Sports Sciences Commons^™

Beach Wheelchair Project, Rory Aronson, Joshua Marcum, Samuel Coyne, Alex Hayes, Alexa Colburn, Max Hessel, Benedikt Strauss, Marvin Rimmele, Marco Pietsch

Mechanical Engineering

The Beach Wheelchair, Sandcrawler, is a machine intended to help give people with disabilities the full beach experience. The non-profit organization Bridge II Sports sponsored this project, and tasked us with developing the design and fabricating a prototype. This chair has several features including a linkage mechanism that raises and lowers a chair relative to an external frame, hand crank drive with Gates Carbondrive belt and sprockets, buoyant Wheeleez balloon tires, and much more.

Impact Of Participating In A Short-Term Intervention Model Of Sports Education Camps For Children With Visual Impairments, John Michael Mcmahon

Dissertations

This three-paper format dissertation explores three topics relevant to participating in a short-term model Sports Education Camp for youth with vision impairments. The three papers are independent studies, yet build upon each other by first measuring physical performance in certain skills, then exploring their levels of self-perception, body mass index, and level of physical activity in their local communities, and finally describing the population of participants at various points over a 25-year period. Papers one and two examined differences in pre- and post-camp measures for first-time and repeat participants, with the first paper focusing on physical performance, and the second …

Differences In Kinematic Control Of Ankle Joint Motions In People With Chronic Ankle Instability, Kristof Kipp, Rianna M. Palmieri-Smith

Exercise Science Faculty Research and Publications

Background

People with chronic ankle instability display different ankle joint motions compared to healthy people. The purpose of this study was to investigate the strategies used to control ankle joint motions between a group of people with chronic ankle instability and a group of healthy, matched controls.

Methods

Kinematic data were collected from 11 people with chronic ankle instability and 11 matched control subjects as they performed a single-leg land-and-cut maneuver. Three-dimensional ankle joint angles were calculated from 100 ms before, to 200 ms after landing. Kinematic control of the three rotational ankle joint degrees of freedom was investigated by …

Evaluation Of The Anterior Talofibular And Calcaneofibular Ligament In Relation To Supination Ankle Sprains, Peter Tran

Biomedical Engineering

Ankle injuries have always posed an issue to a number of athletes. Sports that involve running and jumping accumulate about 25% of injuries correlating to ankle sprains. In most ankle sprains the inversion (supination) of the ankle cause damage to lateral ligaments. The two most common lateral ligaments to experience damage are the anterior talofibular (ATFL) and calcaneofibular (CFL) ligaments. The methods of taping and ankle braces have allowed athletes to prevent recurring sprains from occurring. However, sprains can still occur even when one or both methods are applied. The purpose of each method is to restrict the range of …

Vitamin D And The Athlete: Risks, Recommendations, And Benefits, Dana Ogan, Kelly Pritchett

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Vitamin D is well known for its role in calcium regulation and bone health, but emerging literature tells of vitamin D’s central role in other vital body processes, such as: signaling gene response, protein synthesis, hormone synthesis, immune response, plus, cell turnover and regeneration. The discovery of the vitamin D receptor within the muscle suggested a significant role for vitamin D in muscle tissue function. This discovery led researchers to question the impact that vitamin D deficiency could have on athletic performance and injury. With over 77% of the general population considered vitamin D insufficient, it’s likely that many athletes …

Female Division I Cross Country Runners: Is Balance An Issue?, Stephanie Taylor

Honors Theses

Injuries, including those resulting from falls, are virtually unavoidable in the sport of cross country. Due to the constantly changing terrains that cross country runners face, falls and injuries may be a more common aspect of the sport than previously thought. The strenuous nature of the sport and increased injury risk faced by runners are things that make being successful very difficult. Researchers have made connections between joint stability, muscle fatigue, proprioception, and muscle strength and injury/fall rate. Studies have found that balance abilities are lower in fatigued muscles. The frequent injury trends in distance runners show that many of …

Electromyographical Analysis Of Barefoot Squat: A Clinical Perspective., Sarah E. Brown

