SCHOOL OF SPORT AND EXERCISE SCIENCES / WINTER NEWSLETTER
School of Sport and Exercise Sciences
www.kent.ac.uk/sportsscience
INSIDE THIS EDITION In this edition of the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences newsletter you will find out about everything that has been going on within the department. News
1-6 University of Kent, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences Wins Grant Dr Lex Mauger appears on French TV show, State 2 Inside Sport Science Visits France Motion for Life – Karen Hambly was invited to be the keynote speaker. Parkinson's UK – Can Exercise Help? 2017 Sport Science Summit – Keynote speaker Glen Davison
Sports Ready Clinic works with Gillingham FC Player The Science of Training and Endurance performance Endurance Research Group – Symposium Karen Hambly appears in Reuters Health Research Led to Student Success Project
Student Life
7-9
GK Union – Student Hub Opens Student Volunteers helping Athletes and the community GSK- Expert Science Executive Guest Speaker Health and Wellbeing Fair Chris Leslie – Life as a working graduate
Get Involved NSS opens for Third Year Students.
Isokinetic Conference 2017 Research Study Opportunity – Asthma and Exercise Inspire – Mental Health Clinic Sports Ready Clinic – Medway Park
10-12
School of Sport and Exercise Sciences
News School of Sport and Exercise Sciences wins major grant to study fatigue during exercise The University of Kent has been awarded a grant of ÂŁ160,189 from The Leverhulme Trust to fund a project entitled "Emergent properties of the fatiguing neuromuscular system." The project will be run by Drs Mark Burnley and Samantha Winter The project will run for three years, and aims to better understand how the muscle fatigues during exercise, and why such fatigue occurs so much more rapidly when the intensity of exercise exceeds critical thresholds. The researchers will use both experiments and computer models of the muscle to study this issue. Dr Mark Burnley explains: "when you try to contract the muscle at a constant force, the force you actually produce is not constant at all. Instead, it fluctuates, and these fluctuations seem to reflect how effectively the neuromuscular system is working. Muscle fatigue increases the size of these fluctuations and, crucially, also reduces the complexity of the patterns they produce if your effort exceeds a critical level, but we don't understand why. This grant will be used to try and find the answer. Finding this answer should help us understand why the fatigued muscle sometimes fails us, leading to dropping objects, falling over or becoming exhausted by exercise."
www.kent.ac.uk/sportsscience
Dr Lex Mauger appears on French TV show, Stade 2 On 1st and 2nd December, the French sports programme, Stade 2, visited the University of Kent to interview and film Dr Lex Mauger for an upcoming TV show on brain stimulation and sport. The programme, aired on 8th January 2017, will be an in-depth report on the use of brain stimulation in sport, and the presenters travelled across the world (France, UK, USA) to speak to the sports teams using it, the companies producing the devices and the scientists examining the effects. Lex’s recent studies, published in Neuroscience (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a rticle/pii/S0306452216305589) and the European Journal of Applied Physiology (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007 %2Fs00421-015-3212-y), are among the first to examine the effect of brain stimulation on sporting performance, and Lex discussed the findings of these and provided a demonstration of the methods as part of the filming.
Inside Sport Science visits France schools Funded by the British Council Dr John Dickenson, James Hogg and Arthur Bossi went to Strasbourg for a week in November to Perform a series of workshops as an Inside Sport Science initiative. This partnership between the British Council and Strasbourg’s local education office aims to disseminate sports science knowledge with interactive activities for students, raising their consciousness about the importance of knowing, as well as the importance of understanding and communicating in English. The workshops were aimed to teach the avid learners how we can use simple solutions to design their home-made sports drinks, how physical talents might be detected in early stages of sports development and how science has been used to bring forth the ultimate performance gain. In addition, students had the opportunity to exercise and then see how their bodies respond pre and post effort, by means of heart rate and oxygen saturation of the blood. These workshops were more than just spreading science knowledge, they were about the social impact. Students were able to see they were capable of reaching new horizons. This extract was taken from Extract taken from a blog written by Arthur Bossi.
School of Sport and Exercise Sciences
Parkinson's UK: Medway and District working age groups host Parkinson’s specific exercise Launch ‘Mobility for Life’ lecture series at the Motion for Life – Karen Hambly was invited to be the keynote speaker.
Technical University of Delft where Dr Karen Hambly was invited to speak.
Dr Steve Meadows Talks about his collaboration with Parkinson's UK at launch.
The lecture series follows the healthcare process of a patient with keynote speakers sharing their knowledge and vision on prevention, understanding the pathology, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of cartilage pathology. The lecture series was supported by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research and the aims of the lecture series was to share mutual knowledge and experience on optimal rehabilitation of human joints with cartilage pathology and to explore potential future collaboration between research groups, and to contribute to the personal development and career track development of, especially female, scientists.
