The J-TAC

Issue date: 4/23/09 Section: Features

Media Credit: Ashley Cambanis Troy Sparks, senior kinesiology major, taking the blood pressure of fellow senior and kinesiology major, Charlie Ulbricht under the guidance of Dr. Joe Priest.

The Motor Performance Lab is known well by fitness and physical education majors but to those that have different majors, this lab is another thing that they may have just recently heard about.

"The Motor Performance Lab is a human performance lab where our students get to work with real people," Dr. Joe Priest, Director of the Motor Performance Lab, said.

The lab is open to people who have problems that prohibit them from working out in a normal manner.

"We help with anything that would prevent people from being able to attend a normal gym," Priest said. "We help who have diseases such as Cerebral Palsy and Muscular Dystrophy; we also treat people who are paralyzed."

According to Priest, Tarleton students have priority in the lab. Once students have their spots, the lab opens up to the Stephenville community.

The Motor Performance Lab is free for anybody who has special physical needs to use. The lab is only open during the school year when students are available to run the lab.

According to its web site,www.tarleton.edu/~physiotherapy, the lab offers programs like the Psycle Training Program and studies such as the Exercise Capacity of Paraplegics.

The Psycle Training Program is a program that trains the torso and legs of a person who has mobility impairments such as paraplegia and multiple sclerosis.

According to the web-site, the Exercise Capacity of Paraplegic study uses unassisted leg cycle training to help those with the physical impairments maintain their health through exercise.

Priest said that current students work under his supervision to run the lab.

"The students work as trainers in the lab," he said. "They asses the person, prescribe a regimen and then meet during follow up sessions."

Priest said that working in the lab is a great opportunity for the students.

"It's a great way for students who are training for jobs in areas such as fitness management to gain experience working with people who have special fitness needs for free," Priest said.

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