Gary B Wilkerson

• EdD, ATC, FNATA
• University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Background/Objectives: Neural processes involved in visual detection, decision-making, and motor plan execution are believed to play a key role in the avoidance of sport-related injuries, but very little evidence exists to guide the development of training activities for the optimization of brain function. Immersive virtual reality provides a means...

Our purpose in this study was to determine the effects of a virtual reality intervention delivering specific motivational motor learning manipulations of either autonomy support (AS) or enhanced expectancies (EE) on frontal plane single-leg squatting kinematics. We allocated 45 participants (21 male, 24 female) demonstrating knee, hip, and trunk fr...

Introduction A history of concussion is recognized as a risk factor for musculoskeletal injury, which is likely associated with physiological effects that warrant better understanding. This study aimed to assess the potential of measurements obtained from an immersive virtual reality (VR) test to identify a subtle perceptual–motor impairment that m...

Objective To identify perceptual-motor performance differences between athletes with sport-related concussion history (HxSRC) and those without such history (NoSRC) and to assess the potential for upper extremity (UE) training to improve whole-body (WB) reactive performance. Design Cohort study Setting Residential training center Participants El...

Concussion may affect sport performance capabilities related to the visual perception of environmental events, rapid decision-making, and the generation of effective movement responses. Immersive virtual reality (VR) offers a means to quantify, and potentially enhance, the speed, accuracy, and consistency of responses generated by integrated neural...

The duration, accuracy, and consistency of responses to various types of stimuli are widely accepted as indirect indicators of the efficiency of brain information processing, but current clinical tests appear to lack sufficient sensitivity to detect subtle impairments. Immersive virtual reality (VR) offers a new means to acquire measures of percept...

Introduction A lack of obvious long-term effects of concussion on standard clinical measures of behavioral performance capabilities does not preclude the existence of subtle neural processing impairments that appear to be linked to elevated risk for subsequent concussion occurrence, and which may be associated with greater susceptibility to progres...

Background Integrated movement and cognitive load paradigms are used to expose impairments associated with concussion and musculoskeletal injury. There is currently little information on the discriminatory nature of dual-task complexity and the relative influence of physical exertion on cognitive outcomes.PurposeAssess cognitive performance while u...

Context: An Optimizing Performance through Intrinsic Motivation and Attention for Learning theory-based motor learning intervention delivering autonomy support and enhanced expectancies (EE) shows promise for reducing cognitive-motor dual-task costs, or the relative difference in primary task performance when completed with and without a secondary...

Resting heart rate variability (HRV) may be a useful index of both brain-based executive function and general health. Our purpose in this study was to quantify relationships among HRV, perceptual-motor performance metrics, and wellness survey responses. A cohort of 32 male Reserve Officer Training Corp (ROTC) cadets completed a dual-task upper extr...

Hogg, JA, Riehm, CD, Diekfuss, JA, Simon, JE, Acocello, SN, Liang, Y, Wu, D, Myer, GD, and Wilkerson, GB. An exemplar frontal plane visual kinematic stimulus elicits sex-specific learned behavior: An exploratory report. J Strength Cond Res 36(3): 857–861, 2022—The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine if a visually delivered kinematic...

To examine the isolated and combined effects of sex and perceptual-motor function on single-leg squatting mechanics in males and females. We employed a cross-sectional design in a research laboratory. Fifty-eight females (22.2 ± 3.5 yrs, 1.60 ± .07 m, 64.1 ± 13.0 kg) and 35 males (23.5 ± 5.0 yrs, 1.80 ± .06m, 84.7 ± 15.3 kg) free from time-loss inj...

Background: Detection of athlete subtle brain changes after a head impact or suspected concussion can have meaningful implications for a clinician to manage a specific head impact incident and reduce the athlete's chance for long-term musculoskeletal and neurological conditions. The goal of this study is to utilize machine learning algorithms to he...

Standard clinical assessments of mild traumatic brain injury are inadequate to detect subtle abnormalities that can be revealed by sophisticated diagnostic technology. An association has been observed between sport-related concussion (SRC) and subsequent musculoskeletal injury, but the underlying neurophysiological mechanism is not currently unders...

Clinical prediction models are useful in addressing several orthopedic conditions with various cohorts. American football provides a good population for attempting to predict injuries due to their relatively high injury rate. Physical performance can be assessed a variety of ways using an assortment of different tests to assess a diverse set of met...

Background After a sport-related concussion (SRC), the risk for lower extremity injury is approximately 2 times greater, and the risk for another SRC may be as much as 3 to 5 times greater. Purpose To assess the predictive validity of screening methods for identification of individual athletes who possess an elevated risk of SRC. Study Design Cas...

Youth athletes are ideal candidates for novel therapeutic motor learning interventions that leverage the plasticity of the central nervous system to promote desirable biomechanical adaptions. We summarize the empirical data supporting the three pillars of the Optimizing Performance Through Intrinsic Motivation and Attention for Learning (OPTIMAL) t...

