Effect of Therapeutic Tape on Upper Extremity Reaction Time

Authors: Scott L. Bruce, EdD, AT, ATC
Siobhan Fagan M.Ed, AT, ATC, CSCS
Cody Cummins, AT, ATC
Brooke Kidd, AT, ATC,
Jasmin Harvey, ATC
Wright State University

Corresponding Author:
Scott L. Bruce, EdD, AT, ATC
Assistant Professor/Director of Research
Wright State University
3680 Colonel Glenn Hwy
Dayton, OH 45435
937-245-7622
scott.bruce@wright.edu

Scott Bruce is an Assistant Professor and the Director of Research for the Athletic Training Program at Wright State University.

Effect of Therapeutic Tape on Upper Extremity Reaction Time

ABSTRACT
The athletic training literature is lacking when comparing therapeutic tapes applied to the shoulder. The effect of these tapes on pain and range of motion have been studied, but their effect on reaction time has not. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the use of therapeutic taping has an effect on shoulder reaction time as assessed on a Dynavision™ unit. A single-blind, randomized control trial design was implemented. Participants included 23 male and 33 female, physically-active, college-aged, volunteer students. Baseline tests were performed on the Dynavision™ consisting of one warm-up activity and three reaction time tests. Participants returned a minimum of two weeks later and were randomly assigned to receive either Kinesio Tape®, RockTape or a sham tape applied to the slowest, baseline tested, shoulder. All tapes were applied by the same certified athletic trainer trained in both Kinesio Tape® and RockTape applications. Participants were blind folded to prevent them from seeing which tape was being applied. At the conclusion of the tape application participants rested for a minimum of 30 minutes, as per manufacturers’ recommendations, before repeating the same set of Dynavision™ tests. A chi-square test found no statistical differences across the three tape groups (2 = 0.426, p = 0.808). A paired t-test was used to assess each of the five different testing conditions for both shoulders of which 18 were the three different taped conditions. Although the RockTape condition was found to have the greatest difference in mean time across all three tests, only 4 of the 18 taped conditions assessed reached statistical significance. These results suggest, regarding shoulder reaction time, RockTape may be more beneficial than Kinesio Tape® or a sham tape.

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2016-11-29T09:25:31-06:00January 12th, 2017|General|Comments Off on Effect of Therapeutic Tape on Upper Extremity Reaction Time

Leadership: Athletes and Coaches in Sport

Authors: Dr. Sharon P. Misasi*, Dr. Gary Morin and Lauren Kwasnowski

Dr. Sharon P. Misasi is a Professor of Exercise Science at Southern Connecticut State University. Dr. Gary Morin is a Professor of Exercise Science, Assistant Athletic Trainer and Program Director of the Athletic Training Education Program. Lauren Kwasnowski is a Research assistant for this study, undergraduate student in the Allied Health Program at the University of Connecticut and a member/captain of the UCONN Division I Lacrosse team.

*Corresponding Author:
Sharon P. Misasi PhD, AT.
Southern Connecticut State University
501 Crescent Street
PE 002B
New Haven CT 06515
misasis1@southernct.edu

ABSTRACT
This study investigated the interpersonal aspects and perceptions of the coach-athlete relationship as it pertains to collegiate athletes at Division I and II universities and athletes and coaches of different genders. Electronic surveys were emailed to 50 NCAA Division I and 50 Division II head coaches in the Northeast. Coaches were requested to respond to the survey and email the athlete survey to their respective athletes. These surveys were completed by both coaches and athletes: Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire (CART-Q), Leadership Scale for Sports (LSS). The final instrument, Coaching Behavior Scale for Sports (CBS-S), was completed by only the athletes. There were no significant differences found with the CART-Q. The LSS illustrated several areas of significances in the categories of Training, Democratic Behavior, Autocratic Behavior and Social Support. Although there was no significance found in Positive Feedback there was an interesting finding in that female coaches felt they were less likely to provide positive feedback than their male counterparts. The CBS-S has subscales which include: physical training and planning, technical skills, mental preparation, competition strategies, personal rapport and negative personal rapport. Statistical significance was found in the following subscales: competition strategies, personal rapport and negative personal rapport. The coach is a meaningful person in the lives of athletes and the role they play is vital in the athlete’s sport experience. Our results indicate that the level of competitive division appears to play a role in how athletes perceive their coaches and how coaches perceive themselves. In addition, gender differences among coaches’ affect responses of the athletes and the coaches. Leadership is not a simple process. There is no one way to lead and what works for one may not work for all. Therefore, the best one can do is get to know their athletes and work hard to understand their goals, motivations and needs.

KEYWORDS: Coaching, Effective Leadership, Successful Leadership

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2016-06-14T15:30:09-05:00July 1st, 2016|Contemporary Sports Issues, General, Leadership, Research, Sports Coaching, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off on Leadership: Athletes and Coaches in Sport

An Investigation into Factors that Contribute to the Perception of Disparities between Academic Achievement and Athletic Participation in High School Student-Athletes

Submitted by Dr. Kechia Seabrooks Rowles*(1)
(1)Athletic Coordinator for Rockdale County Public Schools in Conyers, Ga.

