Term of Award

Spring 2020

Degree Name

Master of Science, Kinesiology - Exercise Science Concentration

Document Type and Release Option

Thesis (open access)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

Department of Health Sciences and Kinesiology

Committee Chair

Samuel Wilson

Committee Member 1

Jessica Mutchler

Committee Member 2

Barry Munkasy

Committee Member 3

Li Li

Committee Member 3 Email

lili@georgiasouthern.edu

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The sport of cheerleading requires that athletes perform with a high degree of flexibility, strength, endurance, and balance. The leading injury in cheerleading is a lateral, inversion, ankle sprain. As footwear serves as an interface between the foot and the surrounding environment, characteristics of shoes should be monitored to determine the effects on proprioceptive communication. No previous literature was found that examined the biomechanical differences between “Old” and “New” shoes in collegiate cheerleaders. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the biomechanical differences exhibited by collegiate cheerleaders while performing balance testing and step-down, landing tasks in “old” and “new” cheer shoes. METHODS: Participants included 5 male and 20 female collegiate cheerleaders (19.88 ± 1.36 years; 61.94 ± 9.33 kg; 162.70 ± 6.68 cm). Sixteen anatomical retroreflective markers were placed on each participants’ lower extremities. Participants completed randomized trials of ten balance conditions as well as step-down tasks consisting of a leveled and a tilted platform. Data collected from two days of testing was used for analysis. RESULTS: Analyses revealed no statistical significance for postural sway measures between “Old” and “New” shoes (p>.05). Analyses revealed a statistically significant interaction between shoe and condition when examining the ankle joint angle during step-down tasks (F(1,24)=12.070, p=.002). Further investigation revealed main effects of both shoe (F(1,24)=85.541, p

OCLC Number

1157288005

Research Data and Supplementary Material

No

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