Motor Control Lab researchers are immersed in multiple ongoing studies related to human motion. Through these studies, researchers examine the effects of endurance activities on the upper and/or lower extremities to determine effective testing and exercises that may help reduce discomfort for individuals with orthopedic pain.
Principal Investigators
Dr. Neil Evans is an Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy in the School of Rehabilitation and Communication Sciences in Ohio University's College of Health Sciences and Professions.
HoWon Kim is a Ph.D. student in the Translational Biomedical Sciences graduate program. HoWon received his BS in Sports Medicine from Kyung Hee University and Masters Degrees in Athletic Training from Weber State University and Ohio University. His research interests relate to identifying the neural activity associated with psychological factors, such as kinesiophobia, after ACL injury. His ultimate goal is to identify factors that induce central nervous system(CNS) alternation after ACL injury and find clinical methods that can modulate the factors to improve patient outcomes after ACL injury.
Amber Schnittjer is a Ph.D. student in the Translational Biomedical Sciences graduate program. Amber received her BS in athletic training at Luther College and Masters Degree in Athletic Training from Ohio University. Her research interests relate to understanding the effects of dual tasking on kinematics and kinetics after ACL injury.
Ongoing Research
Isokinetic Training Study
The primary aim of the isokinetic study is to examine the effects of different training speeds on functional outcome measures. Participants are needed for 6 weeks, with 2 weeks being pre and post testing, and a 4-week training regime in one of three randomized groups.
Principal investigator: Neil Evans, PT, Ph.D., DPT, OCS, CSCS
Subacromial Space Fatiguing Study
The primary aim of this study is to compare the effect of a fatiguing bout of exercise performed in two different positions on the subacromial space and supraspinatus tendon thickness as measured with diagnostic ultrasound. We are also interested in the pain response and viscoelastic properties of the tissue after fatigue occurs.
Principal investigator: Neil Evans, PT, PhD., DPT, OCS, CSCS
Virtual reality Exercise Project (VRE)
Virtual reality exercise (VRE) project is investigating an effect of combined action-observation and motor imagery technics (watching and imaging the movement) on muscle functions to provide an augmented rehabilitation tool that could help to improve an outcome. This study also utilizes functional near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) to obtain brain activity for understanding the supraspinal effects of the VRE.
Principal Investigator: Ho Won Kim, MS, AT, Ph.D. Candidate
Dynamic Knee Stability Study
This study aims to compare dynamic knee stability following unexpected gait perturbation between individuals with traumatic knee injury history and healthy controls. This research project will also identify specific brain regions associated with dynamic knee stability with the goal of providing a neuro-therapeutic pathway or target for primary and secondary knee injury risk reduction.
Principal Investigator: Amber Schnittjer, MS, AT, Ph.D. Candidate
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