review was to determine if aerobic exercises play a role in reducing …

Pharmacological Treatment Of Intermittent Claudication Does Not Have A Significant Effect On Gait Impairments During Claudication Pain, Jenna M. Yentes, Jessie M. Huisinga, Sara A. Myers, Iraklis Pipinos, Jason Johanning, Nikolaos Stergiou

Journal Articles

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a manifestation of atherosclerosis resulting in intermittent claudication (IC) or leg pain during physical activity. Two drugs (cilostazol and pentoxifylline) are approved for treatment of IC. Our previous work has reported no significant differences in gait biomechanics before and after drug interventions when PAD patients walked without pain. However, it is possible that the drugs are more efficacious during gait with pain. Our aim was to use advanced biomechanical analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of these drugs while walking with pain. Initial and absolute claudication distances, joint kinematics, torques, powers, and gait velocity during the …

Hip Abduction Strength And Its Relationship With Sequential Movement And Ball Velocity In Softball Players, Sarah Kaminski

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study examined the relationship between hip abduction strength, segmental sequentiality of the upper extremity and ball velocity of throwing in softball positional players. Hip abduction strength, ball velocity, and related kinematics were collected on sixteen (167.7 + 6.7 cm; 68.9 + 10.4 kg; 19.2 + 1.1 yrs) National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I softball players. The participant had to catch a simulated hit ball and perform her positional throw. A position player was on second base and only those throws that she was able to catch without stepping off the base were recorded. There was no significance in the …

Landing Mechanics Of Military Personnel And Effects Of A Lumbopelvic Hip Complex 6 Week Intervention Program, Derek Wahl

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if a six-week lumbopelvic-hip complex [LPHC] intervention program would affect the landing mechanics of active ARMY ROTC cadets. Ten male Army ROTC cadets [182.3 + 4.5 cm; 86.7 + 9.2 kg; 19.5 + 0.8 yrs] were recruited for this study. Participants performed a drop landing protocol pre and post LPHC intervention program. The LPHC intervention program consisted of six minutes of five body weight exercises prior to every organized ROTC conditioning that occurred three days a week for six weeks; consisting of 10 total exercises that were randomly alternated throughout the treatment …

A Comparison Of Handwriting And Typing With Regard To The Development Of Memory, Cailidh Pederson

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Sensitivity Of The Wolf’S And Rostein’S Algorithms To Evaluate Local Dynamic Stability From Small Gait Data Sets, Fabien Cignetti, Leslie M. Decker, Nikolaos Stergiou

Journal Articles

The Wolf’s (W-algorithm) and Rosenstein’s (R-algorithm) algorithms have been used to quantify local dynamic stability (largest Lyapunov exponent, λ ₁) in gait, with prevalence of the latter one that is considered more suitable for small data sets. However, such a claim has never been investigated. To address it, the λ ₁ of the Lorenz attractor was estimated using small data sets and varied delays and embedding dimensions. Overall, the λ ₁ estimates from the R-algorithm got closer to the theoretical exponent than those from the W-algorithm. The W-algorithm also overestimated λ _{1 …}

The Correlation Between Hip Abductor Strength And Functional Performance In Division I Female Collegiate Soccer Athletes, Caitlin Elizabeth Whale

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Division I female soccer athletes have been documented to succumb to the greatest amount of lower extremity injuries, predominately ACL injuries. The risk for a lower extremity injury becomes greater when alterations to functional biomechanics are present. Specifically, the hip abductor strength has a crucial role in maintaining pelvic alignment. The purpose of this study was to determine if the hip abductor strength of a female athlete alters' biomechanics during functional performance. Thirty-two Division I female soccer athletes participated in this study (20+2yrs, 64.5+16.5kg, 166+14cm). Descriptive and anthropological statistics were recorded prior to participation. The athletes' isometric hip abductor strength …

Immediate Effects Of High Intensity Training In Children With Cerebral Palsy Gmfcs Levels I-Iii: A Pilot Study, Andrea Blahovec, Andrea Kuiken, Jillian Mears, Heather Riggins

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background: Cerebral Palsy is one of the most common causes of motor disability in the U.S., but there is still a lack of consensus for best intervention strategies to improve function and gait efficiency.

Objective: Determine if ambulatory children with CP, exposed to a brief, high intensity training session, will: 1) experience changes in temporal-spatial gait characteristics 2) demonstrate increased gait speed and 3) demonstrate improved gait kinematics.

Design: Five participants walked at preferred and fast speeds over an instrumented walkway followed by a 15-minute intervention. After a short rest, post-intervention walking was completed.

Results: Ten dependent variables were extracted …

Muscular Activity Characteristics Associated With Preparation For Gait Transition, Li Li, Lorna L. Ogden

Health Sciences & Kinesiology: Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate lower extremity neuromuscular activity patterns during gait transitions with continuously changing locomotion speeds.

Methods: Muscular activities related to gait transitions (walk to run and run to walk) induced by changing treadmill speed were compared to muscular activities during walk and run at constant speeds. All transition and constant speed conditions were conducted in similar speed range. Surface electromyographic activities of gluteus maximus (GM), rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), biceps femoris long head (BFL), tibialis anterior (TA), gastrocnemius (GA), and soleus (SL) were collected and analyzed. The influences of speed and …

People Can Live Longer By Having More Physical Activity, Li Li

Health Sciences & Kinesiology: Faculty Publications

We all know being physically active is good for you. But do we know how good? People can live up to 3 years longer, even with as little as 15 min of physical activity a day, according to last October's report by Wen and his colleagues¹at the China Medical University in Taiwan, China.

Many researchers in the field of sport and health sciences know being physically active can bring many benefits to one's life. But this message has sometimes been disseminated using a negative tone. So much so, Bortz² of California, USA, has coined the word “inactivity” …

The Relationship Between Chronic Ankle Instability And Functional Movement Impairment In Division I Female Athletes, Akihito Tajima

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Lateral ankle sprains are the most common injury in athletics (Denegar & Miller, 2002; Ekstrand & Tropp, 1990). In addition, the recurrent rate of ankle sprains is as high as 80% (Smith & Reischl, 1986). Repetitive ankle sprains may lead to a phenomenon known as chronic ankle instability (Hertel, 2002). It has been theorized that there are two main attributions to chronic ankle instability: mechanical and functional instability (Monaghan, Delahunt, & Caulfield, 2006). The exact mechanism of chronic ankle instability is still unclear; however, recent studies focus on multiple factors rather than single measurements, in addition to functional testing. A …

Systematic Observation Of Coach Feedback In Elite Youth Volleyball, Mark David Mann

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to understand the relationship of coach feedback during time-outs to the performance of 16-18 year old volleyball players in competitive match play situations. The systematic observation of coach feedback during 89 time-outs was recorded using the Coach Time-Out Observation Instrument (CTOOI). Out of the 879 feedback statements that were made during the 89 time-outs, the CTOOI categorized coach feedback for technical feedback (with an internal or an external focus), tactical feedback (referring to our team or the opponent), and psychological feedback (as either encouraging or discouraging remarks). Data from the Game Performance Assessment Instrument …