The Acute Effects of Cupping Therapy on Hamstring Range of Motion Compared to Sham

Context: Flexibility is an important aspect of physical performance and when deficient can result in an increased opportunity for injury. Cupping therapy is an ancient technique that has recently seen a growth in popularity in Western Orthopedic medicine as a soft tissue mobilization technique. Most cupping therapy research explores the use of cupping therapy for treating headache, herpes zoster, asthma, cough, and other non-orthopedic pathologies. Cupping therapy has had positive results on an injured population for increasing flexibility. Objective: To identify if cupping therapy applied passively for 10 minutes results in an increase in flexibility, and to identify if there is a placebo effect with the sham cupping treatment. Design: Double-blinded randomized repeated measures trial. Setting: laboratory. Participants: 40 semi-active participants were recruited (age: 23.52 ± 3.50 years, height: 171.89 ± 9.23 cm, mass: 72.864 ± 14.90 kg) with hamstring range of motion less than 80 degrees. Exclusion criteria included previous cupping therapy experience, allergies to adhesive, any lower extremity injury in the past 6 months, previous cupping experience and cupping therapy contraindications: pregnancy, sunburn, rash, contusions. Methods: Participants reported to the Sports Injury Research Clinic on three occasions, on the first occasion participants completed informed consent and questionnaire, followed by the secondary investigator performing the pre-treatment measurement, then the primary investigator performed one of three randomly assigned treatment options, cupping, sham, and control. Treatment was for 10 minutes with the patient laying prone and relaxed. Then the participant underwent range of motion testing post treatment, and after 10 minutes of laying relaxed. Participants returned on two other occasions with at least one week in between to perform the other treatment conditions. Main Outcome Measurements: Hamstring range of motion to measure flexibility, measured three times, pre-treatment, post-treatment, and 10 minutes post-treatment. An active straight leg raise was performed 4 times for each measurement with the average of the last 2 was taken as the measurement. A 3x3x2 ANOVA in SPSS was utilized for data analysis. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between cupping and control conditions (p=0.004). Cupping had a significantly higher range of motion at pre-treatment (p=0.032), post-treatment (p=0.017), and 10-minutes (p=0.006). There was no significant difference in the interaction between Condition, Time, and Sex (p=0.263). There was no significant interaction between Condition and Sex (p=0.230), Time and Condition (p=0.443), and Time and Sex (p=0.064). Conclusion: Cupping therapy applied to a healthy individual for 10 minutes does not create an increase in hamstring flexibility. Word Count: 410 word

Discretion, Due Process, and the Prison Discipline Committee

A revised version of this paper was published as: Schafer, N.E. (1986). "Discretion, Due Process and the Prison Discipline Committee." Criminal Justice Review 11(2): 37–46 (Fall 1986). (http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/073401688601100207).Prison discipline received considerable attention from both the courts and professional organizations during the decade of the 1970s. It was widely assumed that the due process requirements which resulted from judicial review coupled with the promulgation of model discipline standards and procedures would limit the broad discretionary authority found in the traditional prison disciplinary process. A case study of the activities of one prison discipline committee suggests that these external pressures have had less impact on decision-making than such internal pressures as overcrowding. Due process requirements have not greatly inhibited the exercise of discretion in the prison discipline process.Abstract [Introduction] / Background of the Study / Prison Discipline in Indiana / Case Study of an Indiana Prison Discipline Committee / Discussion / Figures / Notes / References / Cases / Appendix: List of Violation

A Comparison by Race of Juvenile Referrals in Alaska

This paper is a based on the report A Comparison by Race of Juvenile Referrals in Alaska: Phase II Report by N.E. Schafer (Anchorage, AK: Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, May 1998).A data set comprised of all juveniles referred to Alaska youth corrections in the fiscal years 1992–1996 shows disproportionate referral of Alaska Native and African American youth when compared to their proportions in the general population. Minorities also appear more likely than white youth to accumulate multiple referrals. Random samples selected within each racial group are used to seek extra-legal factors which may account for some of the disparity. Information on family and home life, school, personal problems, and the details of each referrals and each referral outcome were extrapolated from the files of the sample which included 39 white youth, 35 Alaska Native youth, and 37 African American youth. Special attention was paid to youth who accumulated multiple referrals.This study was made possible by a gift from Cook Inlet Region, Inc. and was conducted in collaboration with the Alaska Division of Family and Youth Services.Abstract [Introduction] / Disproportionality Literature / Research on Alaska Natives and the Criminal Justice System / Background of the Study / Research Methodology / Findings / Conclusions / Bibliography / Appendix A: Referrals of Habitual Offenders (5 or more referrals

