Masters of Science / BACKGROUND: Hamstring injuries remain a growing concern within a large variety of sports from the elite athlete to the weekend warrior. A copious amount of research has been performed in an attempt to reduce these injuries. The aim of this study was to understand the changes in lengthened state eccentric strength of the hamstrings following four separate protocols. METHODS: A quantitative research approach, using a true experimental design, was adopted for this study. A convenience sample of non-sedentary, 35 male participants, between the ages of 18 and 35 within the City of Cape Town was used. Participants were randomly allocated to one of four groups namely; Control group (C), resistance training alone (RT), neuromuscular electrical stimulation alone (NMES), or NMES superimposed with RT (NMES&RT). Participant’s eccentric hamstring strength was tested in a lengthened state, on the Biodex system 4 Pro™ for the pre- and post-test. The intervention spanned over four weeks. SPSS version 25 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: All groups demonstrated a mean increase in relative peak torque. However, a repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed no interaction effect (p = 0.411) between the four groups. Further analysis using Magnitude-based inferences (MBI), to identify the magnitude of changes, showed a small positive effect for both the NMES and NMES&RT group when compared to the C and RT groups. CONCLUSION: Although there are no statistically significant differences between the four groups employed in this study (C, RT, NMES, NMES&RT), NMES and NMES&RT did show small positive effects compared to C and RT with a very low likelihood of negative effects. Thus, using NMES either alone or superimposed with resistance training will be beneficial for trained athletes but it is not a necessity and the use of specific resistance training may be just as effective. / 2019-04-30

This thesis uncovers the rational and Romantic assumptions about the relationship between objects and identity that are embedded in occupational therapy, and critiques current practice from that perspective. It is based on an initial assumption that there is in fact a relationship between people's identity and the objects they make, have, use and are associated with. This assumption is explored through an interpretive examination of the fields of literature that are commonly identified as informing occupational therapy, supplemented by selected popular literature. The exploration takes a philosophical approach, guided by notions from philosophical hermeneutics, including pre-understandings, the hermeneutic circle and fusion of horizons. The conclusion reached is that people informed by Western philosophies interpret the identity meanings of objects in both rational and Romantic ways. To inform the study, the nature of rationalism and Romanticism are then explained, and the implications of these philosophical traditions in relation to objects and identity are teased out. This interpretation is guided by a history of ideas methodology, which entails approaching historical texts from a new perspective, in this case the identity meanings of objects. Thus informed, occupational therapy literature, primarily that published in Britain between 1938 and 1962 is examined from the perspective of objects and identity. What is revealed is that rational and Romantic understandings of objects, and of patients' and their own identity are clearly discernible. Such understandings afforded early occupational therapists both ways to organise their growing knowledge of the therapeutic application of crafts and the transformative outcomes of occupational therapy intervention. Gradually however, factors both internal and external to the profession served to undermine therapists' Romanticism. Primary amongst these were World War II, which saw a redeployment of occupational therapists from mental health to physical rehabilitation settings; advances in rehabilitative medicine, which brought a reduction in secondary complications and the adoption of teamwork; and the development of new practice areas including domestic rehabilitation using gadgets to enhance function and pre-vocational rehabilitation. As a result, tensions between rational and Romantic understandings crystallised around two long-standing controversies. These were whether or not craft equipment such as weaving looms should be adapted to serve specific remedial purposes, and whether it was the process of making a crafted object or the quality of the finished product that was more important. In the event, these contested ideologies became largely irrelevant as craftwork was sidelined from mainstream practice. With it, occupational therapists' Romantic vision of transforming people's lives through creative activity also slipped away. Several reasons for this loss of one of the profession's founding philosophies are proposed. They include the substantial absence of the professions' philosophical foundations from its education, and the paucity of theory and research methodologies that might have informed the nature and process of transformative change that earlier occupational therapists had observed and reported. The thesis concludes by arguing for the importance of recovering a balance between rationalism and Romanticism. A call to action is issued, addressing change in educational practice, concerted research effort to identify and articulate transformative processes within occupational therapy, and political action focusing on the inclusion of Romantic perspectives within policy and strategic documents.

Thesis--Auburn University, 2009. / Abstract. Includes bibliographic references (p.115-

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of self-motivation and several non-psychological variables on injured athletes' adherence to rehabilitation. Twenty-five (17 male, 8 female) injured intercollegiate athletes from several sports (football, gymnastics, diving, swimming, volleyball, cross country/track, baseball, and tennis) participated. After injured athletes reported to the training room for treatment, they were informed of the study by the head athletic trainers. Athletes agreeing to participate were required to complete an injury information form and the Self-Motivation Inventory. The head athletic trainers recorded injury information, attendance to rehabilitation, and made judgments regarding each athletes' adherence to rehabilitation.Adherence was measured four different ways (i.e., attendance rates, trainer judgments, trainer rankings, and a combination of the previous three to create an overall adherence measure). The results of this study are inconclusive, due to the fact that the different adherence measures did not agree for each independent measure. The results, however, suggest that self-motivation and certain non-psychological variables (i.e., academic class, scholarship status, and injury severity) may serve as predictors of injured athletes' adherence to rehabilitation. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

There is no abstract available for this thesis.

