Performance Motion Analysis Unable to Predict Running-Related Injury in Collegiate Distance Runners

ABSTRACT Purpose: Running-related injury (RRI) is common among competitive collegiate distance runners who participate in the sport of cross country and long distance track and field. Many factors contribute to RRI. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine if a 3D motion capture system’s performance motion analysis (PMA) report is capable of identifying factors predictive of RRI among collegiate distance runners during a cross country season. Methods: Thirty-one collegiate cross country runners (17 male, 14 female, mean age = 20.5 ± 1.4 years) gave their consent to participate in the investigation. Subjects were screened in the motion capture system and provided with PMA reports assessing their movement quality using several variables (composite score, power, strength, dysfunction, and vulnerability, based on measurements of 192 kinetic and kinematic variables). The athletes were then monitored throughout their 13-week competitive season for incidence of RRI. At the end of the season, participants were sorted into injured (n=17) and uninjured (n=14) groups. Injury was defined as appearing on the team injury report as missing or being limited in practice or competition for a week or more, in accordance with prior RRI research. Each sex was also separated into groups based on injury status. Results: Independent samples t-tests (pConclusion: The findings identified in this prospective study suggest that the movement screen was unable to identify runners at risk of injury. Future investigations isolating lower extremity movement characteristics in runners may prove more effective at predicting RRI

Development and Testing of the Orion CEV Parachute Assembly System (CPAS)

The Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) is an element of the Constellation Program that includes launch vehicles, spacecraft, and ground systems needed to embark on a robust space exploration program. As an anchoring capability of the Constellation Program, the CEV shall be human-rated and will carry human crews and cargo from Earth into space and back again. Coupled with transfer stages, landing vehicles, and surface exploration systems, the CEV will serve as an essential component of the architecture that supports human voyages to the Moon and beyond. In addition, the CEV will be modified, as required, to support International Space Station (ISS) mission requirements for crewed and pressurized cargo configurations. Headed by Johnson Space Center (JSC), NASA selected Jacobs Engineering as the support contractor to manage the overall CEV Parachute Assembly System (CPAS) program development. Airborne Systems was chosen to develop the parachute system components. General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS) was subcontracted to Airborne Systems to provide the mortar systems. Thus the CPAS development team of JSC, Jacobs, Airborne Systems and GD-OTS was formed. The CPAS team has completed the first phase, or Generation I, of the design, fabrication, and test plan. This paper presents an overview of the CPAS program including system requirements and the development of the second phase, known as the Engineering Development Unit (EDU) architecture. We also present top level results of the tests completed to date. A significant number of ground and flight tests have been completed since the last CPAS presentation at the 2007 AIAA ADS Conference