Background: Efficient neural processing of visuospatial and proprioceptive input appears to be crucial for avoidance of sport injury. As such, clinically-feasible tests are needed to identify deficiencies found by advanced neuroimaging and electrophysiological tests. Three-dimensional motion capture in a laboratory setting is currently the gold st...

Recent research findings have strongly suggested that sport-related concussion (SRC) increases risk for subsequent injury of any type, as well as a potential for long-term adverse effects on neurological and psychological well-being. The primary purpose of this study was to explore the reliability and discriminatory power of clinical testing proced...

There are numerous physical, social, and psychological benefits of exercise, sport and play for youth athletes. However, dynamic activities come with a risk of injury that has yet to be abated, warranting novel therapeutics to promote injury-resistance and to keep an active lifestyle throughout the lifespan. The purpose of the present manuscript wa...

Youth may be particularly responsive to motor learning training strategies that support injury-resistant movement mechanics in youth for prevention programs that reduce injury risk, injury rehabilitation, exercise performance, and play more generally (Optimizing Performance Through Intrinsic Motivation and Attention for Learning Prevention Rehabili...

Context Detection of subtle changes in brain sensorimotor processes may enable clinicians to identify athletes who would derive the greatest benefit from interventions designed to reduce the risk for future injury and progressive neurologic or musculoskeletal dysfunction. Objective To develop a generalizable statistical model for identifying athle...

Context : Sport-related concussion (SRC) elevates risk for subsequent injury, which may relate to impaired perceptual-motor processes that are potentially modifiable. Objective : To assess a possible upper-extremity (UE) training effect on whole-body (WB) reactive agility performance among elite athletes with history of SRC (HxSRC) and without such...

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is prevalent during the single-leg jump landing in various sports. The effects of cognitive loading and how it affects risk of ACL injury are not well understood. The purpose of this study is to examine how landing kinetics change in the presence of cognitive loading during a volleyball block. Cognitive loadi...

The study of combined biomechanical and neurological approaches to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury rehabilitation is a relevantly new area of research and clinical implementation. The classical view of orthopedic-focused ACL rehabilitation has been to treat the local knee joint and proximal hip and core structures to create improved stabili...

Introduction: The Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education mandates accredited athletic training programs have a minimum, three-year aggregate, first-attempt pass rate on the Board of Certification (BOC) examination of 70%. No studies have examined first-attempt BOC exam success for students enrolled in a professional master’s ath...

Context: Exposure to game conditions and previous injury are known to increase the risk of injury, but little available evidence pertains to modifiable factors that may mediate dynamic control of body segments, such as core muscle endurance and neurocognitive capabilities. Objective: To identify potentially modifiable factors associated with the...

This case report demonstrates the effects of sport-related concussion (SRC) on heart rate variability (HRV) in an American college football player. Daily measures of resting, ultra-short natural logarithm of the root mean square of successive differences (LnRMSSD), subjective wellbeing, and Player Load were obtained each training day throughout a 4...

Context: The advent of Web-based sports injury surveillance via programs such as the High School Reporting Information Online system and the National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance Program has aided the acquisition of football injury data. Objective: To describe the epidemiology of injuries sustained in high school football...

Injuries are the primary determinant of an individual's mobility, which affect not just their workplace productivity in intensive environments such as manufacturing, but also their decision‐making ability and quality of life. Managers typically assign workers to projects or tasks without having knowledge about their functional capabilities or curre...

Introduction/Background Elevated risk for musculoskeletal injury after concussion may relate to impaired responsiveness to changing environmental conditions, which might be identified by appropriately designed clinical screening tests. Material and method A retrospective cohort study involved 48 elite athletes at an Olympic training center (34 mal...

Poor neuromechanical control and rapid fatigue of the core muscles are associated with elevated risk for core or lower extremity (CLE) injury. The purpose of this study was to identify preparticipation screening measures associated with both previous and subsequent CLE injuries among high school football players. Self-reported CLE injury history, c...

Purpose: Assessment of various indices of neuromechanical responsiveness for association with concussion history. Methods: An observational cohort study included 48 elite athletes (34 males: 23.8 ±4.4 years; 14 females: 25.4 ±4.5 years) who performed visuomotor reaction time (VMRT) tests involving rapid manual contact with illuminated target but...

A patient-centered model (PCM) for athletic training services may function as a better model to decrease athletic trainer (AT) stress and result in a more desirable work-life balance compared to the traditional model (TM). The purpose of this study was to assess differences in AT stress and job satisfaction between healthcare models for delivery of...

Sport injuries restrict participation, impose a substantial economic burden, and can have persisting adverse effects on health-related quality of life. The effective use of Internet of Things (IoT), when combined with analytics approaches, can improve player safety through identification of injury risk factors that can be addressed by targeted risk...

