Graduate Student Research Spotlight

Takeshi (Dillon) Barnes, ATC, CAT(C), CSCS

Mentor: Chris Taber, Ph.D.

Echo intensity is determined by taking a specific region of interest from an ultrasound image and calculating its average pixel intensity. Two leading mechanisms to explain acute changes in echo intensity are the presence of inflammation and changes in muscle glycogen levels. By using a downhill running versus flat running protocol, I hope to determine if echo intensity reliably reflects changes in muscle glycogen status or if inflammation impedes our ability to ascribe the changes to a single mechanism. I chose to study this topic because I am interested in muscle physiology and energy metabolism. Additionally, I wanted to put forward something that could be useful for sports practitioners. Ultrasound is quick, noninvasive, and with a clearer understanding of what fluctuations in echo intensity represent physiologically, we will have a better sense of how it might be used in athlete monitoring.

Christian Corona, LAT, ATC

Mentor: Matt Moran, Ph.D.

The triple hop for distance is commonly utilized as RTS criteria in athletes recovering from ACL rehabilitation surgery. Typically only the total hop distance and qualitative movement assessment are utilized for RTS decision making. Use of wearable tibial inertial measurement units with triaxial accelerometers have been previously reported to reliably measure tibial acceleration metrics in the performance of a single leg hop and hold, however, no previous report has investigated their usage in the triple hop for distance. We are looking to establish reliability and then investigate bilateral asymmetries which will then be used to establish % thresholds which can be used in RTS decision making.