Returning to Learning: Adults' Success in College Is Key to America's Future

Provides an overview of research on adult learners' characteristics, risk factors, and needs at four-year institutions and in for-credit and non-credit courses, and what changes institutions and governments can implement to help adult students succeed

Ankle Bracing and the Neuromuscular Factors Influencing Joint Stiffness

Health care professionals commonly prescribe external stabilization to decrease the incidence and severity of ankle sprains. The mechanism for this decrease is not clearly understood. Examining the effects of ankle bracing on biomechanical stability and influencing factors may provide important information regarding the neuromuscular effects of bracing

The Effect of a Neoprene Shoulder Stabilizer on Active Joint-Reposition Sense in Subjects With Stable and Unstable Shoulders

Objective: To compare the effects of shoulder bracing on active joint-reposition sense in subjects with stable and unstable shoulders. Design and Setting: Two subject groups, with stable and unstable shoulders, participated in an active joint-reposition test of the shoulder under braced and unbraced conditions. Subjects: Forty subjects (22 men, 18 women; age = 21.85 ± 3.12 years; height = 173.97 ± 10.08 cm; weight = 71.27 ± 11.68 kg) were recruited to participate in this study. Twenty Division I athletes were referred to us for shoulder instability, which was subsequently confirmed with clinical assessment. The remaining 20 subjects were recruited from a similar student population and assessed as having stable shoulders. Measurements: Each subject's ability to perceive joint position sense in space was tested by actively reproducing 3 preset angles (10° from full external rotation, 30° of external rotation, and 30° of internal rotation) with and without a shoulder brace. Full, active external-rotation range of motion was assessed before active joint-reposition sense testing. Results: While wearing the shoulder brace, the group with unstable shoulders demonstrated significant improvement in the accuracy of active joint repositioning at 10° from full external rotation in comparison with the stable group. Furthermore, those with unstable shoulders demonstrated significantly less full external rotation than did those with stable shoulders, and the brace reduced full external rotation only for those with stable shoulders. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that shoulder active joint-reposition sense in subjects with unstable shoulders can be improved at close to maximal external rotation by wearing a shoulder brace. This effect does not appear to be related to restriction of shoulder external rotation