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Stretching and flexibility are important components of athletic performance and general fitness. Though many individuals and athletic professionals take into account flexibility, the concept that a certain range of joint motion places one at an increased risk of injury has not been fully explored. This paper seeks to review the

Stretching and flexibility are important components of athletic performance and general fitness. Though many individuals and athletic professionals take into account flexibility, the concept that a certain range of joint motion places one at an increased risk of injury has not been fully explored. This paper seeks to review the research on hip, shoulder, ankle, and spine ranges of motion that increase risk of injury to an athlete, it seeks to provide information on the best way to increase flexibility and range of motion. While this paper provides an insight as to what these potential ranges are, the overall research in the area is lacking and further research is suggested.
ContributorsGriffen, Betsy Ellen (Author) / Feser, Erin (Thesis director) / Kurka, Jonathan (Committee member) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
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Poor functional movement capabilities can often be indicative of an increased risk for non-contact musculoskeletal injury. The Functional Movement Screen is an efficient screen that categorizes people into "at risk for injury" or "not at risk for injury" through the use of seven comprehensive movement tests. Past research has shown

Poor functional movement capabilities can often be indicative of an increased risk for non-contact musculoskeletal injury. The Functional Movement Screen is an efficient screen that categorizes people into "at risk for injury" or "not at risk for injury" through the use of seven comprehensive movement tests. Past research has shown that the screen is a valid and reliable tool in identifying an increased risk for injury. The Functional Movement Screen is ideal for fitness settings because those who exercise more often are putting themselves at a higher risk of developing harmful movement patterns or imbalances. Therefore, highly active populations would benefit the most from regular Functional Movement Screens. Functional Movement Screen scores could be utilized by fitness professionals to produce more effective and more individualized training programs that include exercises to maintain or correct functional movement capabilities. The scores on each individual movement test could be analyzed, and any low scores or asymmetries should be noted. Corrective exercises should target the low and asymmetrical scores. The Functional Movement Screen would benefit people who are seeking personal training, because their score on the screen could allow the fitness professional to design a program that targets their individual movement needs. Training programs could implement corrective exercise into the training plan to correct or maintain functional movement while also increasing strength or endurance. Motivational theory-based strategies could provide a method for fitness professionals to foster adherence to the corrective exercises. By increasing feelings of intrinsic motivation using the constructs of the Self-Determination Theory, fitness professionals could increase clients' adherence to corrective exercise and maintain or improve upon their functional movement capabilities.
ContributorsSchmidt, Jessica Pauline (Author) / Feser, Erin (Thesis director) / Marsit, Joseph (Committee member) / Hoffner, Kristin (Committee member) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
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Research indicates patient adherence to physical therapy home exercise programs is low and this is confirmed anecdotally by people working in the field. Many patients do not improve at the desired rate because they are only coming into the clinic for two to three days a week and then do

Research indicates patient adherence to physical therapy home exercise programs is low and this is confirmed anecdotally by people working in the field. Many patients do not improve at the desired rate because they are only coming into the clinic for two to three days a week and then do not continue with their exercises at home. This thesis project was focused on designing a mobile application that would better help physical therapists facilitate home exercises for their patients. The goals of this application were to make it easier for patients to remember what they need to do and how often they need to do it, to increase patient improvements by making it easier to access and complete assigned exercises, and to make the physical therapist more efficient and effective by assigning the exercises through a program that can be easily altered. In order to create this application, research on self-efficacy, adherence, and behavior strategies and theories was collected. Then, interviews with physical therapists and patients were completed to determine what content should be added to the application for patients to be successful and to determine what features they believed would best facilitate exercise adherence. Lastly, the application and its features were designed based on the collected research and interviews.
ContributorsMoran, Alyssa Marie (Author) / Broman, Tannah (Thesis director) / Feser, Erin (Committee member) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
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Injury Prevention of Young Adult Competitive Athletes Abstract: This literature review covers many aspects of health and injury prevention that affects the young adult population. This review will begin to formulate a general guideline for sustaining performance while minimizing the incidence for injury. This population is specifically narrowed down to