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare muscle activation in eight superficial lower limb muscles during execution of barbell back squats while in barefoot and athletic shoe conditions. It was hypothesized that greater muscle activity would be seen when squats were performed in barefoot conditions. Six participants were included in the study (means: 21.33±1.53 years, 170.45±11.33cm height, 69.85±12.46kg mass, 3.4±1.40 years training). Each met specific inclusion criteria. Participants came in three separate days for data collection (Day 1 – 1 repetition maximum [1RM] was determined, Day 2 – maximum voluntary contraction tests were held, Day 3 – squat tests …

Kinematic Analysis Of Hip And Knee Joints Between Barefoot And Shod Treadmill Running, Stephanie E. Lloyd

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Running shoes have recently been designed to mimic barefoot walking or running, and they are marketed with promises that runners will benefit from the effects of barefoot running. Studying gait analysis with particular running shoes is extremely important because the ankle and foot serve as the foundation of structural balance, support, and propulsion. In this study, the knee and hip joint motions will be addressed while wearing Vibram FiveFinger and Nike Free Run shoes, which are designed to imitate barefoot running while providing protection from the elements. The purpose of this current study was to investigate the movement kinematics in …

The Acute Effects Of Yoga On Executive Function, Neha Gothe, Matthew B. Pontifex, Charles Hillman, Edward Mcauley

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

Despite an increase in the prevalence of yoga exercise, research focusing on the relationship between yoga exercise and cognition is limited. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an acute yoga exercise session, relative to aerobic exercise, on cognitive performance. Methods: A repeated measures design was employed where 30 female college-aged participants (Mean age = 20.07, SD = 1.95) completed 3 counterbalanced testing sessions: a yoga exercise session, an aerobic exercise session, and a baseline assessment. The flanker and n-back tasks were used to measure cognitive performance. Results: Results showed that cognitive performance after the yoga …

Concussion Management, Education, And Return-To-Play Policies In High Schools: A Survey Of Athletic Directors, Athletic Trainers, And Coaches, Amanda Esquivel, Sadiq Haque, Patrick Keating, Stephanie Marsh, Stephen Lemos

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

Background: Concussions represent 8.9% to 13.2% of all high school athletic injuries. How these injuries are managed is currently unknown.

Hypothesis: There are differences in concussion management and awareness between boys football, boys ice hockey, and boys and girls soccer.

Study Design: Descriptive epidemiologic study.

Methods: High school athletic directors were contacted via email and asked to complete an online survey with four separate sections for athletic directors, head coaches, team physicians, or certified athletic trainers.

Results: According to coaches, concussion awareness education was provided for football (97%), hockey (65%), and boys and girls soccer …

The Effect Of Skeletal Muscle Mass On Basal Metabolic Rate In College-Age Males 2013, Chase Vaughn

Master's Theses

There are many misconceptions within the fitness community. One such misconception is that an increase in muscle mass will have a large increase in basal metabolic rate, yet this may not be the best way for successful weight loss. The purpose of this study was to determine the strength of the correlation between skeletal muscle mass and basal metabolic rate. The hypothesis tested was that basal metabolic rate is strongly correlated with skeletal muscle mass. The participants were college-aged males (n =17). Skeletal muscle mass (SMM) was estimated using the skin-fold circumference model (SFCM): SMM (kg) = Ht (0.00744 CAG2 …

The Influence Of Respiratory Muscle Training On Exercise Endurance 2013, Justin Vanderbeck

Master's Theses

Exercise endurance in multiple populations has been shown to increase after bouts of respiratory muscle training (RMT) (Bailey, Romer, Kelly, Wilkerson, Dimenna & Jones, 2010; Brown, Sharpe, Graham & Johnson, 2008; Griffiths & McConnell, 2007; Kilding, Brown & McConnell, 2007; Laoutaris et al., 2012; Markov, Spengler, Stuessi, Boutellier & Knöpfli-Lenzin, 2001; Spengler & Boutellier, 2000; Stuessi, Spengler, Knöpfli-Lenzin, Markov & Boutellier, 2001; Volianitis et al., 2000). The use of resistance via respiratory muscle strength training (RMST) has been shown to produce greater increases in endurance than with no resistance, but the method of RMST that produces the greatest increases in …