Context: The paradigm of evidence-based practice (EBP) is well established among the health care professions, but perspectives on the best methods for acquiring, analyzing, appraising, and using research evidence are evolving. Background: The EBP paradigm has shifted away from a hierarchy of research-evidence quality to recognize that multiple r...

Recent epidemiological studies have documented increased susceptibility to musculoskeletal injury after sport-related concussion, which raises questions about the adequacy of current clinical practices to ensure safe return to sport. A growing body of evidence derived from advanced neuroimaging and neurological assessment methods strongly suggests...

Context: A common goal of professional education programs is to recruit the students best suited for the professional career. Selection of students can be a difficult process, especially if the number of qualified candidates exceeds the number of available positions. The ability to predict academic success in any profession has been a challenging p...

Relatively few studies have investigated the potential injury prevention value of data derived from recently developed wearable technology for measurement of body mass accelerations during the performance of sport-related activities. The available evidence has been derived from studies focused on avoidance of overtraining syndrome, which is believe...

Context: Neurocognitive reaction time has been associated with musculoskeletal injury risk, but visuomotor reaction time (VMRT) derived from tests that present greater challenges to visual stimulus detection and motor response execution may have a stronger association. Objective: The purposes of this study were to assess VMRT as a predictor of i...

Objective: To develop and validate a concise survey that will identify athletes who possess elevated injury risk. Design: Cohort study. Setting: National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I athletic program. Participants: Cohorts of 188 and 146 college athletes who participated during successive academic years. Assessment of risk fac...

Several medical programs have tried to predict success on their respective licensing & board examinations • Nine studies attempted to predict success on the Board of Certification (BOC) examination 1-9 • Similarities included: undergraduate athletic training programs and used frequentist statistics • No studies have examined BOC exam success for pr...

Context: Researchers have identified high exposure to game conditions, low back dysfunction, and poor endurance of the core musculature as strong predictors for the occurrence of sprains and strains among collegiate football players. Objective: To refine a previously developed injury-prediction model through analysis of 3 consecutive seasons of...

Objective: Providing patient-centered care requires consideration of numerous factors when making decisions that will influence a patient's health status. Background: Clinical decisions should be informed by relevant research evidence, but the literature often lacks pertinent information for problems encountered in routine clinical practice. Alt...

The purposes of this study were: • to develop a prediction model to identify factors associated with eligibility and first-attempt success on the Board of Certification (BOC) examination for students enrolled in a professional (entry-level) graduate athletic training program (GATP) • to identify applicant characteristics that are most likely to pre...

and university athletic programs spend thousands of dollars on student-athletes' medical costs each year • ACL injuries among 15-24 year-old athletes cost > $1 billion annually in the US; approximately $17,000 per injury 1,2 • Athletes who possess elevated injury risk prior to sport participation probably impose greater injury treatment costs • NCA...

Arthrogenic muscle inhibition can interfere with postsurgi-cal restoration of quadriceps function, increasing the risk for reinjury and joint degeneration. Topical application of mentho-lated gel was assessed as a means to promote voluntary activa-tion of inhibited quadriceps musculature. A total of 17 physically active individuals who had undergon...

and university athletic programs spend thousands of dollars on student-athletes' medical costs each year • ACL injuries among 15-24 year-old athletes cost > $1 billion annually in the US; approximately $17,000 per injury 1,2 • Athletes who possess elevated injury risk prior to sport participation probably impose greater injury treatment costs • NCA...

Context Prevention of a lower extremity sprain or strain requires some basis for predicting that an individual athlete will sustain such an injury unless a modifiable risk factor is addressed. Objective To assess the possible existence of an association between reaction time measured during completion of a computerized neurocognitive test battery...

Poor core stability is believed to increase vulnerability to uncontrolled joint displacements throughout the kinetic chain between the foot and the lumbar spine. To assess the value of preparticipation measurements as predictors of core or lower extremity strains or sprains in collegiate football players. Cohort study. National Collegiate Athletic...

The relationship between neuromuscular factors and injury susceptibility is currently a focus of prevention research • Prolonged reaction time (RT) may be a factor that increases susceptibility to sprains and strains • Errors in judgment or in a loss of coordination during complex movement patterns are likely causes of injury • Slower ImPACT TM RT...

Athletes who have elevated injury risk may impose greater injury treatment costs on college athletic programs • Little evidence exists to guide strategies for reduction of sports injuries and their associated costs 1 • Predictive modeling has been used to identify high-risk athletes, 2 but has not been used to assess related costs • Core and lower...

