Patricia Schwartz Participated in Buena Vista University's Eleventh Annual Scholars Day

2015 May 22

Buena Vista University's eleventh annual Scholars Day was held Friday, April 24. The event provided students from all disciplines an opportunity to present their best presentations, original research, academic posters, artistic creations and performances to their peers, professors and the public.

This year's Scholars Day event featured 43 presentations from 86 students, exploring topics from art and business to science and history.

Patricia Schwartz, a junior athletic training major from Reno, Nevada, was one of the students who participated. Schwartz's presentation was titled The Effects of Foam Rolling, and the project's abstract is as follows:

Foam rolling seems to be a very obscure topic to discuss. Some say that the usage of foam rolling in an athlete’s day to day life can be beneficial to their flexibility and pain tolerance while others disagree. What we aim to understand is what foam rolling actually does for an individual, whether it be beneficial or not. What we are doing is measuring 100 individuals’ pain tolerance, flexibility, and vertical jump height. To measure the pain tolerance we used a pressure meter that measures in kilograms. In predetermined areas, we pressed the meter into the individuals muscle until they had the first indication of pain. To measure their flexibility, we used a gravity goniometer and determined the passive and active ROM of their hamstrings and quad muscles. Their vertical height was measured by a Vertec vertical jump ruler. There are a variety of foam rollers on the market so we decided on 8 of them to be used in our study. All 8 of them had various densities and shapes, which allows us to gauge if foam rolling works and if so, which one works the best. Each individual will be assigned one specific roller per experiment

The keynote speaker for the event was Jeff Anderson, Class of 2003, who is the executive director of communications for the Minnesota Vikings. Anderson is entering his thirteenth season with the Vikings and plays a lead role in the organization's external and strategic communications.

"For some Scholars Day is the culmination of their work at BVU, and for others it becomes the springboard that sends them into a field they had not previously anticipated," said Dr. Steven Mills, assistant professor of Spanish and chair of the events committee who organized the event. "Either way, those who participate find in it a valuable growing experience and a strong sense of accomplishment."

Photos from this year's and previous Scholars Day events, along with a video from this year's event, are available online at www.bvu.edu/scholarsday.