Supported Research
Academy Title:Prevention of Sports Injuries in Adolescent Females
Rural adolescent females have poor health habits; females who play high school sports are at greater risk for sustained lower extremity injuries, including knee injuries and ankle sprains. Many times, in rural area, there is limited access to health care doctors and other health care workers that can help a female high school athlete recover from a sports injury.
Our goal is to determine if a home exercise program using Theraband products is something female high school athlete would do. Also, we want to determine if the program will decrease knee and ankle injuries in high school girls who play basketball.
High school female basketball players between the ages of 13-18 years will come to the local high school and be pre-tested jumping, hopping and balancing on one leg. Then, they will be instructed in how to use the DVD, how to perform the exercises on the DVD, and will be given the DVD and all of the necessary Theraband equipment.they will do the exercises for 8 weeks, and do the exercises 3x/week. They will be re-tested in their jumping, hopping and balance drills. During basketball season, they will continue the program on a 2x/week basis. Basketball players, their parents, coaches and athletic trainers will give feedback as to how the program went. The results of this wstudy will help researchers decide how to implement other home-based exercise programs.