Publications by authors named "Nicole J Chimera"

Article Synopsis
  • Traditional sports grouping is based on chronological age, which can cause disparities in competition due to physical maturity differences among athletes born in the same year.
  • This can affect various aspects of sports, including talent selection, skill development, and risk of injury.
  • Biobanding offers a solution by organizing athletes based on their growth and maturation stages, potentially benefiting both early and late-maturing athletes.
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Background: Injuries during elite level competition like the Canada Games, occur frequently and injury history is one of the strongest predictors of future injury; however, this association is unknown in the Canada Games.

Purpose: To determine the association between injury history and incidence of lower extremity joint injury during Canada Games competition.

Methods: Data from the 2009 - 2019 Canada Games (8710 male and 8391 female athletes) competitions were de-identified by the Canada Games Council for analysis.

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Background: The Canada Games are a national level competition held every two years alternating between Summer and Winter Games. Participation in elite level athletics, like the Canada Games, have an inherent risk of injury and illness.

Purpose: To analyze the incidence and characteristics of injuries and illnesses during Canada Games competitions from 2009-2019 (primarily) and to understand sex differences in odds of musculoskeletal injury for Summer and Winter Canada Games athletes (secondarily).

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate anthropometry and forearm muscle activity as predictors of maximal isometric wrist torque. Thirteen anthropometric measures, forearm electromyography from flexor carpi radialis (FCR) and extensor carpi radialis (ECR), and maximal isometric wrist flexion/extension torque were obtained from 25 male participants. Pearson correlation coefficients assessed relationships between peak isometric torque and: (1) anthropometrics, (2) FCR and ECR activation, (3) FCR/ECR antagonist/agonist coactivation ratios.

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Context: The lower quarter Y-Balance Test (YBT-LQ) is associated with injury risk; however, ankle range of motion impacts YBT-LQ. Arch height and foot sensation impact static balance, but these characteristics have not yet been evaluated relative to YBT-LQ.

Objective: Determine if arch height index (AHI), forefoot sensation (SEN), and ankle dorsiflexion predict YBT-LQ composite score (CS).

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Clinical Scenario: Lower-extremity injuries in the United States costs millions of dollars each year. Athletes should be screened for neuromuscular deficits and trained to correct them. The tuck jump assessment (TJA) is a plyometric tool that can be used with athletes.

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Warren, M, Lininger, M, Smith, CA, Copp, A, and Chimera, NJ. Association of functional screening tests and noncontact injuries in Division I women student-athletes. J Strength Cond Res 34(8): 2302-2311, 2020-To determine the association between functional screening tests and lower-body, noncontact injuries in Division I women basketball, soccer, and volleyball student-athletes (SA).

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The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) is a popular movement screen used by rehabilitation, as well as strength and conditioning, professionals. The FMS, like other movement screens, identifies movement dysfunction in those at risk of, but not currently experiencing, signs or symptoms of a musculoskeletal injury. Seven movement patterns comprise the FMS, which was designed to screen fundamental movement requiring a balance between stability and mobility.

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Background: There are varied reports in the literature regarding the association of the Functional Movement Screen™ (FMS™) with injury. The FMS™ has been correlated with hamstring range of motion and plank hold times; however, limited research is available on the predictability of lower extremity range of motion (ROM) and core function on FMS™ performance.

Purpose/hypotheses: The purpose of this study was to examine whether active lower extremity ROM measurements and core functional tests predict FMS™ performance.

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Background: Although functional tests including the single leg hop (SLH), triple hop (TH), cross over hop (COH) for distance, and the tuck jump assessment (TJA) are used for return to play (RTP) criteria for post anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, sport-specific baseline measurements are limited.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine differences in SLH, TH, and COH distance and limb symmetry index (LSI), as well as total scores, number of jumps, and individual flaws of the TJA in 97 injury-free Division I (DI) collegiate female student athletes participating in ACL injury prone vs. non ACL injury prone sports.

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Smith, CA, Olson, BK, Olson, LA, Chimera, NJ, and Warren, M. Comparison of female collegiate athletes and college age cohort in tuck jump assessment. J Strength Cond Res 31(4): 1048-1054, 2017-The tuck jump assessment (TJA) is a plyometric jumping assessment with 10 flaw criteria against which technique is assessed over a 10-second interval.

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Objective: Current practice precludes compression in patients with wounds and reduced arterial flow; however, this treatment may reduce edema and vascular resistance, thus improving distal circulation. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of compression on skin perfusion pressure (SPP), edema, and ankle range of motion.