Athletic trainers frequently are required to design rehabilitation and treatment programs for injured athletes. These treatment programs oftentimes involve the use of cryotherapy or ankle taping to create an optimal environment for healing. The purpose of this study was to identify the individual and simultaneous effects of ankle taping and cryotherapy on mechanical power and velocity.Sixteen (16) Division IA Baseball players (Age 20.53+/- 1.15 yrs, Wt 878.45+/105.68 N, Ht 1.85+/- 0.087 m) served as subjects for this study. Subjects met the following criteria: 1) all were asymptomatic from any lower extremity injury for at least six months prior to testing. 2) none had any known cold allergy (ie. hives, hypersensitivity to cold).This study utilized a counterbalanced repeated measures design, in which subjects participated in three treatments, cryotherapy, ankle taping and a combination treatment of cryotherapy and ankle taping. For the taping treatment, each subject was taped using a standard closed basket weave technique` with porous 1.5" cloth athletic tape (Johnson and Johnson, Coach). The cryotherapy treatment was administered a 20 minute ice immersion treatment at 10 deg Celsius to the leg and ankle. In the combination treatment, both treatments were administered with the ice immersion preceding ankle taping. The effects of these treatments on mechanical power and velocity were measured by a Kistler amplifier and force plate platform during a one leg standing vertical jump.The two-way repeated measures ANOVA's for power and velocity showed no significant interaction between cryotherapy, taping or combination treatment. However, significant pre-post treatment effects for power were discovered after cryotherapy and combination treatment. As a result of these findings, it is evident that immediate return to participation after cryotherapy or combination treatment will lead to decreases in muscular performance or injury. / School of Physical Education

Female participation in high-contact sports has increased dramatically in the past two decades, raising concern regarding injury to the female breast and the need for protective equipment. While the use of chest/breast protectors by women is advocated, little is known of their efficacy and effect on athletic performance. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of chest/breast protector use on measures of performance and comfort, and to determine the mechanical response of the protectors to applied impacts. The four chest/breast protectors selected for study included rigid polyethylene and flexible closed-cell foam styles. To evaluate physiological and comfort differences among the control (no protector) condition and the protectors, female subjects completed a submaximal treadmill running protocol, during which metabolic, skin temperature and perceived comfort data were collected. To evaluate effects on general agility, subjects completed a timed agility test. To assess cushioning properties, the vertical acceleration-time and force-displacement histories of a projectile during surface contact with each protector were analyzed using a drop test method. Analysis of variance methods were used to compare metabolic, temperature, comfort, agility, and energy absorption variables. Graphic presentations accompanied by qualitative interpretation of data across the time history of the impacts were used to describe cushioning properties of the protectors. The chest/breast protectors in this study did not significantly increase oxygen consumption for submaximal treadmill running. Some but not all protectors produced significantly higher skin temperatures than the no-protector condition. Greater temperatures and temperature differentials between the skin and exterior equipment surface were associated with multiple plastic/fabric layers and closed-cell foam construction. No protectors produced significantly higher ratings of thermal sensation or perceived skin wettedness than the control condition. Two protectors were assessed as similar to the control condition on general comfort sensation while two were deemed to be significantly less comfortable. There was no decrease in general agility associated with protector wear. The closed cell foam protector generally showed better shock attenuation characteristics, while the rigid protectors generally demonstrated superior shock absorption. Relationships with regard to cushioning properties changed in response to systematic variation of missile mass and drop height. / Graduation date: 1992

This thesis uncovers the rational and Romantic assumptions about the relationship between objects and identity that are embedded in occupational therapy, and critiques current practice from that perspective. It is based on an initial assumption that there is in fact a relationship between people's identity and the objects they make, have, use and are associated with. This assumption is explored through an interpretive examination of the fields of literature that are commonly identified as informing occupational therapy, supplemented by selected popular literature. The exploration takes a philosophical approach, guided by notions from philosophical hermeneutics, including pre-understandings, the hermeneutic circle and fusion of horizons. The conclusion reached is that people informed by Western philosophies interpret the identity meanings of objects in both rational and Romantic ways. To inform the study, the nature of rationalism and Romanticism are then explained, and the implications of these philosophical traditions in relation to objects and identity are teased out. This interpretation is guided by a history of ideas methodology, which entails approaching historical texts from a new perspective, in this case the identity meanings of objects. Thus informed, occupational therapy literature, primarily that published in Britain between 1938 and 1962 is examined from the perspective of objects and identity. What is revealed is that rational and Romantic understandings of objects, and of patients' and their own identity are clearly discernible. Such understandings afforded early occupational therapists both ways to organise their growing knowledge of the therapeutic application of crafts and the transformative outcomes of occupational therapy intervention. Gradually however, factors both internal and external to the profession served to undermine therapists' Romanticism. Primary amongst these were World War II, which saw a redeployment of occupational therapists from mental health to physical rehabilitation settings; advances in rehabilitative medicine, which brought a reduction in secondary complications and the adoption of teamwork; and the development of new practice areas including domestic rehabilitation using gadgets to enhance function and pre-vocational rehabilitation. As a result, tensions between rational and Romantic understandings crystallised around two long-standing controversies. These were whether or not craft equipment such as weaving looms should be adapted to serve specific remedial purposes, and whether it was the process of making a crafted object or the quality of the finished product that was more important. In the event, these contested ideologies became largely irrelevant as craftwork was sidelined from mainstream practice. With it, occupational therapists' Romantic vision of transforming people's lives through creative activity also slipped away. Several reasons for this loss of one of the profession's founding philosophies are proposed. They include the substantial absence of the professions' philosophical foundations from its education, and the paucity of theory and research methodologies that might have informed the nature and process of transformative change that earlier occupational therapists had observed and reported. The thesis concludes by arguing for the importance of recovering a balance between rationalism and Romanticism. A call to action is issued, addressing change in educational practice, concerted research effort to identify and articulate transformative processes within occupational therapy, and political action focusing on the inclusion of Romantic perspectives within policy and strategic documents.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Idaho State University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [160]-167). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of South Carolina, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 176-186). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.