Injury Prevention of Young Adult Competitive Athletes Abstract: This literature review covers many aspects of health and injury prevention that affects the young adult population. This review will begin to formulate a general guideline for sustaining performance while minimizing the incidence for injury. This population is specifically narrowed down to competitive athletes between the ages of 16-22. Some of the topics covered in this paper are the effects of macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients such as iron, calcium, vitamin D and vitamin C, on the body. Along with relating nutrition to lowering the risk of injury, there are also other topics covered such as sleep, stress relief in the form of binaural sounds, training and over-training. Nutrition topics include carbohydrates, proteins and fats, which are then split into their respective roles inside the body. These macro-nutrients are also associated with recovery and the timing and quantity consumed can be at optimal levels for competitive athletes based on gender, age and size. The vitamins and minerals discussed are also important factors in injury prevention related to bone, ligament and muscle strength. These micro-nutrients are also related to hormone regulation and immune system response which are necessary in mitigating the risk of injury in the population being analyzed. Finally, there is a training section of this literary review which covers monitoring external and internal loads experienced by the athletes, movement patterns as well as flexibility, and how to respond to over-training syndrome and overreaching in young adult athletes. Creating a balance between all aspects covered will result in a high likelihood of reducing the risk for injury in the young adult population.
ContributorsMark, Colby Jordan (Author) / Levinson, Simin (Thesis director) / Feser, Erin (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
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The human body has temperature-regulating mechanisms working to maintain body core temperature around 37°C. This ensures optimal bodily function. Disruption to core temperature however, initiates a cascade of events to return to baseline. The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of cooling strategies to induce the fastest

The human body has temperature-regulating mechanisms working to maintain body core temperature around 37°C. This ensures optimal bodily function. Disruption to core temperature however, initiates a cascade of events to return to baseline. The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of cooling strategies to induce the fastest reductions in core temperature. The study was set up as a randomized field study. Core temperature was measured using an E-Celsius core temperature capsule. Environmental conditions were measured using a Kestrel heat stress tracker. Following completion of a heat-stress protocol, participants underwent one of the four randomized cooling protocols. These cooling protocols consisted of: 1) wearing an ice vest (18°C), 2) applying an icy towel directly to the back of the neck (24°C) in combination with hand/forearm water immersion (15°C), 3) a combination of ice vest, icy towel and hand/forearm water immersion, or 4) sitting in a thermoneutral room (20°C). In all cooling interventions, participants consumed 16oz of an ice slurry (0°C) within 10 minutes of the initiation of the protocol. The control group consumed only room temperature water- ad libitum. A total of 10 active males (25 ± 3 years old) reported no difference between baseline body core temperatures after each heating intervention (P=0.23). Average core temperature and heart rate differed, though not statistically significant between treatments (P>0.05). No significant differences were noted between cooling rates (P=0.51). Skin temperature (Tsk) average and decrement was found to be statistically significant (P<0.001).
ContributorsCaballero, Rachel (Author) / Wardenaar, Floris (Thesis advisor) / Kavouras, Stavros (Committee member) / Vanos, Jennifer (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
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Nutritional supplement use by high school student athletes may pose risks of consuming prohibited or banned substances that can result in suspension of athletic participation. Currently, there is no peer-reviewed published data that exists on the use of supplements and use of third-party tested supplements for this population. When looking

Nutritional supplement use by high school student athletes may pose risks of consuming prohibited or banned substances that can result in suspension of athletic participation. Currently, there is no peer-reviewed published data that exists on the use of supplements and use of third-party tested supplements for this population. When looking at supplement use, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) can be utilized. This model was designed to determine if the intention of completing a behavior is based on three different constructs which include attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control. A pre- and post- test questionnaire was used to determine the effect of an educational intervention that was designed and developed. A total of 106 high school student athletes, ranging from 14-19 years of age from a private high school in the western US were included in the analysis of the study. The intention to use a good basic diet and intention to use nutritional supplements were both predicted by attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control and both resulted in a significant regression equation (p < .001). There was 95.3% (n=101) of athletes that reported use of at least one supplement in the last 12 months with reporting on average eight supplements ranging from 0-31 supplements. In conclusion, almost all high school student athletes reported using at least one nutritional supplement in the last 12 months, while roughly one-fourth consistently reported to use third-party tested nutritional supplements. The TPB based supplement education program resulted in the intention to change supplement behavior toward using safe third-party tested supplements more frequently at a group level.
ContributorsMorton, Lindsay (Author) / Wardenaar, Floris (Thesis advisor) / Wharton, Christopher (Committee member) / Levinson, Simin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024
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Description
Dehydration during and after exercise is prevalent in athletes. Due to a thirst mechanism that does not entirely replenish total body water lost during exercise, it is crucial to rehydrate efficiently with sufficient fluids and electrolytes to retain fluid intake. The study aimed to observe the effectiveness of rehydration with

