Kinesiology Projects

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Track 6A - Oral Presentations

Nationwide, athletic departments forced to cut programs due to a lack of funding. In efforts to prevent this, students may notice new student fees and an increased cost of tuition (Joyce, 2019). The purpose of this project is to determine if selling alcohol to adult spectators during home athletic contests would be a valuable source of income for the Colorado Mesa University (CMU) athletic department. This is an exploratory study for current CMU administrators. In addition to the possible increased income produced from the alcohol sales themselves, the promoting of the general public now being able to purchase alcohol at games could also lead to increased attendance, resulting in additional ticket and concession sales. This project will also compare and contrast data from other universities to see if selling alcohol to the general public during sporting events limits binge drinking and the positive or negative consequences that result from it. Questionnaires will be sent to athletic administrators who are employed at institutions affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC). Preliminary results will be available for the showcase, pending the responses to these surveys.

Mitochondria, which are responsible for energy creation via aerobic respiration play an important role in human health and physical performance. Aerobically fit individuals have a higher mitochondrial mass than unfit populations. Similarly, those who are aerobically fit have lower lactate response during submaximal exercise than those who have lower levels of aerobic fitness. Lactate is a by-product of exercise and can be measured via whole blood by a device similar to a blood glucose meter. It has recently been demonstrated that blood lactate response to exercise is a marker of mitochondrial function. The original study establishing the proxy relationship between lactate response to exercise and mitochondrial function used a graduated exercise testing protocol designed for very fit populations. The purpose of this study is to compare a modified (i.e. shorter) protocol to the original (i.e. longer) protocol. The modified protocol involves 5 minute stages and resistance increments that are normalized to fat free mass. We hypothesize that our modified protocol will yield the same lactate response to exercise as the original protocol. Results of the present study may provide an alternative method to assess blood lactate response to exercise that is more appropriate for less aerobically trained populations.

Clinical Scenario: Individuals recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction must overcome physical rehabilitation challenges associated with returning to the same level of physical activity before their injury. These challenges may be influenced by the psychological perception of their injury. Clinical Question: How does adding psychological assessments to patients return to play rehabilitation program increase their ability to return to pre-injury activity level? Summary of Key Findings: Patients who receive an ACL reconstruction have a low return to previous activity level (RPAL) rate. Low self-efficacy rates, high Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia scores, high Pain Intensity scores, International Knee Documentation Committee scores, and fear of reinjury are some of the psychological factors associated with the low RPAL rate. Psychological assessments used in pre-surgical and post-surgical follow up appointments can be used to predict RPAL. Using imagery as a psychological intervention along with physical rehabilitation has shown to aid in the healing process and promote better physical function assessment outcomes. Clinical Bottom Line: The use of a phycological intervention along with physical rehabilitation may increase physical function outcome results. This could lead to higher self-efficacy and lessen patients fear of reinjury, resulting in a higher RPAL rate.

Track 6B - Poster Presentations

Foam rolling has been shown to increase joint flexibility. There is debate on whether increased joint flexibility will improve characteristics related to vertical jump performance, specifically momentum. Purpose:To determine the effect that pre-activity glute, hip, and lower limb rigid-core foam rolling has on hip and knee flexibility and vertical jump performance, specifically related to momentum during a vertical jump launch in Division II male and female collegiate athletes. Methods: Twenty Colorado Mesa University’s student athletes will be recruited. Subjects will be randomly divided into groups of foam rolling (A) and non-foam rolling (B). Both groups will follow a warm up video. After warm up, group A will perform the foam rolling intervention with subsequent ROM measurements while group B will immediately be measured for ROM of hip and knee. Both groups will then perform a vertical jump on the force plates. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that foam rolling will increase ROM and improve momentum during a vertical jump test.

Scenario: An individual suffering from a concussion will often have trouble returning to the classroom environment during recovery because of the symptoms experienced with a concussion and the time that it takes for the brain to heal. Academic accommodations can be given to support these individuals during this transition. Question: Do academic accommodations increase a person's readiness to return to class while recovering from a concussion? Key findings: Those who are diagnosed with a concussion experience greater academic dysfunction at one-week and one-month post diagnosis. Of those diagnosed, only 45% were receiving accommodations at one-week post injury and 31% were using accommodations at the one-month mark. For those that did seek accommodations different levels of support can be provided. To give a student all the necessary tools to succeed they must work in collaboration with educators, administrators, and health care providers to establish an individual plan. The individual plan to return to previous academic level cannot be time based. Bottom line: By providing students suffering from a concussion with academic accommodations to match their individual needs they are more prepared for the eventual return to the classroom.

