Despite the perceived protection of semi-rigid ankle orthoses (SRAO), coaches and clinicians are often concerned with the restriction that the SRAO may pose on functional performance. The purpose of this study was to ...Despite the perceived protection of semi-rigid ankle orthoses (SRAO), coaches and clinicians are often concerned with the restriction that the SRAO may pose on functional performance. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of SRAO on performance-selected tasks, following fatiguing activity. Twenty active, college-age subjects (22.7 ± 1.2 years;weight 71.7 ± 13.0 kg;height 171.7 ± 9.4 cm), without lower extremity trauma within 2 years, consented participation. Randomized trials for balance (star excursion balance test (SEBT)), agility (shuttle run (SR)), and power (vertical jump (VJ)) were compared between 4 conditions [fatigued, braced (FB);fatigued, un-braced (FUB);non-fatigued, braced (NFB);non-fatigued, un-braced (NFUB)]. Participants were bilaterally fitted with a well-known, commercially available SRAO for all braced trials. Two Wingate supramaximal exercise bouts were used as the fatiguing protocol. RMANOVA was performed for each functional test to determine main effects (SPSS, IL;α = 0.05 for all tests). No main effects for VJ & SR were observed under any of the bracing conditions. Main effect for bracing was observed for the SEBT. Tukey pairwise comparisons revealed that there were significant increases in distance reached for the posterior-medial direction (NFB = 0.91 cm ± 0.2;FB = 0.95 ± 0.2;p = 0.046) and medial direction (NFB = 0.74 cm ± 0.1;FB = 0.79 ± 0.1;p = 0.039) during the braced conditions. Although subjects reported that the SRAO restricted ROM during most SEBT directions involving inversion and eversion, overall performance was not hindered by the application of the brace. Further, the only main effects observed with functional performance involved increases in SEBT that could likely be attributed to comfort and confidence of motion while wearing an ankle device. It was concluded that articulated SRAO effectively limits ankle mobility, but does not appear to hinder athletic performance following a fatiguing bout.展开更多
For individuals with lower extremity injury or disability, upper body exercise provides a mechanism of functional mobility training, car-diovascular fitness, as well as a means for clinical fitness assessment. However...For individuals with lower extremity injury or disability, upper body exercise provides a mechanism of functional mobility training, car-diovascular fitness, as well as a means for clinical fitness assessment. However, the validity of fitness assessment relies on the efficacy of di-agnostic tools and measures in order to provide meaningful data to clinicians. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if the SciFitTMPro II Arm Ergometer, a widely available upper body ergometer (UBE), is a reliable device for the determination of VO2Peak in fit able-bodied swimmers. Eight trained male swimmers (28 ± 9 yrs) performed two incremental protocols VO2Peak consisting of a 4-min warm-up at 15 W followed by 2 min at 50 W and progressing 10 W every 2 min until volitional exhaustion. There was a linear relationship between workload and VO2 in all trials (R = 0.96;p ≤ 0.01) while Cronbach’s alpha for test-retest reliability for VO2 was 0.98. In conclusion, the UBE is an accurate and reliable device for determination of VO2Peak in trained swimmers, and further may be a viable alternative trainingVO2Peak injured athlete.展开更多
文摘Despite the perceived protection of semi-rigid ankle orthoses (SRAO), coaches and clinicians are often concerned with the restriction that the SRAO may pose on functional performance. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of SRAO on performance-selected tasks, following fatiguing activity. Twenty active, college-age subjects (22.7 ± 1.2 years;weight 71.7 ± 13.0 kg;height 171.7 ± 9.4 cm), without lower extremity trauma within 2 years, consented participation. Randomized trials for balance (star excursion balance test (SEBT)), agility (shuttle run (SR)), and power (vertical jump (VJ)) were compared between 4 conditions [fatigued, braced (FB);fatigued, un-braced (FUB);non-fatigued, braced (NFB);non-fatigued, un-braced (NFUB)]. Participants were bilaterally fitted with a well-known, commercially available SRAO for all braced trials. Two Wingate supramaximal exercise bouts were used as the fatiguing protocol. RMANOVA was performed for each functional test to determine main effects (SPSS, IL;α = 0.05 for all tests). No main effects for VJ & SR were observed under any of the bracing conditions. Main effect for bracing was observed for the SEBT. Tukey pairwise comparisons revealed that there were significant increases in distance reached for the posterior-medial direction (NFB = 0.91 cm ± 0.2;FB = 0.95 ± 0.2;p = 0.046) and medial direction (NFB = 0.74 cm ± 0.1;FB = 0.79 ± 0.1;p = 0.039) during the braced conditions. Although subjects reported that the SRAO restricted ROM during most SEBT directions involving inversion and eversion, overall performance was not hindered by the application of the brace. Further, the only main effects observed with functional performance involved increases in SEBT that could likely be attributed to comfort and confidence of motion while wearing an ankle device. It was concluded that articulated SRAO effectively limits ankle mobility, but does not appear to hinder athletic performance following a fatiguing bout.
文摘For individuals with lower extremity injury or disability, upper body exercise provides a mechanism of functional mobility training, car-diovascular fitness, as well as a means for clinical fitness assessment. However, the validity of fitness assessment relies on the efficacy of di-agnostic tools and measures in order to provide meaningful data to clinicians. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if the SciFitTMPro II Arm Ergometer, a widely available upper body ergometer (UBE), is a reliable device for the determination of VO2Peak in fit able-bodied swimmers. Eight trained male swimmers (28 ± 9 yrs) performed two incremental protocols VO2Peak consisting of a 4-min warm-up at 15 W followed by 2 min at 50 W and progressing 10 W every 2 min until volitional exhaustion. There was a linear relationship between workload and VO2 in all trials (R = 0.96;p ≤ 0.01) while Cronbach’s alpha for test-retest reliability for VO2 was 0.98. In conclusion, the UBE is an accurate and reliable device for determination of VO2Peak in trained swimmers, and further may be a viable alternative trainingVO2Peak injured athlete.