Dehydration during and after exercise is prevalent in athletes. Due to a thirst mechanism that does not entirely replenish total body water lost during exercise, it is crucial to rehydrate efficiently with sufficient fluids and electrolytes to retain fluid intake. The study aimed to observe the effectiveness of rehydration with different commercially available drinks and plain water. The rehydration was assessed over 4 hours after a 2% exercise-induced dehydration in the heat. Rehydration was equal to 150% of fluid loss via exercise and was administered in four equal doses during the first 60 minutes of the rehydration period. The average exercise-induced dehydration was 2.11 ± 0.4%. The high sodium and potassium-containing drink, GoodSport, had significantly better rehydration at the four-hour time point (-0.44 ± .21) than in Gatorade (-0.71 ± 0.16; P = 0.0273), Body Armor (-1.00 ± 0.5; P < 0.0001), and water (-0.88 ± 0.39; P = 0.0015). Similarly, GoodSport resulted in lower urinary output than the other drinks. Results from this study indicate that the intake of a high sodium and potassium-containing sports drink after exercise improves net fluid balance more than drinks with lower electrolyte concentrations.
ContributorsBoro, Tanner (Author) / Kavouras, Stavros (Thesis advisor) / Wardenaar, Floris (Committee member) / Siegler, Jason (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
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Description
Nutritional supplements (the combination of dietary supplements, sports foods, and performance-enhancing supplements) are used by many athletes for health and/or performance-related reasons. Nutritional supplements may be contaminated with illegal substances, putting the athlete at risk of adverse health outcomes or a positive doping test. Third-party testing programs help mitigate risk

Nutritional supplements (the combination of dietary supplements, sports foods, and performance-enhancing supplements) are used by many athletes for health and/or performance-related reasons. Nutritional supplements may be contaminated with illegal substances, putting the athlete at risk of adverse health outcomes or a positive doping test. Third-party testing programs help mitigate risk by regulating the purity and safety of supplements. However, it is unknown what percentage of high school athletes are familiar with third-party testing programs and how many athletes use such programs. This study was designed to explore high school athletes’ use of nutritional supplements, whether they were third-party tested, and their attitudes and influences toward safe(r) nutritional supplement use. An online questionnaire was developed to distribute among student-athletes from a private high school in the western US, resulting in a representative sample (n=225). Ninety-four percent (n = 211) of the student-athlete population reported using at least one nutritional supplement within the past year, reporting six different supplements on average. Sports foods were used the most (87%), followed by dietary supplements (76%), and then supplements claiming to enhance performance (58%). The most frequently reported nutritional supplements were sports drinks (72%), vitamins (65%), sports bars (60%), protein powder (58%), recovery drinks (46%), and multivitamin/mineral supplements (40%). One-fourth of student-athletes reported consistent use of third-party tested supplements. Reasons for supplement use include gaining muscle (48%), improving health (46%), improving performance (44%), and losing or gaining weight (29%). Parents (45%) had the most influence on the athlete’s purchasing of supplements, followed by friends, teammates, or other family members (40%), the physician (30%), head sports coach (26%), strength and conditioning coach (25%), and athletic trainer (24%). The sports dietitian was checked by 8% of students as influential. The biggest gap in knowledge was where to find third-party tested supplements (22% knowledgeable) and where to order third-party tested supplements (25% knowledgeable). Based on the results, high school athletes would likely benefit from increased education regarding third-party testing programs and should increase their knowledge of where to find and purchase third-party tested supplements.
ContributorsLybbert, Hannah (Author) / Wardenaar, Floris (Thesis advisor) / Wharton, Christopher (Committee member) / Levinson, Simin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024
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Description
Heat acclimatization can be induced by targeting a core temperature 38.5°C for at least 60 minutes per day lasting 5 to 21 days, complementary to normal exercise activity. However, consistently meeting this threshold on consecutive days may be difficult for athletes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the

