Date of Award

Spring 2019

Project

Capstone - Open Access

Concentration

Exercise and Sport Science

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

First Advisor

Tunde Szivak

Abstract

Research has determined significant health detriments associated with sitting for extended periods of time, including chronic disease risk, pain, and mobility. Additionally, although it is not researched commonly, sitting is an essential component of job related tasks for tactical professionals such as military, police and firefighters. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between seated load carriage and dynamic mobility. METHODS: Eighteen recreationally active Merrimack College Students (age: 23.33 +/- 1.45 yr) participated in the randomized, within groups, crossover study. All subjects completed a total of three study visits which consisted of a familiarization session, a seated load carriage session and an unloaded session. Directly before and after the seated portion of both sessions, subjects were assessed in the deep squat (DS), shoulder mobility (SM), and straight leg raise (SLR) from the Functional Movement Screen (FMS). RESULTS: There was no significant difference between pre- and post-sitting FMS score for any of the tests in the unloaded condition, or for the SLR and SM tests in the loaded condition. However, there was a significant difference between pre- and post-sitting for the DS (P<0.05) in the loaded condition. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the use of a weighted vest may decrease ability to move through a full range of motion and therefore perform job tasks in a tactical profession. More research should be completed to confirm these findings in active duty tactical professionals and utilizing longer periods of sitting.

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