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Nov. 17, 2004
Contact: Gordon Ovenshine
724-738-4854; gordon.ovenshine@sru.edu
SRU SENIOR WINS NATIONAL AWARD FOR
RESEARCHING
LOWER BODY FLEXIBILITY OF ENDURANCE
RUNNERS
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – For her research
into lower body flexibility, Slippery Rock University exercise
science major Valerie Williams recently received the Undergraduate
Student Research Award at the 27th Mid-Atlantic Chapter
of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Williams, of Beaver
Falls, studied runners participating in a 100-mile race at
Mohican State Park in Loudonville, Ohio. She checked lower
body flexibility before and after the race, using four motion tests
to document reductions.
“To our
knowledge, she was the first to measure significant decrease in
flexibility after a 100-mile race,” says SRU’s
Dr. Jeff Lynn, assistant professor of exercise science and her
adviser.
All four tests
detected a small decrease in flexibility after the race. The next
step will be to determine if any of the tests are better at
detecting small declines in flexibility. Williams said a follow-up
study with more participants is being planned.
Measuring
flexibility has applications to general conditioning, injury
prevention, rehabilitation, athletic training and wellness care,
she said, adding that her research will ultimately help people
choose the best test for determining the extent of flexibility
loss.
Williams, who
presented her findings at the conference in Bushkill, has a 3.9
grade-point at SRU and is involved with several campus
organizations. She is co-chair of the social committee for the
Exercise Science Society, a peer leader for Fyrst Seminar, a
freshmen orientation program, an anatomy tutor and a biology lab
assistant.
The American College of Sports
Medicine is a nonprofit organization that integrates scientific
research to provide educational and practical applications of
exercise science and sports medicine.
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