Heat acclimatization can be induced by targeting a core temperature 38.5°C for at least 60 minutes per day lasting 5 to 21 days, complementary to normal exercise activity. However, consistently meeting this threshold on consecutive days may be difficult for athletes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of four single-bout heating protocols to reach a core temperature 38.5°C. The study was set up as a non-randomized field study, factoring in the September-October outdoor desert conditions, Tempe, AZ, USA. Environmental conditions were measured using a Kestrel heat stress tracker. Protocols were constituted out of 3 elements: PAS – passive heat exposure in a tent (54±1°C), EH - exercise in hot condition with high intensity interval training (HIIT) outdoors in the heat in a tent with a ventilator (43±1°C), EM – exercise in moderate conditions with HIIT indoors (22±0.4°C). All participants performed protocols in the following order: 1) PAS 60-min; 2) EH-PAS (EH 30-min + PAS 30-min); 3) EH 60-min, and 4) EM 60-min. A cycle ergometer was used for HIIT (2-min warm-up followed by 7x2-min sprints with 2-min relative rest between sprints during the first 30 min and stationary cycling for the second 30 min), with a self-selected workload at 80-100 rpm and similar heart rate (HR) response during exercise testing for EH: 146±10, EM: 142±13, and EH-PAS: 142±13 (P>0.05). A total of 10 active male students (25±3 years old) reported no difference between protocols for baseline Tc (P=0.37) and HR (P=0.28). During the first 30-min, Tc was significantly different between protocols (average ranging from 37.3-37.6°C, P=0.01), but from a practical perspective, differences were limited. During the second 30-min session, the Tc for EH (38.5±0.4°C) and EH-PAS (38.6±0.4°C) were significantly higher from EM (38.1±0.4°C) and PAS alone (37.8±0.4°C), P<0.001. The average HR (bpm) was significantly lower in PAS (110±17) and EH (136±13) during the second half of the protocols compared to the EH (151±10) and EM (149±16), P<0.001. In conclusion, exercise alone vs. a combination of exercise and passive heating in hot conditions resulted both in a body temperature 38.5°C, but the combination was more efficient since participants exercised for only 30-minutes.
ContributorsNavarro, Sonia (Author) / Wardenaar, Floris (Thesis advisor) / Kavouras, Stavros (Committee member) / Vanos, Jennifer (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
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Description
Water is an essential nutrient that is often overlooked. As a result of this hydration status is often forgotten as well. Becoming hypohydrated puts athletes at risk of decreased performance and potentially life-threatening heat illness. Being able to self-assess hydration status is may be instrumental in helping athletes safely optimize

Water is an essential nutrient that is often overlooked. As a result of this hydration status is often forgotten as well. Becoming hypohydrated puts athletes at risk of decreased performance and potentially life-threatening heat illness. Being able to self-assess hydration status is may be instrumental in helping athletes safely optimize performance. Therefore, this study investigated, 1) the ability of an athletic population vs. trained investigators to self-diagnose underhydration, 2) the diagnostic ability of urine color (Ucol) charts as a method for diagnosing underhydration, and 3) the accuracy of participant and investigator assessments. Members of an athletic population each provided a urine sample and scored samples using both the traditional 8-color and newly developed 7-color Ucol chart. Investigators then scored the samples using the same methods. To determine the diagnostic value of the Ucol charts, Ucol scores were compared to concentration measures of Urine Specific Gravity (USG) and Urine Osmolality (Uosm). Differences in participant and investigator scores were compared using Mann-Whitney U and Spearman’s Correlation. Bland-Altman plots were drawn to assess individual differences in reporting against the mean of the two methods. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to both determine the ability of both charts to diagnose underhydration and to determine how well participants and investigators can determine their level of hydration. Athletes reported Ucol significantly lighter compared to investigators. Investigators showed no difference in reporting between the two charts but, athletes reported less than a color shade difference. The charts performed fair (8-color) to good (7-color) at diagnosing hypohydration. Athletes reported with less accuracy compared to investigators, and Ucol classification was found to be more accurate when compared to USG. Ucol charts are a practical tool to determine hydration status. Ucol scoring is similar regardless of the type of chart used. Trained investigators reported with slightly higher accuracy on both charts compared to untrained athletes. Athletes score Ucol fair to good in comparison to investigators. Ucol scoring is similar regardless of the type of chart used. The diagnostic ability of both Ucol charts is good in relation to USG. With education, athletes may be able to improve scores.
ContributorsPesek, Kathryn Margaret (Author) / Wardenaar, Floris (Thesis advisor) / Johnston, Carol (Committee member) / Yudell, Amber (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022