Resistance Training Behaviors In College-Aged Women 2013, Melanie Kornblatt

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of women’s training behavior in the weight room. A secondary purpose was to determine what their beliefs and perceptions were in regards to lifting weights. Participants were college-aged females ranging in age from 17-29 years. Observations of weight lifting activities were conducted during peak hours of operation (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 3- 6pm) in the fitness facility. A total of 60 hours of observations were conducted over a period of four weeks. In addition to observations, two focus groups were conducted. Participants were divided into two specific groups: I …

Attendance And The Minor Leagues Does Mlb Affiliation Matter, Dylan Gronlund

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

An Investigation Of Preferred Versus Imposed Exercise, Personality Traits, And Motivation On An Exercise Dependent College Aged Sample 2013, Chelsea M. Norton

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to: (a) investigate personality traits and motivation among an exercise dependent sample by using and examining theoretically based assessment tools and (b) measure feeling states under different types of physical activity among those who were considered to be exercise dependent. Four hundred twenty-three college students (54.4% male, 45.6% female) who met the inclusion criteria completed the Exercise Dependence Scale-Revised (EDS-R; Symons Downs, Hausenblas, & Nigg, 2004), Exercise Addiction Inventory (EAI; Terry, Szabó, & Griffiths, 2004), Exercise Identity Scale (EIS; Anderson & Cychosz, 1994), Behavioral Regulations in Exercise Questionnaire-2 (BREQ-2; Markland & Tobin, 2004), and …

Underserved Adolescent Girls’ Physical Activity Intentions And Behaviors: Relationships With The Motivational Climate And Perceived Competence In Physical Education, Alex C. Garn, Nate Mccaughtry, Bo Shen, Jeffrey J. Martin, Mariane Fahlman

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

This study investigated underserved adolescent girls’ perceptions of the motivational climate in relationship to their perceptions of competence in urban physical education, self-reported physical activity, and future physical activity intentions. A total of two-hundred-seventy-six underserved (i.e., minority, urban, high poverty) adolescent girls completed questionnaires and a multi-step approach was used to test these relationships. First, a trichotomous model of the perceived motivational climate was tested using confirmatory factor analysis and results suggested a good fit of the data. Structural equation modeling analyses were then used to test both direct and indirect relationships between the perceived motivational climates in physical education, …

One Step Away: Life In Minor-League Golf, Kevin Michael Prise Ii

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

My project serves as an exploration of life in minor league golf, particularly the Web.com Tour, which is the Triple-A level of professional golf. In order to conduct research for my project, I hit the road for a few weeks of summer 2012 and traveled to Tour events in far-flung places such as Springfield, Missouri; Greenville, South Carolina; Evansville, Indiana and Wichita, Kansas. While at the events, I watched plenty of tournament golf and interviewed dozens of players on various topics, ranging from the differences between the PGA Tour and the minors to caddies. Along the way, I kept a …

The Validity And Reliability Of The Fort Hays State University Shuttle Walk Test, Lynae Wright

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

A variety of time limited, distance limited and incremental shuttle walk tests have been utilized to evaluate functional fitness. Most incremental shuttle walk tests require the same leg to always be on the inside of the walking pattern; therefore receiving more stress because the body’s mass shifts to the inside foot. Only one previous study used a figure-8 walking pattern, it was not used to measure functional fitness (Hess, 2010). The purpose of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the Fort Hays State University (FHSU) shuttle walk test of functional walking fitness incorporating a figure-8 walking …

A Learner-Centered Technique And Clinical Reasoning, Reflection, And Case Presentation Attributes In Athletic Training Students, Scott Heinerichs, Luzita I. Vela, Joshua M. Drouin

Sports Medicine Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Examination Of The Relationship Between Sport Concussion And Long Term Neurodegenerative And Psychological Disorders: A Literature Review, Vivian Rivera

HIM 1990-2015

Background: According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 1.6 to 3.8 million Americans suffer a sports related concussion each year. Concussion is defined as a transient alteration of the brain structure caused by a direct or indirect force. During the last decade, a vast amount of clinical research on the long term effects of repetitive head trauma has occurred, especially on the subject of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), depression and dementia. Objective: The purpose of this literature review is to examine the literature pertaining to multiple concussion and the long-term effects of multiple concussion such as neurodegenerative …