The incidence of musculoskeletal problems amongst instrumental music students in Australia is unknown. This study examined students who play musical instruments and are potentially at risk of developing problems, including pain and injury, related to their play activities. Full-time instrument major students (aged 18 and above, 57 male, 31 female) at the Victoria College of the Arts (VCA) completed the self-administered quantitative "Standardised Nordic Questionnaire for Analysis of Musculoskeletal Symptoms" to ascertain the incidence of musculoskeletal 'trouble' (ache, pain, or discomfort) across nine body regions. These reults were analysed in relation to gender and type of instrument played. 91% of participants (90% female and 91% of males) reported problems at one or more times in at least one region during the previous 12 months. The regions with the highest reports of trouble were the neck (56%), one or both wrists/hands (56%), low back (51%), and the shoulder (47%). The regions of the body with the highest reported levels of problems for males were low back (54%), neck (51%) and wrists/hands (49%). Females reprted problems in the wrists/hands (68%), neck (65%) and shoulders (61%). Certain problems were associated with particular instruments. 100% of double bassists reported low back trouble, while 90% of drummers and 80% of pianists reported wrist/hand problems. Musculoskeletal problems in instrumental music students are common, occurring at similar rates in both males and females. Low back problems in double bassists, and wrist/hand problems in drummers and pianists particularly, were very common. To better understand and manage instrumental music students, further study is necessary in understanding the factors that lead to these problems and factors (including exercise) that may prevent them. This minor thesis was written by a post-graduate student as part of the requirements of the Master of Health Science (Osteopathy) program.

Currently two osteopathic courses exist in Melbourne. The course at RMIT, until last year offered a double Bachelors degree and has undergone several revisions, whilst the course at VU is a Bachelors degree followed by a Masters course. Whether a difference exists in the clinical thinking of students, depending on their choice of university, has not been investigated. The objective of this study is to determine whether a difference exists between the clinical thinking of fifth year osteopathic students dependent on their university of choice. Nine fifth year students, four from RMIT and five from VU, took part in the study. The study consists of two parts. An examination which followed the model of a Victoria University Clinical Practicum Four case history assessment and a focus group where the students discussed among their student peers the thinking and criteria they used to answer each of the sections of the examination. Although students of both universities considered similar differentials for the given case, substantial differences existed in the thought processes behind the generation of the differentials. Several possible reasons were identified for this, furthermore, most participants focused upon a musculoskeletal osteopathic diagnosis and merely considered a pathological diagnosis fleetingly indicating the need for osteopathic examinations to be tailored to include not only biomechanical diagnosis but also systemic investigations. This minor thesis was written by a post-graduate student as part of the requirements of the Master of Health Science (Osteopathy) program.

Ankle braces are commonly used in an attempt to decrease the risk of injury during sport. Despite the widespread use of ankle braces, their efficacy of use for uninjured ankles is questionable. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a prophylactic ankle brace on postural sway, in the ankle of a previously uninjured athlete. Twenty healthy individuals aged between 20 and 27 years, who were currently involved in a sporting activity, participated in this study. Participant's single leg postural sway was evaluated on both legs, via three trials of 10 seconds each. Results indicated that ankle bracing had a small effect on the postural sway patterns in the healthy ankle. Further research is necessary to ascertain the role of bracing the uninjured ankle to improve ankle stabilisation and prevent injury. This minor thesis was written by a post-graduate student as part of the requirements of the Master of Health Science (Osteopathy) program.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and opinions held by physiotherapists' and chiropractors' of osteopaths in Victoria. Surveys were distributed to 400 physiotherapists and 400 chiropractors within Victoria. Data on knowledge, opinions, inter-professional referral rates and inter-professional communication was gathered using mostly closed questions. Practitioners predominantly rated their knowledge of osteopaths as 'average'. Chiropractors had a more extensive knowledge of osteopathy compared to physiotherapists. Practitioners felt that osteopaths most commonly treated neck pain, low back pain, thoracic pain, and headaches. Practitioners indicated the possibility of future patient referral to osteopaths as 34.8% for physiotherapists compared with 63.4% of chiropractors. 72.3% of physiotherapists and 72.5% of chiropractors indicated that they did not communicate with osteopaths. Practitioners showed interest in increasing their knowledge of osteopathy and improving the level of communication and collaboration between practitioners when treating a patient simultaneously. This may allow for increased inter-professional referral of patients. This minor thesis was written by a post-graduate student as part of the requirements of the Master of Health Science (Osteopathy) program.

