Award Date

5-1-2025

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Interdisciplinary Programs

First Committee Member

Julia Freedman Silvernail

Second Committee Member

Brach Poston

Third Committee Member

Brian K. Schilling

Fourth Committee Member

Chad Cross

Number of Pages

87

Abstract

In 2022, 31% of the global population were considered physically inactive. Running and walking are two forms of natural human locomotion that are both sufficient and easily accessible ways to meet the physical activity guidelines. Running is a popular activity; however, many individuals who participate are faced with overuse injuries. These injuries are caused by repetitive ground reaction forces (vGRF) applied with each foot-strike. Evidence has reported that runners who get injured do not replace running with another form of physical activity. This causes a cycle of physical inactivity to develop that is difficult to break out from. When considering populations that are currently inactive, walking is an approachable form of improving health and fitness. Walking has lower vGRFs associated, but for those who are currently inactive, walking can cause overloading issues at their lower extremity. Discomfort and low self-confidence have been reported to be reasons for early physical activity program dropouts. For both running and walking, providing bodyweight support can minimize potential discomfort and be supplemented in training programs. The Lower body positive pressure treadmill (LBPPT) is a tool that works to provide air pressure and reduce the vGRFs that during both running and walking. However, the LBPPT is a novel environment for many participants, and many previous investigations have focused on short trials. The disagreements regarding LBPPT findings may be attributed to the lack of consideration of this effect, or an accommodation period. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the presence of an accommodation period during LBPPT running and walking across two populations. The series of studies assessed the effect of prolonged running and walking on the LBPPT to understand the influence on devices on gait. The LBPPT causes changes to preferred movement patterns that cause inconsistencies in both running and walking gait. We were able to identify the point of accommodation during both exercises and provide a framework for utilizing the LBPPT for training.

Keywords

Accommodation; Bodyweight Support; Running; Walking

Disciplines

Biomechanics | Medicine and Health Sciences

File Format

pdf

File Size

1241 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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Available for download on Saturday, May 15, 2032


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