|
Page 6 of 8
Flexing the research muscle
Jonathan Umbel, OMS IV, publishes muscular
research in European journal
By Matt
Bates
Jonathan
Umbel, OMS IV,
has devoted countless hours of research to something most of
us take for granted: how our muscles work. “I have always
been interested in the intricate forces that must work
together in order to coordinate our movement,” he says.
This
interest, combined with a keen scientific mind and good
mentorship, resulted in Umbel’s publishing two articles in
the European Journal of Applied Physiology.
Umbel
was the lead author on
one
article, about the effects of blood-flow restricted exercise
on delayed-onset muscle soreness,
published in December 2009. He co-authored another in
April 2009, that compared the muscle endurance of men and
women. Umbel presented this research at
the
American College of Sports Medicine 56th Annual
Meeting in Seattle, Wash., in May 2009.
In
summer 2009, Umbel received a Research and Scholarly
Advancement Fellowship to work with Brian C. Clark, Ph.D.,
assistant professor of neuromuscular science. Clark
was Umbel’s “first choice,” as his lab focuses on muscle
function, a longtime interest of Umbel’s. Specifically,
Clark studies how neurons in the muscles affect muscular
functioning. His work explores a full range of questions
regarding neuromuscular function, from exercise to cast
immobilization to disease processes.
Clark
and Umbel collaborated on two different projects regarding
delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS): how blood flow
affected soreness and whether eccentric
(muscle-fiber-lengthening) actions or concentric
(muscle-fiber-shortening) actions caused greater DOMS. The
patients performed weighted knee extensions on both legs,
with the blood flow of one leg restricted by an inflated
blood pressure cuff around the thigh.
Although
it was not a big shock to find that reduced blood flow led
to more severe DOMS, the team was surprised with their
findings that concentric exercise led to more significant
muscle soreness than eccentric exercise, which contradicts
the traditional understanding that DOMS is more attributable
to eccentric actions than to concentric ones.
Umbel’s
second co-authored research article dealt with differences
in muscle fatigue in men and women by comparing the
endurance of male and female patients in elbow extensors (tricep
curls). Again, the team’s research diverged from popular
understanding. Although previous studies suggested a
difference in muscle endurance between the sexes, this
research determined that men and women experience
proportionately similar limitations in endurance.
These
projects were conducted in an effort to better understand
comfort and safety concerns in exercise, and to learn more
about the biochemical mechanisms responsible for muscle
soreness. The results could have clinical applications for
postsurgical muscle rehabilitation and for neurological
conditions such as cerebral palsy.
Before
coming to OU-COM, Umbel conducted research as a chemistry
major at Wittenberg University. During his senior year, he
contributed to research efforts on plasma physics at Wright
Patterson Air Force Base, where his work focused on the
excitable states of oxygen. In 2007, he presented that
research at the International Symposium on Molecular
Spectroscopy in Columbus, Ohio.
“I would
recommend that every physician do research,” Umbel says. “It
helps you understand why things happen on the most basic
level, which clarifies difficult concepts. It also puts you
on the cutting edge of medicine in your particular field,
which offers insight on what is coming in the future.”
Umbel is
currently doing clinical rotations at St. John Medical
Center, a CORE hospital in Westlake, Ohio.
Unexpected findings
[1]
[2] [3]
[4]
[5]
[6] [7]
[8] |