Ankle ligament injuries are common, and the majority of ankle sprains can be treated successfully. However ankles that demonstrate recurrent sprains or have the tendency to give way are known to be functionally unstable. Functional Instability (FI) can present with three pathophysiological factors; mechanical instability, proprioceptive deficits and peroneal muscle weakness. Clinical examination reveals that with increased inwards rotation and forward displacement of the calcareous, the subtalar joint will be held in supinated position resulting in compensatory tibial, femoral and pelvic external rotation. To evaluate functional instability a number of tests were carried out bilaterally on all participants, in order to compare their control and symptomatic ankles. The participant stated on the information sheet which of their ankles was symptomatic. Two mechanical tests were conducted, the anterior draw test and the talar tilt. Postural sway was mapped using the Force Vector Visualisation System and peroneal muscle strength was measured using a kinetic dynamometer. Following these tests the Q angles of each participant were measured and calculated. Peak peroneal concentric torque demonstrated a significant negative relationship with Q angle in subjects experiencing FI of the ankle. FI of the ankle may result in hyper supination of the foot, with compensatory external rotation of the tibia and femur, accounting for a decrease in Q angle as found in this study, altering patellofemoral kinematics. From the results obtained, it can be said that with a maximum effort of the Q angle. Further investigation is needed into the relationship between the components of FI and the kinematics of the entire lower limb. This minor thesis was written by a post-graduate student as part of the requirements of the Master of Health Science (Osteopathy) program.

This study examined the effects of quantisation of force plate data used to measure body sway and the relationship between this body sway, aim point fluctuation and performance in shooting. Quantisation error in and resolution of selected body sway parameters were calculated from force plate data sampled using 12-bit and 16-bit analog to digital conversion (ADC). It was concluded that 12-bit ADC does not offer adequate precision when assessing the body sway of shooters and that 16-bit ADC is required. The relationship between body sway, aim point fluctuation and performance was examined on both group and individual bases. Body sway was measured in six elite rifle and five elite pistol shooters while performing 20 shots in simulated competition conditions over 5s, 3s and 1s before shot using an AMTI LG6-4 force plate and 16-bit ADC. This was synchronised with a SCATT shooting training analysis system, which measured aim point fluctuation and performance. From 16 time-based body sway parameters quantified, principal components analysis identified four body sway factors, which related to the amplitude and speed of this sway in both the X and Y axis. Using four body sway parameters that represented these factors, correlation and multiple regression analysis indicated that body sway, aim point fluctuation and performance were related for some but not all shooters. Further, this association was specific to the individual shooter in terms of degree and direction of association, the axis of influence of body sway and aim point fluctuation and the time period. This highlighted the importance of individual based analysis in elite shooting. Further research with larger subject numbers, aim point fluctuation more thoroughly examined and including kinematic analysis may assist in better defining the relationship between body sway, aim point fluctuation and performance.

