The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationships between neuromuscular function and functional balance performance in firefighters. Fifty career firefighters (35.1 ± 7.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The aim of this research was to determine the relationship among protein (PRO) intake, body composition, and muscle strength in overweight and obese firefighters. A secondary objective was to evaluate differences in body composition and muscle strength among overweight and obese firefighters with low (L; < 0.8 g·kg), moderate (M; 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClin Physiol Funct Imaging
September 2017
Objective: The purpose of this investigation was to (i) assess the test-retest reliability and minimum difference (MD) values of air-displacement plethysmography (ADP) and the Siri 3-compartment (3-C) model in a mobile trailer, and (ii) identify any environmental fluctuations in the trailer.
Methods: percent body fat (%BF) was examined in 22 firefighters on two separate days in a climate-controlled mobile trailer using ADP. Total body water was examined in a subset of participants (n = 12) using bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy (BIS) to determine %BF using Siri's 3-C model.
Ultrasound echo intensity (EI) values are a popular assessment of muscle quality. The relationship between EI and total (%fat) and regional (%fat) body composition was examined in 40 men, prior to and after accounting for subcutaneous fat thickness. Uncorrected EI values suggest that muscle quality improves (r = -0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAchilles tendon (AT) properties change with age, however the extent to which aging influences the size of the AT may be influenced by the measurement technique. The purpose of this study was to 1) examine the age-related differences in AT size using measures of cross-sectional area (CSA) and thickness, and 2) to determine the test-retest reliability and minimum difference (MD) values of these measures. The size of the AT was examined in 19 young (19.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of this study was to examine the influence of lower extremity muscular size and quality on stair-climb performance (SCP) in career firefighters. Forty-six male career firefighters (age = 37.0 ± 7.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe reflection of an ultrasound (US) wave is strongest when the propagation direction of the wave is perpendicular to muscle fascicles. Thus, it is possible that muscle echo intensity (EI), a gray-scale US measure of muscle quality, may be influenced by the angulation of muscle fascicles. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine if age-related differences in muscle EI values are influenced by differences in pennation angle (PA).
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