RSS 1.0Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport
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MEASURING THE EFFECTS OF AN AMERICAN PHYSIOLOGICAL SOCIETY’S PhUn WEEK ACTIVITY ON 2ND GRADE STUDENTSIn the last few years the United States has been on the decline in the fields of science and technology. The American Physiological Society (APS) has developed a program to engage young minds with scientists. Physiology Understanding Week (PhUn) is the APS initiative to use interactive experiments to engage school-age children with science and physiology. Even though PhUn Week has been going on since 2005, systematic assessment of the activities effects is rare. Here, we sought to assess if an APS PhUn Week activity enhances physiology understanding and interest in science in second grade children form a rural area. The assessment design was a pre/post PhUn Week activity survey. The PhUn Week event included two parts: 1) on stage ‘magic’ show, performing live experiments about the neurological, cardiovascular, and renal systems, and 2) small-group hands-on activities featuring the respiratory, renal, cardiovascular, and neurological systems. Two days before and within a week and 12 weeks after the event the children answered a brief 19-question survey including 3 general questions about their interest in science, 1 about their future profession, and 15 specific questions about the topics covered during the event. (3 cardiovascular, 4 respiratory, 4 renal, 4 neurological). The third graders acted as a control group as they did not see the PhUn Week event until after the completion of the first two assessment attempts. Two-hundred children attended the PhUn week event. One-hundred sixty five took all three attempts.The average pre-event survey score was 45.8% (±13.1%) and two thirds of the children liked science. After the event, the average survey score was 65.3% (±14.5%)(significantly higher when compared to pre-event, p<0.001) and 83% of the children liked science. This APS PhUn week assessment showed an improvement in knowledge and appreciation for science in second grade children from a rural area.
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The Effect of Laser Therapy on Baseball PitchersPitching is one of the most demanding movements in all of sport. When muscles fatigue from pitching the mechanics of the pitcher change thus resulting in a higher chance of injury. Pitchers are always looking for ways to improve their performance by delaying fatigue. Lowlevel laser therapy (LLLT) has been shown to decrease muscle fatigue and limit next day soreness. The purpose of this study was to see if a LLLT treatment of the external rotators of the shoulder would increase time to fatigue using a fatiguing protocol. 13 participants volunteered for this study. Each participant would have two testing sessions: one using a LLLT treatment and one with a sham treatment with an inactive laser. Pretest peak torque of external rotation would be measured and then the participant would complete a fatiguing protocol before completing the post-test peak torque. The fatiguing protocol consisted of a concentric and eccentric contraction of the external rotators. The participant would be declared fatigued when they had 3 trials in a row under 50% of their pre-test peak torque. Our results showed that LLLT did not increase time to fatigue. We believe this had to do with multiple factors, such as: small sample size, no time delay between treatment, and testing, incorrect treatment dosage, and using untrained participants. Future research with these considerations will be needed to determine the effect of LLLT has on muscle fatigue.
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A survey of industrial recreation in IndianaNot available.
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A History of the Indiana Pocket Athletic ConferenceNot available.
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A study of eight-man football in IndianaNot available.
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A study of the Indiana high school basketball tournamentsNot available.
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Dynamic Warm-Up Effect on 5-Km Performance and Running Economy in Collegiate Cross-Country RunnersThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a dynamic warm-up on running economy (RE) and 5-km performance compared to a control protocol in collegiate cross-country runners. Fifteen male cross-country runners underwent both a half-mile warm-up run at 65% VO2max followed by either a dynamic stretching protocol or a control protocol. After the protocols, subjects completed a 5-km performance for evaluation of RE and performance. Sit-and-reach scores were recorded both before and after each protocol. RE was measured as the total calories expended during each 5-km and performance time was recorded. There was no significant interaction for the sit-and-reach. After the dynamic warm-up the sit-and-reach did not significantly increase (29.10 ± 13.66 to 31.23 ±12.42cm; p>0.05) and did not significantly increase after the control protocol (29.08± 12.7 to 29.00± 13.46cm; p>0.05). Also, values post-dynamic drills were not significantly greater than those for the control protocol (p>0.05). Running economy was not statistically different across conditions (dynamic: 234 ± 26kcals; control: 239 ± 25kcals ;p>0.05). There was no significant difference found among 5-km performance time (dynamic: 18 minutes, 0 seconds ± 52.52; control: 18 minutes, 26 seconds ± 55.00 seconds; p>0.05). These findings suggest that dynamic stretching does not increase hamstring flexibility nor affect RE or performance in NCAA male distance runners.
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Prevalence of Cardiac Abnormalities in Male and Female College Athletes when Exposed to Physiological and Thermal StressorsCardiovascular pre-participation screening of collegiate student athletes is inadequate. Physiological stress in the form of submaximal exercise and heat exposure can both alter cardiovascular function, possibly elucidating an abnormality via electrocardiogram (ECG). Purpose. To investigate prevalence of cardiac abnormalities in college athletes when exposed to physiological and thermal stress. Methods. Eleven participants (males n=5; females n=6; 20.5 ± 1.4 yrs; 167.8 ± 4.8 cm; 60.0 ± 4.5 kg; 56.1 ± 12.2 ml/kg/min) currently participating at the NCAA Division I level volunteered for this study. Participants completed two submaximal treadmill tests (70% of VO2 max) in varying environmental conditions: thermoneutral (24.8 ± 1.6˚C) and hyperthermic (38˚C) for 30 minutes. ECGs were recorded at five minute intervals. PR interval duration, ST segment elevation/depression, and R and S wave voltage amplitude were measured; ECGs were further analyzed for abnormalities. A repeated measures ANOVA was used to test the effects of condition by time.Results. No significant condition by time interactions were found for any variable (p>0.05). Significance across time manifested as a decreased PR interval (p<0.05), R wave voltage, (p<0.05), and S wave voltage (p<0.05). No main effects (p>0.05) were found for ECG abnormalities however; high occurrences of incomplete left bundle branch block (ILBBB) were found. Conclusion. Submaximal exercise in the hyperthermic condition did not significantly alter cardiovascular function in the parameters measured; however, the total number of ECG readings with abnormalities was higher in the hyperthermic condition compared to thermoneutral), most notable in incidences of ILBBB.
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Relationship Between Foot Pressures and Alterations of Horizontal Velocities of the Center of Mass While HurdlingThis study analyzed the landing phase of hurdle clearance to investigate how the vertical displacement in the hurdler’s center of mass and foot pressures at ground contact lead to a change in the hurdler’s overall horizontal velocity of the center of mass. This study examined four male collegiate high hurdlers as they performed three trials of clearing one 42 inch high hurdle. The subjects were filmed during the three trials using three Panasonic cameras (60 Hz) and one JVC video camera (60 Hz), which was later used to provide video images in order to digitize each frame using the APAS software. The subjects’ foot pressure mapping data was also recorded at a sampling rate of 400 Hz during the three trials using the Tekscan high resolution (HR) Fscan hardware and software. The Tekscan HR Fscan hardware and software allowed for pressure measurements of the subjects’ forefoot, heel, and total foot pressure measured in pounds per square inch. The data collected from the APAS software and the Tekscan software was then calculated using the statistical software package SPSS. Multiple Pearson product correlations were analyzed between the kinematic and kinetic variables with one of these correlations resulting in a moderate relationship. The correlation between the change in the center of mass horizontal velocity and the heel pressure psi during the landing phase resulted in a moderate relationship with a correlation coefficient of r = .612, p= .034. The relationship between these two variables indicates that when a hurdler heel taps during the transitioning from flight phase to landing phase there is a decrease in their horizontal velocity.