*Corresponding Author
Dr. Kechia Seabrooks Rowles
United States Sports Academy
85 Fox Glove Drive
Covington, GA 30016
krowles@rockdale.k12.ga.us

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to analyze and compare various factors that contribute to the attitudes and perceptions held by public high school student- athletes towards academic achievement. During the 2014-2015 academic year, 323 student-athletes completed a 110 question survey packet that included, the Non Cognitive Questionnaire (NCQ), the Athletic Identity Measure Scale (AIMS), the Student Athletic Motivation Survey and Questionnaire (SAMSAQ), the Student-Athlete Role Conflict Scale and the Sport Commitment Model (SCM), providing information about different aspects of the academic achievement and athletic participation relationship, including level of educational aspirations and academic self-concept, the internal struggle between the student and athlete identity complexes, and motivational drives of student-athletes. Student Participation was strictly voluntary and contingent upon the willingness of coaches and parental consent. Student-athletes generally viewed themselves as student-athletes and believed it is worth the effort to achieve athletic success but not at the expense of their academic performance. Analysis showed that gender may play a statistically significant role in student-athletes’ perception of academic performance and athletic participation while grade level, age and race were less meaningful. The researcher hopes these findings may encourage further research, and potentially aid parents, coaches, counselors and teachers in assisting student athletes with maintaining a balance between academics and athletics.
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2016-04-29T13:05:13-05:00December 31st, 2015|Contemporary Sports Issues, General, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off on An Investigation into Factors that Contribute to the Perception of Disparities between Academic Achievement and Athletic Participation in High School Student-Athletes

Effect of Mental Training on the Performance of College Age Distance Runners

Submitted by Michael P. Spino1*, William F. Straub2*

1* Sports Administration, Kinesiology and Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303

2*Department of Psychology, Tompkins Cortland Community College, Dryden, NY 13053
wstraub7314@gmail.com

Michael P. Spino was born in New Jersey but has spent most of his adult years working in Atlanta, Georgia. He is an excellent track coach having coached at Georgia Tech and Life University. His teams have won many state and national championships. Recently he earned his doctoral degree at Lille2 University, Lille, France. Presently, he is teaching part-time at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

William F. Straub was born in Catskill, New York. He is a retired professor of kinesiology and sport psychology. He has published extensively in scholarly journals and now has a small private practice in sport psychology. He is a USOC certified sport psychology consultant. He received his PhD degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI and a Master’s degree in clinical psychology from the new School for Social Research in NYC.

ABSTRACT

The purpose was to determine if Event Rehearsal Imagery (ERI) and Internal guided Imagery with Distractions (IGID) resulted in improvements in the running performance of college students. The participants (N = 74) were students at Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya. Cooper’s 12 min run test was used to assess running performance. Following 8-weeks of training, findings indicated that there was a statistically significant difference (0.05 level) in running performance between the Event Rehearsal Imagery (n = 29), Event Rehearsal Imagery with Distractions (n = 16) and the Control group (n = 29). Overall, there was a significant mean difference in running among male (n = 47) and female (n = 27 participants).

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2014-11-12T10:54:32-06:00November 12th, 2014|Contemporary Sports Issues, General, Sports Exercise Science|Comments Off on Effect of Mental Training on the Performance of College Age Distance Runners

Differences in Collegiate Athlete Nutrition Knowledge as Determined by Athlete Characteristics

Submitted by Allisha M. Weeden, Janette Olsen, John M. Batacan, Teri Peterson

Allisha M. Weeden is an Assistant Professor in the Dietetic Programs at Idaho State University.  Janette Olsen is an Assistant Professor in Health Education at Idaho State University.  John M. Batacan is an Assistant Professor in Health Education at Idaho State University.  Teri Peterson is an Assistant Professor in the College of Business at Idaho State University.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE:  To identify nutrition knowledge based on collegiate sport, where nutrition knowledge was lacking, and specific nutrition related concerns of collegiate athletes.

METHODS: The cross-sectional study evaluated responses to a 65-item written questionnaire.   Participants (n=174; female=88, male=86) competed in 13 different NCAA sanctioned sports.  Nutrition knowledge scores calculated from the number of nutrition knowledge questions correct then converted to a percent from the number of questions correctly answered.  Frequencies, Chi-square, and t-tests were used to report and compare nutrition knowledge scores.

RESULTS: The mean nutrition knowledge score of participants was 56.4% ± 13.4%.  Higher nutrition knowledge scores were associated with completion of a collegiate nutrition course (p = 0.015), participation in individual sports (p = 0.043), and citation of healthcare professionals as the primary source of nutrition information (p = 0.008).  Forty-two percent reported nutrition concerns related to what and how to eat healthy.

CONCLUSIONS:  Collegiate athletes lacked nutrition knowledge and expressed concerns surrounding what and how to eat healthy.  Completion of a collegiate level nutrition course may benefit collegiate athletes, especially those that do not have access to a Registered Dietitian (RD).

APPLICATIONS IN SPORT: Collegiate athletes, athletic departments, and even universities all benefit from successful sports teams.  Nutrition can be a big part of success and the use of a RD to educate athletes ensures appropriate nutrition knowledge is provided.  For universities with financial constraints collegiate level nutrition courses and small group cooking classes taught by an RD may still benefit collegiate athletes.

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2016-10-12T15:12:18-05:00October 14th, 2014|Contemporary Sports Issues, General, Sports Nutrition|Comments Off on Differences in Collegiate Athlete Nutrition Knowledge as Determined by Athlete Characteristics
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