Mindfulness meditation is a form of mental training that helps in managing thoughts and guiding individuals to redirect them to be more positive. In the past years, its popularity has grown immensely. Its main appeal is the broad and versatile ways it can be used especially in a healthcare setting. For instance, research on Alzheimer’s disease and dementia has recently been focused on whether chronic stress has a role in inducing these diseases. Since Alzheimer’s disease has no treatment at this point in time, incorporating mindfulness meditation into Alzheimer’s patients’ care/treatment may have a drastic effect on their quality of life by reducing stress. Ideally, practicing mindfulness meditation at a young age would help reduce the probability of chronic stress causing Alzheimer’s disease. However, many people who have already been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease do not have that option. The goal of this research is to find at what stage would the implementation of meditation best help to reduce current symptoms and slow the development of current symptoms and development of Alzheimer’s disease in already diagnosed patients.

Exercise is widely recognized for its myriad of health benefits, particularly in the realm of chronic disease prevention and treatment. Despite this knowledge, exercise remains significantly underutilized in the United States, with only a quarter of the population meeting the recommended physical activity guidelines set by the Department of Health and Human Services (Piercy et al., 2018). Recent research has spotlighted specific regions known as Blue Zones, where natural movement is incorporated into daily lives and populations are characterized by increased longevity and improved health outcomes, including lower rates of chronic diseases. This study aimed to explore and compare exercise behaviors between the United States and the Ikaria Blue Zone in Greece, investigating their potential implications for a longer lifespan and enhanced health. Employing ethnographic methods, including immersive observation, semi-structured, qualitative interviews with locals, and the distribution of validated International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) surveys, comprehensive data on exercise habits within the Ikarian population was collected in November 2023. The findings from this study shed light on alternative forms of physical activity that have proven successful in populations with increased longevity. By identifying and understanding these practices, there is an opportunity to implement them in the United States, potentially contributing to improved exercise adherence and the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. This research underscores the significance of cross-cultural insights in developing effective strategies to promote healthier lifestyles and enhance overall well-being.

Dehydration during and after exercise is prevalent in athletes. Due to a thirst mechanism that does not entirely replenish total body water lost during exercise, it is crucial to rehydrate efficiently with sufficient fluids and electrolytes to retain fluid intake. The study aimed to observe the effectiveness of rehydration with different commercially available drinks and plain water. The rehydration was assessed over 4 hours after a 2% exercise-induced dehydration in the heat. Rehydration was equal to 150% of fluid loss via exercise and was administered in four equal doses during the first 60 minutes of the rehydration period. The average exercise-induced dehydration was 2.11 ± 0.4%. The high sodium and potassium-containing drink, GoodSport, had significantly better rehydration at the four-hour time point (-0.44 ± .21) than in Gatorade (-0.71 ± 0.16; P = 0.0273), Body Armor (-1.00 ± 0.5; P < 0.0001), and water (-0.88 ± 0.39; P = 0.0015). Similarly, GoodSport resulted in lower urinary output than the other drinks. Results from this study indicate that the intake of a high sodium and potassium-containing sports drink after exercise improves net fluid balance more than drinks with lower electrolyte concentrations.

Shoulder injuries are common in major league baseball (MLB) players due to the explosive and unnatural throwing motion. The goal of the thesis was to provide quantitative information about factors that influence pitching outcomes, to better understand risk management of rotator cuff tears/injuries. Typically, shoulder injuries are due to the stress placed on the glenohumeral joint. While the kinetic chain and joint muscular forces produce the explosive overhead throw. There’s a vast range when it comes to shoulder injuries for pitchers. Rotator cuff injuries are common, and multiple factors contribute to either impingement/strains, tendinitis, or tears. The purpose of this study was to assess shoulder injuries sustained by MLB pitchers between 2015-2021, to identify changes between performance metrics, collected from a publicly available database for differences between pre and post injury. Selected factors of interest are: playing years in the league, injury history, average pitch types thrown for both preinjury and postinjury, release speed, release position in the x, y, and z directions, horizontal and vertical movement, horizontal and vertical positions of the ball when it crosses home plate (plate_x and plate_z), resultant velocities and accelerations, release spin rate, release extension, spin axis and return-to-sport determined by length of time spent on the injured list (IL) for more than 100 days or less than 100 days. Resultant velocities and accelerations were calculated using the provided metrics for velocity and acceleration in the x, y, z global dimensions. Resultant velocities were significant only for off-speed pitches (P= 0.053). Multiple linear regression analysis was preformed to relate ball flight kinematics (displacement, ball velocity, and acceleration), angular kinematics (spin rate and spin axis) per each pitch bin (e.g., fastballs, breaking balls, and off-speed pitches) to relate performance metrics found prior to injury and those after the sustained injury. Ball speed in miles per hour presented significance in the off-speed pitches, though spin rate was only significant for breaking ball pitches. Two distinct spin axis orientations were significant: breaking balls and off-speed pitches. The horizontal release position was significant for both fastballs and breaking balls than in the vertical release position which was significant for all pitch bins. From the analysis of variance, inferences were made to additional factors of interest that are out of the scope such as, kinematic sequence velocities and ground reaction forces.

The relationship between ischemic preconditioning and performance measures in able-bodied athletic populations have been thoroughly studied within the literature and demonstrated significant performance improvements. However, there is currently only one human study investigating how IPC can impact performance measures in individuals with a spinal cord injury (SCI). The mechanism that influences these performance improvements is still not fully understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of IPC in this population on performance measures, muscular force, and neural contribution. This study utilized 4 participants who have experienced a SCI. The study design was a repeated-measures, cross-over model. It consisted of an IPC (220mmHg) and SHAM (20mmHg) condition in random order. Functional measures of skeletal muscle force and neural measures with surface electromyography were recorded. The performance measures were maximum voluntary contractions (MVC) of the forearm muscles and a time to task failure (TTF) handgrip test. Results: IPC did not improve performance output between both conditions in a TTF handgrip test (IPC: 25.295±10.371 mins; SHAM: 20.958±7.621 mins). IPC did not improve muscular force recorded as MVC (IPC: 571.38 241.83 N; SHAM: 543.32±210.89 N). IPC did not improve neural recruitment suggested in root mean square (RMS) values during the TTF handgrip test in both measured muscles, the flexor carpi radialis (FCR) and the flexor carpi ulnaris (FCU), (FCR RMS: p = 0.564; FCU RMS: p = 0.863). More data is need for statistical relevance and to determine if there is a relationship between IPC and performance in individuals who have experienced a SCI, and if neural contribution plays a role.

In the experiment, it was tested to see if occluding large muscle groups of swimmers for short periods of time would result in improved swim performance. Swimmers were selected at random meets to receive the intervention and compared their times to meets when they did not receive intervention. This was used to see if IPC has any effect on swim performance.