Professor Chris Ingalls, Ph.D., has been studying skeletal muscle physiology since 1988. His research focuses on understanding the causes of strength loss and recovery associated with exercise-induced skeletal muscle injury in humans and animal models.
Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher (~347 B.C.), recognized that movement is vital to health, stating that a “lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.” However, physical activity is not without risk. Musculoskeletal injuries are a significant problem for anyone engaging in regular exercise, especially competitive athletes and military personnel.
While combat is inherently dangerous because of enemy actions, research shows most combat-associated injuries are due to physical activities, such as strength training, running or carrying heavy loads. In 2017, more than half of soldiers experienced an injury and 70 percent of these were overuse injuries. Due to their prevalence in service members, musculoskeletal injuries are a major burden on the military services, costing $434 million in 2018 alone.
In general, musculoskeletal injuries involve damage (Grades I, II, III) to skeletal muscle, tendon and ligaments, and fractures to bones. Overuse musculoskeletal injuries can occur when tissues fail to adapt to increased mechanical stress and strain. Based on Christopher Rawdon’s recent dissertation work, we observed that individuals who performed a single bout of unaccustomed exercise experienced differential injury (i.e., weakness and soreness) of their quadricep muscles and had impaired balance. We are currently testing the hypotheses that differential injury of skeletal muscles increases joint instability during locomotion and predisposes the person to developing secondary musculoskeletal injuries.
Another research area that we are currently exploring is the interaction between musculoskeletal injuries and mental health and resiliency. Mental health conditions are known to negatively impact outcomes from musculoskeletal injury. Likewise, physical injuries causing chronic pain and inability to exercise can precipitate and/or compound mental health conditions (e.g., depression, anxiety), and are significantly associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Military personnel face physiological and psychological stressors (e.g., sleep deprivation, hypocaloric diets, gut dysbiosis and anxiety) that create a unique challenge to recovery from intense physical activity. Part of the problem in addressing overuse injuries in the military is the failure to account for these stressors when designing interventions. Despite 20 years of research focused on injury prevention, very little progress has occurred, making it clear the current research paradigm is missing key insights into the issue.
Kyle Brandenberger, a Department of Kinesiology and Health graduate and current assistant professor in Georgia State University’s Department of Respiratory Therapy; Gabriel Kuperminc, professor in Georgia State’s Department of Psychology; and Ingalls established GSU – The Health Resilience Initiative for Veterans-Soldiers (GSU-THRIVES), an interdisciplinary team of researchers seeking to address the problem of musculoskeletal injuries and mental health disorders in military personnel. The research team spans three colleges/schools – the College of Education & Human Development, the Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions and the School of Public Health – with faculty from the Institute of Biomedical Sciences and the J. Mack Robinson College of Business. The team has developed external partnerships with experts in psychiatry from the Department of Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, as well as sleep, traumatic brain injury and fitness from the U.S. military.
With funding from the Georgia State Research Innovation and Scholarly Excellence Program, the researchers recruited subjects to undergo a comprehensive assessment of musculoskeletal injury risk, sleep quantity and quality, physical activity, diet, gut microbiota, stress and mental resiliency over 14 days. They are also assessing lower extremity muscle strength, muscle soreness, joint pain and stability, and gait kinematics before and after a single bout of exercise-induced muscle injury. Graduate students Robert Zeid, Mekensie Jackson and Jonathan Howard have been instrumental in this research effort.
Their short-term goal is to demonstrate the feasibility of the multi-disciplinary collaboration by conducting two-week-long pilot studies to develop and evaluate a holistic physical and mental health assessment, musculoskeletal injury risk-stratification and injury monitoring system for Georgia State students. Their ultimate goal is to develop an internationally recognized center for GSU-THRIVES using external funding and partnerships to develop a program that prevents/mitigates musculoskeletal injuries, improves physical and mental resiliency, accelerates the restoration of fitness and resiliency if injuries occur and prevents secondary adverse health outcomes associated with PTSD through holistic health interventions in military personnel across their career.
If you are interested in getting involved with any of this research, contact Chris Ingalls at [email protected].