Over the last few months, a number of the St Mary’s Exercise Physiology Cluster members have presented their research and work at International Research conferences. Dr Jamie Tallent and the newly qualified Dr Luke Hughes presented their work at the International Sports Science & Medical conference, held here at St Marys University on 17-19thJanuary 2019.
Dr Tallent presented some of his work on the use of eccentric training for elite cricket players. Jamie discussed his experience of using eccentric resistance training with elite cricketers to enhance performance and rehabilitation. He also presented some of his research around enhancing central nervous system adaptations to resistance training.
Dr Luke Hughes presented his PhD work on the application of blood flow restriction and its application to rehabilitation. He discussed the science and safety of blood flow restriction, adaptations to training and application in rehabilitation. Following this presentation, he ran two 45 minute workshops focussed on prescription of blood flow restriction pressure and application. These had great interest, with 30+ individuals attending each workshop.
Dr Stephen Patterson also presented some of his research at CSM 2019 - Combined Sections Meeting of the American Physical Therapy Associationconference in Washington, DC in January 2019. Here he discussed the use of blood flow restriction and ischemic preconditioning and its potential use for physical therapists in the rehabilitation process. Speaking about the presentation Dr Patterson said “It was a great privilege to have been invited across to Washington to present our recent research. There was great interest in the topic area and the room was full, with over 750 people coming to listen to what we had to say. Hopefully those involved got some potential ways to implement this work into their current practice”.
At an internal research seminar, held at St Mary’s on the 20thFebruary 2019, a new crop of PhD and Post-Doctoral students presented their work to the Sport, Health and Applied Sciences (SHAS) Faculty.
Nasir Uddin
Nasir Uddin’s PhD will focus on the topic of hypohydration and concussion and is being supervised by Dr Jamie Tallent,Dr Mark Waldronand Dr Stephen Patterson. While the project is in its early stages, the eventual aim is to inform the practices of athletes undergoing rapid weight loss, who may also experience head trauma as a result of their sport.
Joe Shaw
Joe Shaw’s PhD is in collaboration with the Royal Ballet and is supervised by Dr Jamie Tallentand Dr Charlie Pedlar. Ballet is the use of the body for artistic expression but shows many characteristics similar to sporting performances. Traditionally the volume of practice, rehearsal and performance is very high and may contribute to the injury risk of professional ballet dancers. The aim of the project is to effectively quantify load to help better prescribe and reduce the risk of injury.
Luke Edinborough
Luke’s PhD is in collaboration with Southampton Football club and is supervised by Dr Charlie Pedlarand Dr Jess Hill. His research will focus on the impact of cryotherapy exposures applied across the training cycle of professional football players. The aims of his PhD are to explore any therapeutic effect of whole-body cryotherapy in professional football players and elucidate potential mechanism regarding whole body cryotherapy and improved athletic recovery.
Luke Hughes
Under the supervision of Dr Stephen Patterson, Luke’s PhD examined the use of blood flow restriction training as a clinical rehabilitation tool for load compromised populations. Now undertaking a post-doc role at St Mary’s, Luke will be continuing his research in blood flow restriction and examining new areas of interest including pain, bone metabolism, aerobic exercise and ischemic preconditioning.