Term of Award

2004

Degree Name

Master of Science in Public Health

Document Type and Release Option

Thesis (restricted to Georgia Southern)

Department

Department of Public Health

Committee Chair

Bryan L. Riemann

Committee Member 1

A. Barry Joyner

Committee Member 2

Susan Geisler

Committee Member 3

Barry A. Munkasy

Abstract

Objective: Low back dysfunction is one of the most common problems in people and often causes those suffering to alter their kinematics to become more comfortable. But, before motion in pathological patients can be analyzed to determine the deficiency, normal data must first be established. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to establish normative data in healthy female athletes by analyzing the motion ofthe thigh to pelvis and trunk to pelvis segments during different activities. Subjects: Thirty Division I collegiate varsity out of season female soccer and volleyball players (mass=67.9±7.9 kg, height=169.2+7.5 cm, age=19.6±1.4 years). Design and Setting: Natural double leg stance and single leg stance (dominant limb) were completed and the distance of the thigh to pelvis and trunk to pelvis segments as measured by an electromagnetic tracking system. The participants then performed a landing and lateral step-down task. Results: Results of the RMANOVAs revealed interactions between all of the dependent variables except when comparing the single leg stance to the double leg stance in the sagittal plane. There were differences in the frontal and transverse planes, but not the sagittal plane when changing positions from a double leg to a single leg stance. The data from this study also suggest that during the jump and step-down tasks the majority of the motion took place with thigh to pelvis flexion. Discussion: From the analysis of the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex we determined the normal gluteus medius lurch for normal female collegiate athletes was 6.88°, so anything greater than this can be determined abnormal or pathological. Future research projects could analyze the muscle activation that is causing the motions of the thigh to pelvis and trunk to pelvis segments during the tasks. Other projects could also analyze pathological athletes within this pool of subjects to see if there is a difference in the quality of motion. Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrated there are many unanswered questions about the kinematics of the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex. This research has just begun to address the subject of the kinematics of the pelvis relative to the thigh and trunk during flexion/extension, abduction/adduction, and medial lateral rotation motions for the dynamic limb task.

Copyright

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