Abdominal tensioning is a strengthening technique frequently applied during rehabilitation exercises. Drawing in (DI) is a common abdominal tensioning technique that utilizes breathing to help activate the abdominal muscles and more specifically, the transverse abdominis (TA) to a greater extent as the TA assists in breathing. The DI technique has been shown to improve abdominal activation and coordinated muscular support of the trunk (Kim & Lee, 2017) (Boyle, Olinick & Lewis, 2010). The purpose of our study was to determine if abdominal tensioning would have an effect on a distal area by observing the effects on maximal grip strength (MGS). We hypothesized that performing a grip strength test while activating the abdominals with the DI technique would increase MGS through increased motor unit recruitment. Eleven participants completed the study. Each subject performed two control (CON) and two experimental trials. Participants performed the CON and experimental trials twice with breaks between each trial for both dominant and nondominant hands. Results demonstrated no significant difference in MGS between the CON and experimental trials, with a p-value of 0.60. In conclusion, our results indicate that using the DI technique while performing a grip strength test does not increase MGS.

PURPOSE: To determine whether there is a difference in surface electromyography (EMG) during the landing phase of a volleyball approach jump in addition to if vertical jump is affected with and without the T2 active ankle brace in division II volleyball players. METHODS: Muscle activation was assessed using surface EMG for the tibialis anterior, soleus, lateral gastrocnemius, and medial gastrocnemius between two conditions: no ankle brace and the T2 brace. The subjects completed maximum vertical jumps in both conditions and EMG data were normalized using maximum voluntary contraction for each muscle. RESULTS: Ankle braces did not have significant differences on surface EMG in the soleus, lateral gastrocnemius, and medial gastrocnemius (P > 0.05), but did have a significant increase in activation for the tibalis anterior (P = 0.016) when compared to no ankle brace. No significant differences were observed in vertical jump height between the conditions. CONCLUSION: The T2 brace only significantly altered the surface EMG of the tibalis anterior. Additionally, there were no changes in vertical jump height suggesting ankle braces do not negatively affect vertical jump height performance. Therefore, athletes who choose to wear ankle braces as a prophylactic measure shouldn be concerned with jumping performance when wearing them.

BACKGROUND: Several studies (Sotiropoulos et al., 2010; Crow et al., 2012) showed the effects of a gluteal and hamstring targeted warm-up on performance and surface voltage, however, the studies assessed jump performance rather than EMG activity. Furthermore, there is limited research about the effects of using resistance bands during a targeted warm-up. PURPOSE: The purpose of this project is to identify whether a gluteal and hamstring targeted warm-up with resistance bands will have an effect on surface voltage during a moderate load back squat. METHODS: Single leg surface voltage EMG of the vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, gluteus maximus and biceps femoris will be taken from six NCAA female collegiate swimmers. Subjects will perform a set of five tempo controlled (3-1-3-2) moderate load (60% of body weight) back squats after a general warm-up. The intervention performed after control set consists of five resistance band exercises targeting the hamstring and gluteal muscle groups. Participants will then perform another set of five back squats under the same conditions as the control set. HYPOTHESIS: We hypothesize that a targeted warm up with resistance bands will increase the mean surface voltage of the gluteus maximus and biceps femoris after the intervention compared to the control.

Research has suggested that weighted blankets, vests and compressive vests may have positive outcomes related to proprioceptive input for spectrum disorders as well as cerebral palsy. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate healthy college age subjects and examine the effects that a weighted vest has on center of mass (COM), center of postural sway (COP) and gait. Methods: Fifteen healthy college students will be asked to perform the unipedal balance test and the gait cycle evaluation both with and without a weighted vest. Participants will first be examined without weight for COM, COP and gait. Subjects will then be asked to wear a 9.8 kg weighted vest for 45 minutes and then be reassessed in a similar fashion to the control condition. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that the weighted vest will decrease postural sway and there will be an improvement to gait cycle. Conclusion: Positive results in a healthy population could be investigated with other populations such as spectrum and CP.

Electromyography is a technique for evaluating and recording the electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles. The EMG technology can be used to compare muscle activity during different resistance training exercises. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare EMG activity of the pectoralis major, anterior deltoid, and lateral triceps brachii during a set of flat barbell bench press and flat dumbbell bench press. Methods: This study is using division 2 college football linemen lifting a weight that is 40% of their barbell bench press one rep max. EMG leads will be placed on the pectoralis major, anterior deltoid, and lateral triceps brachii. After performing their typical warm-up routine, the subjects will perform one set of six reps on barbell bench press, briefly rest, then one set of six reps on dumbbell bench press. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that we will see more EMG activity during the dumbbell bench press than in barbell bench press in all muscles observed.

Physician and advanced practice provider (APP) burnout is a growing concern in the field of medicine. High-stress levels and low work-life balance contributes to physicians and APPs being more likely to experience burnout than any other career. The Mini Z Burnout Survey was sent out to physicians and APP providers in Western Colorado. The Mini Z Burnout Survey is a validated tool to measure burnout in physicians and APPs. The surveys will be scored, and statistical analysis will be performed to determine a baseline level of the current burnout reported by providers in Western Colorado. This study is important because no previous research has been published on physician and APP burnout in Western Colorado.