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Backgroun/rationale: Adults with physical disabilities are an underserved population among Americans who participate in adaptive shooting sports. A basic rifle marksmanship clinic has potential to promote a low impact outdoor physical activity for adults with physical disabilities as leisure skill development.Methods: This grant-funded service project of a therapeutic recreation (TR) graduate student utilized program design and evaluation. The specific program design included best practices for teaching basic rifle marksmanship and measured participants’ performance outcomes related to shooting skills and knowledge. A half-day rifle marksmanship clinic was conducted as a university-funded community service grant which provided rifle instructor certification, ammunition and supplies. The clinic was a collaboration between physical therapy (PT) and TR faculty and PT, OT, and TR majors.Results: All participants gained shooting knowledge and skill through this program. A shooting clinic format with classroom instruction followed by practice on a live firing range was effective. The use of a leisure partner for each participant helped sustain interest and continued support to develop skill after the clinic. Doing an in-home exercise program prior to the clinic reduced muscle soreness from the intensity of target practice in a clinic format.Conclusions: TR specialists may promote shooting sports as treatment for functional improvement or as leisure skill development. They may collaborate with physical and occupational therapy to emphasize psychosocial aspects of shooting sports.Recommendations: Shooting skills instructors could expand live fire training time at clinics, start training with virtual shooting or air or laser rifles to assess participant readiness, promote inclusive practice specific to shooting sports, and apply empowerment evaluation as a signature program strategy.

This study was performed for the purpose of comparing the magnitude of cervical vertebral separation during cervical traction in supine and seated positions using home traction units. A repeated measures design with two within-subject factors (type of traction and time) was used. Seventeen asymptomatic volunteers received cervical traction in seated and supine position. Subjects received 5 minutes of static traction in sitting or supine using a force of 13.6 kg while in 15 degrees of neck flexion. A lateral radiograph of the cervical spine was taken before traction force was applied and after five minutes of static traction. Anterior and posterior distances between the inferior border of C2 and the superior border of C7 were measured by a radiologist. After supine traction there were significant increases (p ¼ 0.001) in posterior cervical vertebral separation compared to any changes after seated traction. There were no significant changes in anterior vertebral separation during either supine or seated traction positions (p ¼ 0.769). Supine cervical traction may be more effective for increasing posterior vertebral separation than seated cervical traction.

The aim of this study was to quantify and compare mean quadriceps muscle activity and applied load for eight seated quadriceps exercises using four types of resistance.Using surface electromyography (EMG), the right rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), and vastus medialis oblique (VMO) muscles of 52 university students aged 23.5 +/- 3.4 yr (35 female and 17 male subjects) were examined during the exercises. Resistance devices included an ankle weight (78 N), blue Thera-Band tubing, a Cybex 340 isokinetic dynamometer, and an Inertial Exercise Trainer (IET). Electrogoniometer data were collected to determine the range of motion (ROM), angular velocity, and phase (concentric/eccentric) of exercise. Load cell data were analyzed to determine tubing and IET applied loads during exercise. A within-subjects criterion was used to improve intrasubject EMG reliability. All EMG values were normalized to a 100% maximum voluntary isometric contraction. Repeated measures ANOVAs with Bonferroni comparisons were used for statistical analysis.Within-subject effects of muscle and exercise were significant (P0.05) for both the concentric and eccentric muscle activity. The interaction effect of mean average EMG amplitude across exercises for the concentric phases of knee extension was significant (P = 0.001). No significant interactions were found for the eccentric phases of all seated quadriceps exercises. None of the exercises selectively isolated the VMO over the VL; however, the VMO/VL ratio was less (P0.05) during the concentric phases of the free weight and elastic tubing exercise when compared with the others. Eccentric phase VMO/VL ratios revealed that inertial resistance elicited greater muscle activity than other forms of resistance exercise.These findings suggest clinicians should consider biomechanical and resistance data when developing a strengthening program for the quadriceps muscle. Some seated quadriceps exercises may be more appropriate for certain rehabilitation goals than others.

Isokinetic testing of arm elevation in the scapular plane offers several advantages over the frontal plane. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the intraexaminer reproducibility of scapular plane (30° anterior to frontal plane) elevation peak torques using a Cybex 340 isokinetic dynamometer. Twelve female and three male (N = 15) noninjured college students were tested on three separate occasions over a six week interval. Dominant shoulder scapular plane elevation was measured with participants seated utilizing a modified abduction/adduction protocol. Testing consisted of four gradient sub-maximum to maximum warm-ups followed by five maximum repetitions at 60°/sec, 180°/sec, and 300°/sec. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) indicated that scapular plane elevation peak torques may be measured using these techniques with good reproducibility at 60°/sec (0.870) and 180°/sec (0.827), and fair reproducibility at 300°/sec (0.708). Results suggest that scapular plane arm elevation isokinetic testing should be conducted at slower angular-velocities to obtain more reproducible measurements.