Design: This was a quasi-experimental time series.

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Clinical movement screening tests are gaining popularity as a means to determine injury risk and to implement training programs to prevent sport injury. While these screens are being used readily in the clinical field, it is only recently that some of these have started to gain attention from a research perspective. This limits applicability and poses questions to the validity, and in some cases the reliability, of the clinical movement tests as they relate to injury prediction, intervention, and prevention.

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Background: Successful rowing participation requires leg power, back strength, cardiovascular endurance, and balance. SportsMetrics™ training improves lower limb alignment, hamstring peak torque, and vertical jump height; however, this training has not been used in athletes who row and may have different outcomes based on experience level.

Purpose/hypotheses: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a six-week SportsMetrics™ training program on vertical jump height (VJH), Y Balance Test (YBT), and Drop Jump Screening Test (DJST) between novice and varsity high school rowers.

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Lininger, MR, Smith, CA, Chimera, NJ, Hoog, P, and Warren, M. Tuck Jump Assessment: An exploratory factor analysis in a college age population. J Strength Cond Res 31(3): 653-659, 2017-Due to the high rate of noncontact lower extremity injuries that occur in the collegiate setting, medical personnel are implementing screening mechanisms to identify those athletes that may be at risk for certain injuries before starting a sports season.

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Although various studies have assessed performance of athletes on the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) and the Y Balance Test (YBT), no study to date has directly evaluated a comparison of performance between athletes and members of the general population. Thus, to better understand the application of the FMS and the YBT to general college students, this study examined whether or not general college students performed similarly to student-athletes on the FMS (composite and movement pattern scores) and the YBT (composite and reach directions). This study evaluated 167 Division I student-athletes and 103 general college students from the same university on the FMS and the YBT.

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Context: Research is limited regarding the effects of injury or surgery history and sex on the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) and Y Balance Test (YBT).

Objective: To determine if injury or surgery history or sex affected results on the FMS and YBT.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

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Context: The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) evaluates performance in 7 fundamental movement patterns using a 4-point scale. Previous studies have reported increased injury risk with a composite score (CS) of 14/21 or less; these studies were limited to specific sports and injury definition.

Objective: To examine the association between FMS CS and movement pattern scores and acute noncontact and overuse musculoskeletal injuries in division I college athletes.

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Purpose: The Y balance test (YBT) is a screen of dynamic balance requiring stance leg balance while the contralateral leg reaches in anterior (ANT), posteromedial (PM), and posterolateral (PL) directions. YBT has been proposed as a screen for injury risk; however, limited research has examined the association between YBT and injury. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between YBT (asymmetry and composite score (CS)) and noncontact injury in a sample of Division I (DI) college athletes from multiple sports.

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Objective. The Tuck Jump Assessment (TJA), a clinical plyometric assessment, identifies 10 jumping and landing technique flaws. The study objective was to investigate TJA interrater and intrarater reliability with raters of different educational and clinical backgrounds.

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This study investigated middle age healthy adults to elucidate if plantar flexion (PF) strength differences exist because of the triceps surae or the soleus when comparing between sexes. A random population sample was stratified by sex and included 25 healthy (12 women and 13 men) subjects who volunteered for participation. Dorsiflexion range of motion was measured using a biplane goniometer.

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Background: Isolated gastrocnemius contracture limits ankle dorsiflexion with full knee extension and is potentially problematic during mid-stance of gait when 10° of dorsiflexion and full knee extension are needed. It is during this time that patients with isolated gastrocnemius contracture may demonstrate altered kinematics and/or kinetics. When conservative management fails to resolve painful foot pathologies associated with non-spastic isolated gastrocnemius contracture, gastrocnemius recession surgery has been suggested to resolve contracture and improve function and strength.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate interrater and intrarater reliability of the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) with real-time administration with raters of different educational background and experience. The FMS was assessed with real-time administration in healthy injury-free men and women and included a certified FMS rater for comparison with other raters. A relatively new tool, the FMS, was developed to screen 7 individual movement patterns to classify subjects' injury risk.

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Background: Isolated gastrocnemius contracture (IGC), which limits ankle dorsiflexion with full knee extension, can affect function and quality of life. Gastrocnemius recession is a treatment option for IGC when conservative treatment fails. The goal of this study was to assess range of motion, function, and plantarflexion strength pre- and 3-months post-gastrocnemius recession for subjects with IGC.

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