Professionalism in the Alaska Department of Corrections: Education and Experience [paper]

A later version of this paper was published as: Schafer, N.E. (1986). "Professionalism in the Alaska Department of Corrections: Education and Experience." The Justice Professional 1(2): 78–95 (Fall 1986).A survey of Alaska corrections personnel reveals that employees in all classifications tend to have more than the minimum education or experience required for their positions. More than 75 percent of college-educated corrections personnel earned degrees and more than 40 percent acquired their experience outside Alaska. The advantages and disadvantages of hiring large numbers of employees whose education and experience were gained elsewhere are discussed in the context of the unique problems of correctional service delivery in so large and diverse a state.Role Importance / Background of the Study / Methodology / Survey Results / Discussion / References / APPENDICES / A. Alaska Department of Corrections Locations [map] / B. Alaska Department of Corrections Position Description

Reorganizing Corrections: Revisiting the Recommendations of the National Advisory Commission

In 1973 the National Advisory Commission on Standards and Goals recommended that correctional services be consolidated under a single state agency, arguing that cost efficiencies, improved communication, and greater employee professionalism would result. The National Advisory Commission advocated state rather than local control of probation, and executive rather than judicial branch control of probation services. It encouraged development of regional rather than local jails and recommended that states assume the operation and control of all local detention and correctional functions. This paper examines some of the arguments for consolidation of correctional services and attempts to determine the kinds of reorganization that have occurred since 1973.BACKGROUND / Reorganizing Institutional Corrections / Reorganizing Probation / Reorganizing Parole / REORGANIZATION OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES / Institutional Reorganization / Reorganization of Probation / Reorganization of Parole / THE FUTURE OF CORRECTIONAL REORGANIZATION / Juvenile Corrections / Adult Probation / Local Facilities / REFERENCE

Local and Non-Local Jail Use: An Examination of a Sample of Alaska Community Jail Detainees

An earlier version of this report was presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Washington, DC, April 2001.Data collected for the Alaska Community Jails Statewide Research Consortium included neither race nor place of residence. Because of their interest in both racial distribution and the use of the jail by nonresidents, the fifteen member jails provided this information for a random sample of detainees. The sample consisted of 1,687 detainees, more than a third of whom were not from the communities in which they were held. There was considerable variation by facility and much of the variance appears to be related to the nature of the community and its relationship to surrounding villages and to its geographic location in the state.Research supported by Grant No. 98-CE-VX-0014 awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.[Introduction] / Background / The Rural Sample / Conclusion / Bibliograph

Prison Visiting Policies and Practices [paper]

A later version of this paper was published as: Schafer, N.E. (1991). "Prison Visiting Policies and Practices." International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 35(3): 263–275 (Fall 1991). (http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0306624X9103500308).Based on empirical evidence that visiting is significantly related to parole success, several authorities have encouraged correctional institutions to maximize visiting opportunities. Previous studies have noted geographical and architectural limits to such maximization. A decade of prison construction should have improved visiting opportunities. This paper reports the results of a national survey of visiting policies and draws comparisons with surveys reported in 1978 and 1954.Abstract / Introduction / The 1987 Survey / Conclusion / Table 1. Schedule of Visiting Hours / Reference

Protective Custody Holds in Alaska's Community Jails

A presentation of data from fifteen Alaska community jails (Barrow, Cordova, Craig, Dillingham, Haines, Homer, Bristol Bay Borough, Kodiak, Kotzebue, Petersburg, Seward, Sitka, Unalaska, Valdez and Wrangell) regarding protective custody holds — essentially detention of public inebriates. The report describes the jails and the procedures for such holds under state statute and presents figures on protective custody holds: number per jail, number by season, number by time of day, ages of those held, duration of hold.National Institute of Justice. Grant No. 98-CE-VX-0014 National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, United States Department of Justice.Foreword / Introduction / Outcomes / Conclusio

Exploring the Link between Visits and Parole Success: A Survey of Prison Visitors [manuscript]

This manuscript, as revised, was published as: Schafer, N.E. (1994). "Exploring the Link between Visits and Parole Success: A Survey of Prison Visitors." International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 38(1): 17–31 (Spring 1994). (http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0306624X9403800103)An exploratory survey of visitors to two men's prisons finds that the visitors differ in some significant ways from prisoners' families previously described in the literature. The results raise some questions about the correlation that has been established between visits and post-release success and provoke suggestions for in-depth research into visitor/prisoner relationships.Abstract / [Introduction] / Research Method / Survey Results / Prisoners' Wives / Parents and Siblings / Female Friends / Discussion / Conclusion / Reference