Helping the military with its research is not something you might expect West Liberty University students to do but that’s just what a group of Athletic Training students did recently as they traveled to Quantico, Va.
“This was great chance to volunteer for an important project that focused on musculoskeletal research. The study is called the Initiation of Marine Physiological Assessment of Combat Training (IMPACT). It’s being conducted by researchers at the Uniformed Services University with the U.S. Marine Corps Officers at The Basic School in Quantico,” explained Dr. Meleesa Wohleber, who is an assistant professor of Athletic Training at WLU.
“Participating in data collection at Quantico was an incredible experience. The goal was to improve basic training protocol and decrease risk of injury in the future. This was also a great opportunity to see how tools we learn in class are utilized in the real world as well as how important the athletic training profession is in so many different settings,” said Andrea Garrison of Moundsville, W.Va.
Garrison is a junior Athletic Training student who plans on attending medical school in the future.
The Quantico researchers recruit athletic training students and athletic trainers monthly to volunteer to assist in collecting data for their study. All of the tests are part of a movement screen that includes trunk stability push-up, lower body balance, overhead and single leg squat, ankle mobility, and jump landing characteristics.
The WLU students and staff spent from 7 a.m. – 4 p.m. performing these tests on U.S. Marines, with a total of around 250-300 Marines participating for the entire day.
“We received online training and a handbook to study prior. Athletic trainers are performing the research and they invited students to assist because they wanted to provide an opportunity for athletic training students to get a unique research experience. We are pleased that we were able to offer this opportunity to our students,” Wohleber said.
“We were the largest group of volunteers from one school at the time that we participated,” she noted.
Other schools volunteering at the time WLU attended include: West Virginia University, James Madison University, George Mason University and Towson University. All of these schools sent one or two students, according to Wohleber.
West Liberty University’s Athletic Training Program is fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) and students earn a Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training degree at completion of the program.
It is just one of the degrees offered by the College of Education and Human Performance at West Liberty University.
For more information on WLU, please call 1.866.937.8542 (WESTLIB) or visit westliberty.edu.
