Chronic knee injury accounts for nearly half of the injuries from which runners suffer. Impact and propulsive forces are believed to contribute to the development of overuse injuries, so one method of protecting runners might be to reduce those forces. The purpose of this study was to examine the biomechanical role of running poles by comparing normal running to pole running. Ground reaction forces, tibial acceleration, and video data were collected on ten middle-age male recreational runners with a history of knee pain. Subjects ran across a force plate at a constant velocity of 3.5-3.7m/s with an accelerometer attached to the anteromedial aspect of the tibia. Hip, knee, and ankle joint range of motion and torque were calculated. Results indicated significant decreases in the average peak propulsive force and impulse, and a significant increase in peak hip joint torque. It was concluded that by providing an outside source of propulsion, running poles may be useful in reducing the risk of injury to runners. / School of Physical Education

No description available.

Thesis--University of Florida. / Description based on print version record. Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 137-146).

Stereotypy is one of the defining characteristics of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and can significantly interfere with an individual's development and acquisition of knowledge and skills as well as distract from and disrupt educational environments. Numerous behavioral interventions have been implemented by researchers in an attempt to reduce or eliminate such behaviors, including antecedent aerobic exercise. Research studies conducted on using antecedent aerobic exercise as an effective intervention to decrease stereotypy have been spread out over several years, and many of the studies are methodologically weak according to today's standards and guidelines for evidence-based practices. This study was conducted to replicate and extend previous research by examining the effect of aerobic exercise in the form of vigorous jogging for 10 consecutive minutes on the percentage of time two elementary-school-aged children with autism engaged in stereotypic behaviors during instructional activities in the morning (immediately following the aerobic exercise), with a secondary analysis evaluating potential residual effects later in the school day. A six-phase reversal (ABABAB) design was used to determine the presence of a functional relation between jogging and stereotypy. Upon visual analysis of graphed data, functional relations were apparent for both participants. Allison spent 12% less time engaging in stereotypic behavior immediately following the jogging sessions as compared to baseline, and Boyd’s stereotypic behavior decreased by 10.7% overall. There was no significant carryover effect to the instructional sessions two hours after the intervention. Measures of social validity confirmed that the intervention was easy to implement and perceived as beneficial. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1982. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 39-41).

Thesis (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Exercise Sciences, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

Mathematical modeling and realistic human simulation of human jogging motion is a very challenging problem. Majority of the current literature is focused on studying walking or running. This work is aimed at bridging the gap in literature due to the lack of research work in three main areas: (1) simulations and experiments on running at speeds lower than 3 m/s, (2) Kinetics of fore-foot strike pattern in jogging and running and (3) the existence of a double support phase in running at slower speeds and its effects. Formulations to simulate natural human jogging are studied and developed. The digital human model used for this work includes 55 degrees of freedom, 6 for global translation and rotation and 49 for the revolute joints to represent the kinematics of the body. Predictive Dynamics methodology is used for dynamic analysis where the problem is formulated as a nonlinear optimization problem. Both, displacement and forces are considered as unknowns and identified by solving the optimization problem. The equations of motion are satisfied by applying them as equality constraints in the formulation. Kinematics analysis of the mechanical system is performed using the Denavit-Haretneberg (DH) method. The zero moment point (ZMP) condition is satisfied during the ground contact phase to achieve dynamic stability. The joint angle profiles are discretized using B-spline interpolation method. The joint torque squared, also termed dynamic effort, and the difference between predicted motion and motion capture data are used as performance measures and minimized in the optimization formulation. The formulation also includes a set of constraints to simulate natural jogging motion. Two formulations are discussed for jogging on a straight path: (1) one-step jogging formulation and (2) one-stride jogging formulation. The one-stride formulation is discussed for clock-wise and counter clock-wise jogging along a curved path. Cause and effect is shown by obtaining simulation results for different loading conditions. The proposed formulation provides realistic human jogging motion and is very robust.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of an eight-week walk/jog program upon strength retention. Twenty-four male executives from Dallas, Texas represented the sample size Following eight weeks of resistive training, all subjects were pretested for strength and endurance measures. After the eight-week walk/jog program, all subjects were then retested adhering to the same pretest protocol. A two-way analysis of variance with repeated measures was used to test for mean group differences between pretest and posttest strength measures. A t-test for dependent means was utilized to ascertain differences in cardiovascular measurements. The alpha chosen to test the null hypotheses was the 0.05 level of significance. Results indicated that muscular strength was retained during the eight-week walk/jog program. No change in upper or lower extremity strength occurred, but significant improvements in maximal oxygen consumption and treadmill time were evidenced.

Heavy backpacks have been suggested to have a pathogenic role in experience of low back pain among children. We have conducted a repeated-measure study to investigate the backpack-induced changes in lumbo-pelvic coordination of forty gender-balanced college age students when they walked and jogged on a treadmill with two different types of backpacks: normal and ergonomically modified. The backpack-induced changes in lumbo-pelvic coordination were larger when carrying an ergonomically modified vs. a normal backpack as well as when jogging versus walking. The larger changes in lumbo-pelvic coordination when carrying an ergonomically modified backpack were likely due to kinematic restraints imposed by rigidity and enhanced attachments devised in the backpack for increased comfort. Given the role of lower back biomechanics in low back pain, the effects of such larger mechanical abnormalities in the lower back when carrying an ergonomically-modified backpack on risk of low back pain among children requires further investigation.

No description available.