Objective:To determine if females with hip abductor weakness are more likely to demonstrate greater knee abduction during the stance phase of running than a strong hip abductor group.Study Design:Observational prospective study design.Setting:University biomechanics laboratory.Participants:15 females with weak hip abductors and 15 females with strong hip abductors.Main Outcome Measures:Group differences in lower extremity kinematics were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA with one between factor of group and one within factor of position with a significance value of P < .05.Results:The subjects with weak hip abductors demonstrated greater knee abduction during the stance phase of treadmill running than the strong group (P < .05). No other significant differences were found in the sagittal or frontal plane measurements of the hip, knee, or pelvis.Conclusions:Hip abductor weakness may influence knee abduction during the stance phase of running.

Background and Purpose. To assess iflifting performance can be modified and spine stresses reduced in workers who perform repetitive material-handlingjobs in a warehouse environment via a novel real-time, movement-based feedback training protocol. Method. A pre-testlpost-test group study design was used with a control group. Data were collected in a warehouse setting and analysed in a university setting. A conve­ nience sample of22 male warehouse employees was divided equally, based on height and weight, and assigned to either an experimental group or a control group. The experimental group received real-time, performance-based auditory feedback from their calculated moments during lifting or lowering using an electromagnetic tracking system. The electro­ magnetic tracking system was used to measure the side-bending, flexion and rotation moments during six lifts under four different conditions. A series of repeated-measures analyses ofvariance (ANOVA) (one between (Group); one within (Time)) was performed on the average maximum moments from six lifting or lowering cycles for all three direc­ tions: side-bending, flexion and rotation. Results. There were significant group X time interactions for the side-bending moment (p 0.05). Lower moments were found in the experimental group, whichreceivedthetrainingandfeedback, compared-tothecontrolgroup. Conclusions. Real­ time, auditory feedback combined with coaching during lifting or lowering tasks may be effective in the short term (six weeks) in reducing the average maximum side-bending and flexion moments in warehouse workers. Further research is needed to determine the long­ term effects ofthis trainingprotocolon low backinjury rates. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Talk Test has been shown to be well correlated with the ventilatory threshold, with accepted guidelines for exercise prescription, and with the ischemic threshold. As such, it appears to be a valuable although quite simple method of exercise prescription. In this study, we evaluate the consistency of the Talk Test by comparing responses during different modes of exercise.Healthy volunteers (N = 16) performed incremental exercise, on both treadmill and cycle ergometer. Trials were performed with respiratory gas exchange and while performing the Talk Test. Comparisons were made regarding the correspondence of the last positive, equivocal, and first negative stages of the Talk Test with ventilatory threshold.The %VO2peak, %VO2 reserve, %HRpeak, and %HR reserve at ventilatory threshold on treadmill versus cycle ergometer (77%, 75%. 89%, and 84% vs 67%, 64%, 82%, and 74%) were not significantly different than the equivocal stage of the Talk Test (83%, 82%, 86%, and 80% vs 73%, 70%, 87%, and 81%). The VO2 at ventilatory threshold and the last positive, equivocal and negative stages of the Talk Test were well correlated during treadmill and cycle ergometer exercise.The results support the hypothesis that the Talk Test approximates ventilatory threshold on both treadmill and cycle. At the point where speech first became difficult, exercise intensity was almost exactly equivalent to ventilatory threshold. When speech was not comfortable, exercise intensity was consistently above ventilatory threshold. These results suggest that the Talk Test may be a highly consistent method of exercise prescription.

Dietary administration of tyrosine (0.25–2.50%) to rats whose kidneys were bilaterally encapsulated with latex envelopes provided modest protection against the development of hypertension. Elevation of blood pressure was slower (one experiment) and maximal level attained was reduced (two experiments) compared to untreated, renal encapsulated controls. In addition, the polydipsia, polyuria, and reduced renal concentrating ability characteristically accompanying hypertension were attenuated. The mechanism(s) accounting for the partial protection against hypertension reported here is unknown although administration of tyrosine was accompanied by a reduced cardiovascular responsiveness to graded doses of phenylephrine.

SUMMARY 1. Hypertension developed within 5 weeks in uninephrectomized rats administered deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA, 30 mg/kg, s.c., weekly) and given isotonic saline to drink. Chronic dietary administration of tryptophan (50 g/kg food) reduced intake of saline solution and prevented the elevation of systolic blood pressure induced by treatment with DOCA alone. 2. Treatment with tryptophan also protected against the reduction in urinary concentrating ability during a 24 h dehydration that is characteristic of DOCA-treated rats. 3. Other tests were carried out to assess the responsiveness to the β-adrenergic agonist, isoproterenol. The tests included measurement of drinking and heart rate following acute administration of isoproterenol. The characteristically depressed drinking response of DOCA-treated rats to acute administration of isoproterenol was returned to that of untreated controls by chronic treatment with tryptophan. However, the reduced chronotropic response of the heart of DOCA-treated rats to administration of isoproterenol was unaffected. 4. The cardiac hypertrophy characteristic of DOCA-treatment was attenuated significantly by chronic treatment with tryptophan. 5. These results suggest that tryptophan provides significant protection against the development of DOCA-induced hypertension, polydipsia, and cardiac hypertrophy in rats. The mechanism by which tryptophan protects is unknown and requires additional study.