Sports Medicine Center

Research mission

The research mission of the Sports Medicine Center is to investigate aspects of sports injury evaluation, treatment, and prevention in order to provide optimal treatment to those involved in sports- or fitness-related activities. Recent work has addressed such subjects as facial protection for hockey players, shock absorption in running shoes, and shoulder stability.

Recent research

The Sports Medicine Center staff conducts numerous studies into physical and psychological issues affecting recreational, amateur, and professional athletes. Some current areas of research interest include:

• The effect of motivational videotapes on medical costs and caregivers' time in acute and chronic low back pain
• Bone mineral density in female athletes as a function of complete anterior cruciate ligament tear and type of intervention
• The effect of foot orthoses on posterior tibialis, tibialis anterior, and peroneus longus muscle electromyographic activity during walking and running
• Shock absorption attenuation of common athletic running shoes
• Effect of temperature on shock absorption characteristics of common running shoes
• An in-depth assessment of the "yips" phenomenon of a male golfer
• The physical and psychosocial predictors of outcome in ACL reconstruction
• The reliability of standing tibiocalcaneal (hindfoot) measurements: phase II
• Optimizing scapular stabilizer muscle activity
• Effect of shoulder protraction on isometric and isokinetic shoulder rotation strength
• Development of a computer-based musculoskeletal physical examination skills curriculum
• Psychophysiologic responses of interventional cardiologists in autonomous and teaching roles