A positive relationship between life-event stress and injury has been demonstrated by numerous studies 1 • Stress is defined as disruption, change, or adjustment in a person's mental, emotional, or physical well-being • "Life events" refer to occurrences that result in major changes in the life of the affected individual • College student-athletes...

injury leading to lost participation is high for wrestlers; 9.6 per 1,000 exposures 1 • The core musculature clearly influences joint stability & function throughout the kinetic chain 2 • Muscle endurance is essential for effective multi-segmental neuromuscular control • Core muscle endurance can be assessed by the ability to maintain specific body...

injury leading to lost participation is high for wrestlers; 9.6 per 1,000 exposures 1 • The core musculature clearly influences joint stability & function throughout the kinetic chain 2 • Muscle endurance is essential for effective multi-segmental neuromuscular control • Core muscle endurance can be assessed by the ability to maintain specific body...

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: • Readers will become familiar with various interventions used to promote physical activity in communities as presented in The Guide to Community Preventative Services and understand how the physical activity recommendations in The Guide to Community Preventative Services can be used to guide an intervention for a university se...

Ankle ligament sprains account for approximately 25% of all injuries sustained by male and female collegiate basketball players and approximately 15% of all injuries documented for a wide variety of collegiate sports. An ankle sprain is often considered to be a trivial injury, but residual symptoms of weakness, instability, crepitus, and stiffness...

Ankle instability associated with an inversion injury mechanism has primarily been related to excessive inversion displacement of the foot segment in relation to the leg segment, excessive lateral tilt of the talus within the tibio-fibular mortise, and excessive anterior translation of the talus from beneath the tibio-fibular mortise. Rehabilitatio...

Dynamic control of the upper extremity (UE) has shown to be related to core fatigue-resistance 1 • Poor throwing accuracy imposes loads on the UE that create the potential for overuse injury 2-3 • Thus, resistance to overuse injury and throwing accuracy may both relate to core muscle performance • The purpose of this study was to examine how core-f...

Excessive fat mass clearly has adverse effects on metabolic processes that can ultimately lead to the development of chronic disease. Early identification of high-risk status may facilitate referral for definitive diagnostic tests and implementation of interventions to reduce cardiometabolic risk. To document the prevalence of metabolic syndrome am...

Prior research has reported a correlation between Body Mass Index (BMI) and the incidence of lower extremity injuries among high school football players 1,2 • Literature review found no previous research pertaining to the correlation between estimated body fat percentage (BF%) vs. BMI, and injury incidence among college football players • The purpo...

Muscular imbalance and shoulder pain in volleyball attackers. analysis of shoulder function during the volleyball serve and spike. J Shoulder and Elbow Surgery. 1998;7:256-263. 5. Wang HK, Cochrane T. A descriptive epidemiological study of shoulder injury in top level English male volleyball players. Int J Sports Med. 2001;22:159-163. • 13 NCAA Div...

The purpose of this study was to assess the relative importance of factors associated with total health care costs (THC) among office workers. Biometric and anthropometric values, health-related survey responses, and THC for 214 employees were analyzed. Factors that had a statistically significant (P < 0.05) bivariate correlation with logarithmical...

Numerous reports indicate female athletes experience injuries at a disproportionate rate versus males 1 • Decreased lumbo-pelvic (core) stability has been suggested as the etiology of injuries, particularly in females 1 • Biering-Sorenson showed decreased torso extensor endurance predicts those at greater risk for back disfunction 2 • Balance of en...

PURPOSE: To determine the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome among a clerical workforce whose jobs are considered sedentary. These preliminary data of subjects were completed prior to the implementation of a comprehensive risk factor modification program METHODS: 169 women (39.0+/-11.0 years) and 88 men (38.8+/-11.1 years) were recruited to parti...

Objective: To provide a historical perspective on factors that have shaped the current structure of athletic training education, and to advocate development of a new conceptual framework for a continuum of professional education in athletic training. Background: Athletic training is a relatively young profession that has undergone significant plann...

The findings of research on the effectiveness of ankle taping for protection against ligament injury have been inconsistent, and the topic remains controversial. The precise orientation of the force vectors created by tension within the various tape strip components of an ankle taping procedure may be a critical factor influencing the degree of mot...

OBJECTIVE: To assess performance changes induced by a 6- week plyometric jump-training program. DESIGN AND SETTING: We used a quasiexperimental design to compare groups formed on the basis of team membership. Testing was conducted in an athletic training research laboratory, both before and after a 6-week period of preseason basketball conditioning...

OBJECTIVE: An extensive review of clinically relevant research is provided to assist clinicians in understanding the underlying mechanisms by which various ankle-support systems may provide beneficial effects. Strategies for management of different types of ankle ligament conditions are also discussed. BACKGROUND: Much of the literature pertaining...

Quadriceps strength is related to impact-attenuation capability Arthrogenous inhibition of the quadriceps can accelerate knee-joint degeneration. Early initiation of proper therapy is essential to arrest the degenerative process. Isokinetic evaluation of quadriceps function should include low-velocity testing.