Pearsontown Elementary Visits the K-Lab

The Michael W. Krzyzewski Human Performance Lab had some very special visitors on October 21,2005. A group of approximately 20 elementary school children who are involved with the Coach K Drive for Fitness came to tour the lab and learn a little more about how their bodies work.

Following a short introduction and an explanation of the important aspects of the Drive to Fitness (getting enough sleep, eating right, exercising just to name a few), the K-Lab research staff began to explain some of the testing they do with the athletes and subjects that come to the K-Lab.

The first piece of equipment that was explained was the Motion Analysis system, which consists of eight digital cameras that record the movement of reflective markers.

One of the Pearsontown kids was chosen to be the subject and she had the reflective markers placed on different anatomic landmarks as the different bones in the body were discussed with the rest of the group. Once all of the markers were in place, we had the "subject" do some different tasks as the rest of the group watched the stick figure on the computer screen.

While the "subject" was dancing and having a good time, we asked the rest of the group questions about what they thought different bones and joints were doing while she was completing the tasks.

The next thing we talked about were muscles. We discussed where different muscles were located and what the children thought caused muscles to move. Then we asked for another volunteer so that we could demonstrate how the EMG (electromyography) equipment worked. We explained to the group that EMG was used to monitor the electrical activation of the muscles in the body so

that we could determine differences in activation patterns or strength of activation in an attempt to better understand injuries and to try and prevent injuries.

The volunteer had electrodes placed on both their biceps as well as their gastrocnemius muscle so that the group could watch as the activation pattern changed between the two muscles depending on the activities that the volunteer was doing.

Once we had finished explaining the EMG and two of the children were able to be "subjects" we moved on to working with the Biodex.

We explained to the group that the Biodex is used to monitor strength (Force) and torque. We had two of the girls "strapped" into the Biodex and allowed them to be tested in a similar manner to one of the research studies which is currently being conducted. We had both of the volunteers "kick-out" (extension) and "pull-back (flexion) five times as hard as they could. The subjects were performing flexion and extension of the knee and were using their quadriceps muscles as well as their hamstring muscles in order to complete the tasks.

The students then explained to us how difficult it was for them to contract those muscles and make the machine move. We then discussed why it is so important to keep moving so that our bones and muscles can work and make us stronger.

In addition to the K-Lab staff there were a group of Duke Athletes that joined us for varying portions of the presentation. These athletes ranged from Men's and Women's basketball to soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, and baseball. The kids were given the chance to ask the athletes questions about injuries that the athletes had sustained over their careers as well as how the athletes were able to recover from their injuries.

The students involved with the Drive to Fitness were really excited to see all of the equipment as well as to talk with the athletes and to ask questions. Following the question and answer session with the athletes, we covered just a few more topics included body composition measures, heart rate, and VO2 max.

We started with body composition measurements and asked the students how much they thought that a classmate weighed as well as how much body fat they thought their classmate had. Once the guesses were all in,

we had one volunteer get into the BodPod and have their body composition measured. While the number was not accurate because the machine is not designed for children, the students still really enjoyed the process and even convinced one of the athletes to have his body fat measured.

Finally, one of the athletes was asked to volunteer to show how the VO2 max equipment worked, including heart rate monitoring. The students were able to see how the athlete's heart rate changed as she worked harder as well as how her VO2 max changed.

The entire K-Lab enjoyed the opportunity to work and interact with these children that are involved with the Coach K Drive to Fitness. We encouraged them to continue working hard in school as well as with their program to eat right, exercise and get enough sleep every night. We hope that the K-Lab can continue in the future to be a reward for the Drive to Fitness students as they meet and exceed their goals.

Spine Board Training for Athletic Trainers

Duke Sports Medicine Physical Therapy sponsors

Spine Boarding In-service.

The Duke Sports Medicine Physical Therapy clinic sponsored an in-service for Athletic Trainers who were interested in learning or brushing up on spine boarding techniques specifically in football. With some of the physical therapists and athletic trainers helping with high school football in the Durham area, Duke Sports Medicine (Physical Therapy) felt that it would be a good idea to review the proper procedures for removing the face mask of a football helmet as well as placing someone on a spine board and strapping them on to the board.

With one of the therapists serving as a volunteer, one of the members of the Durham EMS paramedic group helped the therapists and trainers understand proper placement on the spine board as well as the proper method for moving the athlete around once they were on the board.

Then the therapists and trainers worked on moving the athlete as a unit, always controlled by the person at the head. Finally they strapped their volunteer on to the spine board.

The therapists and trainers seemed to enjoy reviewing this very important information and the K-Lab was glad to be able to provide the space they needed in order to practice.