The University of Manitoba campuses and research spaces are located on original lands of Anishinaabeg, Ininiwak, Anisininewuk, Dakota Oyate, Dene and Inuit, and on the National Homeland of the Red River Métis. More
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada, R3T 2N2
The Musculoskeletal Exercise Immunology lab seeks to understand the systemic response of a variety of biomarkers to acute exercise bouts or chronic exercise training of the musculoskeletal system. The lab hopes to help determine how these biomarkers respond to exercise interventions and whether these biomarkers could be considered as an “exercise factor” for producing the health benefits associated with resistance exercise training.
Dr. Stephen Cornish's lab focuses on using resistance-based exercise and training to describe the acute and chronic changes that can be detected in the systemic blood response of a variety of biomarkers associated with musculoskeletal conditions.
The lab utilizes enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) technology as well as multiplexing technology to analyze the blood biomarkers of interest for a variety of exercise interventions of an acute or chronic nature.
Primary investigator
Dr. Stephen Cornish's current work seeks to understand the relationship between these two systems as skeletal muscle recovers from resistance-based exercise. An interesting phenomenon exists between how myokines respond in younger versus older skeletal muscle which his future research hopes to understand more fully.
Myokines are cytokines or proteins/peptides that are produced from skeletal muscle tissue when it is contracted forcefully or for extended periods of times such as during exercise. Recently, there has been a great deal of interest in researching myokines as they have been called the 'exercise factor' that has been thought to exist in mediating the health benefits of exercise training. Even though there has been some research done on individual types of exercise and the myokine response to that exercise, there is limited research comparing different types of exercise in the same study design. Thus, the purpose of this research is to evaluate the effects of three different types of exercise and their associated systemic blood myokine response in a young, healthy, and recreationally active sample of participants. The three types of exercise that will be compared in this research includes
In this study we will evaluate five different types of myokines that have biological relevance for a variety of metabolic processes. From a research perspective, this information is important to know due to the popularity of these three types of exercise in this population and to gain a better understanding of what type of myokine response is associated with each type of exercise. The results will be applicable to exercise physiologists and personal trainers who desire to know the best type of exercise to prescribe to clients wanting to reach varying health goals.
A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury (TBI) which is highly prevalent and has a significant impact on the lives of those who sustain one. Concussions affect people of all ages and result in the onset of physical, cognitive, and psychological symptoms. Some of these symptoms include headaches, dizziness, amnesia, slowed reaction time, depression, and anxiety. Currently, there are limited treatment options for individuals following a concussion and there is no evidence based nutritional supplements to aid in recovery.
Recently, there has been interest in potential treatments to improve the rate of recovery following a concussion. One such treatment utilizes nutritional supplements. However, there are currently limited clinical trials that have specifically addressed the efficacy of potential adjuvants, such as nutritional supplements, to standard-care therapy in the concussion population. Currently, the use of omega-3 fatty acids as a nutritional supplement has pre-clinical data indicating its efficacy for treating TBI through multiple mechanisms; however, there is limited clinical data in humans thus, necessitating research in this area. Given this current lack of research, the aims of this research are: 1) to determine if omega-3 fatty acid nutritional supplementation improves the time to clinical recovery following a sport related concussion in adolescents and adults; 2) determine if omega-3 fatty acid supplementation can mediate the resolution of concussion related symptoms; 3) determine if omega-3 fatty acid supplementation improves patient reported quality of life; and, 4) determine if omega-3 fatty acid supplementation improves markers of inflammation (interleukin-6) and stress (cortisol) associated with sport related concussion.
Creatine monohydrate (CM) is one of the most popular supplements used to enhance resistance-exercise performance. However, no study has evaluated the effectiveness of CM in improving acute exercise performance during blood flow restricted resistance-exercise (BFR-RE), a novel method of training to promote skeletal muscle hypertrophy (hereinafter referred to as “hypertrophy”). The mechanisms by which BFR-RE promotes hypertrophy have not been fully elucidated. One potential mechanism through which BFR-RE increases hypertrophy is through the release of myokines (signaling peptides and proteins secreted by muscle tissue in response to contractile activity). The proposed study will evaluate the effectiveness of CM as an ergogenic aid during BFR-RE as well as determine if CM in combination with BFR-RE alters the concentrations of the myokines myostatin, interleukin-6, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, apelin, and irisin.
The countermovement vertical jump (CMVJ) is considered a primary indicator of lower body power producing capability and has strong positive relationships with field and court sport performance. Performance in the CMVJ is influenced by multiple physiologic and anthropometric factors. The aim of this present study is to examine the correlations between CMVJ performance, peak lower body force production (Fmax), resisted sled sprint power output (RSS) and fat free body mass among male football and volleyball players aged 16-18. This experiment will include 70 participants (football n=35, volleyball n=35) with each participant performing a CMVJ test, a lower body Fmax test, an RSS test as well as having their fat free body mass calculated. Correlations between participants’ CMVJ performance and the other tests will be calculated, and the strength of relationships will be compared. It is hypothesized that lower body Fmax will have the strongest correlation with CMVJ performance among both participant groups, and the football group will have significantly higher levels of fat free body mass compared to the volleyball group.