Hypertension, is a common clinical complication of pregnancy, often leading to preeclampsia and fetal intrauterine growth retardation. Many studies have shown that vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) is a potent angiogenic factor, that is, it is responsible for the formation of new blood vessels from existing vessels. VEGF-A has been shown to be expressed in uteroplacental tissues, particularly during implantation. Levels of VEGF-A mRNA have also been shown to be significantly lower in placental tissue from pre-eclamptic women compared with control women (Cooper et al, 1996). The first aim of this project, was to establish the use of RT-PCR (reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction), Northern blot analysis, immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, to measure the expression and localization of VEGF-A, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 (VEGFR-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) in normal rat uteroplacental tissues at early, mid and late gestation. The second aim of this project was to measure expression of VEGF-A, VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2 in uteroplacental tissues of the normotensive (WKY) and the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) at 7, 11 and 19 days of gestation. Spontaneously hypertensive rats have been previously established as an animal model for pre-eclampsia. The uterus containing the placenta and fetus was removed from normal Sprague Dawley, WKY and SHR rats over a range of gestational ages. After 11 days of gestation, the uterus and placenta were separated. Tissues were frozen immediately in liquid nitrogen and stored at -80oC, or fixed in 10% formaldehyde for immunohistochemistry. Total RNA was extracted using TRIZOL reagent and mRNA levels of VEGF-A and its receptors were examined using RT-PCR and Northern blot analysis. mRNA levels of VEGF-A and its receptors were compared with those of the housekeeping gene glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PDH). We have successfully used RT-PCR to measure mRNA expression of VEGF-A, VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2; Northern blot analysis to measure expression of VEGF-A, and immunohistochemistry to localize VEGF-A protein in rat uteroplacental tissues. We have shown that VEGF-A and its receptors were expressed in uteroplacental tissues of the normal rat. We found no major differences in the expression levels of VEGF-A and VEGFR-1 in uteroplacental tissues at early, mid and late gestation. We showed that VEGF-A164 was the predominant isoform found in uteroplacental tissues. Finally, we found no major differences in the expression levels of VEGF-A, VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2 in uteroplacental tissues in normotensive rats (WKY) compared with hypertensive rats (SHR). We conclude that VEGF-A and its receptors, VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2, were expressed in uteroplacental tissues of pregnant rats. Furthermore, mRNA levels of VEGF-A and its receptors were comparable in normotensive and hypertensive rats. These results suggest that VEGF-A and its receptors may have an important role in the development of the fetal and maternal portions of the placenta, but that they are not the primary factors involved in the aetiology of pre-eclampsia.

Lifestyle strategies that focus on building/preserving skeletal muscle mass will enhance the health of a wide sector of the population and possibly, diminish the severity of many ageing-related illnesses. The focus of this dissertation was to examine the effects of strategic intervention with dietary supplements and exercise designed specifically to promote an increase in muscle mass (hypertrophy). Three separate trials were completed using healthy adult males (aged 18-36 years). Each trial utilized a randomized, double-blinded design that involved 10-11 weeks of structured RE training and matched groups that supplemented their diets with whey protein (WP), creatine monohydrate (CrM) and/or carbohydrate (CHO) (separately and in various combinations as well as at strategic times of the day). Assessments included body composition (lean mass, fat mass and body fat %), maximum (absolute) strength in three weight lifting exercises, and vastus lateralis muscle biopsies for determination of muscle fibre types (I, IIa and IIx), cross-sectional area (CSA), energy metabolite and glycogen concentrations as well as contractile protein content.

The experiments in this thesis were designed to investigate the factors influencing the metabolism of purine nucleotides in human skeletal muscle, plasma and urine. Study one investigated the influence of the number of intermittent sprint bouts and the subsequent accumulation of plasma purines and urinary purine excretion. Study two investigated the influence of sprint training on urinary purine loss following intense exercise. Study three examined the influence of allopurinol on urinary purine loss after repeated sprint exercise in humans. The final study examined the combined effects of allopurinol and sprint training on purine nucleotide metabolism in humans at rest.

This study evaluated the effects of osteopathic treatment (OT) on people experiencing active symptoms of Meniere's disease. As Meniere's disease is a multifactorial disease it is possible that osteopathy may directly address one or more of the factors causing Meniere's symtoms, thus providing a viable alternative or supportive treatment for this condition, which is notoriously difficult to treat. Amelioration of the symptoms of Meniere's using OT could also afford valuable new insights into the aetiology of this idiopathic condition. The results of this study show that OT has a clear and positive influence on the four defining symptoms of Meniere's by improvong the function of abnormal tissues in the head, cervical, thoracic and TMJ areas, indicating that osteopathy provides a complementary approach to orhodox treatment regimes of Meniere's. This minor thesis was written by a post-graduate student as part of the requirements of the Master of Health Science (Osteopathy) program.