On Friday 16th of December 2016 an event was organised to highlight the work in Medway of Parkinson‘s specific exercise classes. Dr Steve Meadows was asked to talk at the event as not only is he conducting research into Parkinson’s, but he also runs the classes for Parkinson’s patients. The event aimed to highlight the benefits of specific exercises which are said to help make life with Parkinson's easier.
Dr Glen Davison invited to speak at the 2017 Sport Science Summit During the 3 day Conference, Glen discussed Nutrition and Exercise Immunology. In his presentation Glen discussed nutritional strategies to minimise disturbances to the immune system that some athletes suffer during intensive training. This makes them more vulnerable to infections that can compromise performance. His presentation covered the most recent evidence on nutritional products suggested to be immune boosting and also challenged some common misconceptions.
www.kent.ac.uk/sportsscience
Gillingham FC's, Aaron Morris has been working with the Sports Ready Clinic at Medway Park due to knee Injury. After an injury which occurred in pre season, Aaron has been working hard with our SSES staff to get him back on the pitch. He is five months into his nine month post operation recovery after he tore a ligament which required reconstructing. Part of his intense recovery is to work with Dr John Dickinson to maintain his fitness level, whilst working with some of our third year students to rehabilitate his injury. Due to the extent of his injury, Aaron can’t run unaided or jump, so John is having him cycle in an environmental chamber with reduced oxygen level so his cardiovascular system is having a workout without putting excessive stress through his injury. When he is ready to start running again, his fitness won’t cause any delays getting on the pitch. In addition, Aaron undertaking rehabilitation with our third year therapy students which includes using an Alter-G treadmill, also known as an anti-gravity treadmill; the Alter-G uses positive pressure to reduce the load placed through the joint which allows Aaron to run at 55% of his bodyweight. Using the treadmill will aid recovery and hopefully allow him to run supporting own body weight sooner. Aaron hopes to be fully recovered in time to begin the start of pre season training for the 2017-18 season.
School of Sport and Exercise Sciences
The Science of Training and Endurance performance – SSES has been filming for an online course. This month we had the film crew in the SSES laboratories, we have been filming for a new online course with future learn https://www.futurelearn.com/ . Future learn is an online platform where you can choose from hundreds of free online courses from top Universities and specialist organisations. SSES has designed a 6 week online course entitled: The Science of Training and Endurance performance The course will provide endurance sport recommendations and explain the scientific underpinning behind aspects such as training, nutrition, psychology, injury, rehabilitation, pain and fatigue and respiratory health. The content is targeted towards anyone interested in endurance sport or activity from the beginner, to the elite athlete/ coaches and trainers. The learning platform is interactive and powered by an online community, each step of the course welcomes comments and questions from its followers. The course is free and the due date of release is late spring 2017.
www.kent.ac.uk/sportsscience
A team of researchers from the Endurance Research Group presented a symposium on novel strategies for endurance performance. Dr Carla Meijen at Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology convened the symposium at Annual Conference in Cardiff PhD student Paul Anstiss discussed the role of sources of self-efficacy in endurance performance, Dr Chris Fullerton presented findings of the effect of a pacemaker on running performance, professor Samuela Marcora discussed the effects of mental fatigue on long-term endurance performance, and Dr Carla Meijen presented on setting up and running a Psyching Team. The symposium evoked insightful discussions, and promoted the work by the ERG on the psychology of endurance performance.
Dr Karen Hambly has been asked to comment on a study for Reuters Health. In December Karen was contacted by a writer for Reuters Health to provided an expert opinion. The writer wanted Karen’s opinion on a study recently published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine on recovery times after MACI cartilage repair surgery.
The news article was published online the end of December 2016 https://www.google.co.uk/amp/uk. mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUKKB N14F102 and it attracted considerable interest from news agencies across the world.
Stephen Earl Successfully defended his PHD which has led into research for the University’s Student Success Project. Stephens PhD explored how school pupils' motivation and perceptions in the classroom can influence their well-being, engagement and attainment during secondary school. This research has led, which led to the research for University's Student Success Project looks at how students' motivation and experiences at university may explain differences in university attainment. This research is being conducted along with Joel Chidley (Research Assistant) and is overseen by Dr Carla Meijen and Professor Louis Passfield. To date, a questionnaire study and focus group discussions have identified how students' experiences of autonomy, competence and relatedness at university may underpin differences in both their engagement and attainment. Over the coming year, the project aims to gain the experiences of teaching staff across both the Canterbury and Medway campuses to help inform recommendations for future teaching practise.
School of Sport and Exercise Sciences
Student Life The GK Union Student Hub Opens. The very much anticipated opening of the student hub opened on January 16th giving students another place to enjoy on campus. The Student hub, which used to be a swimming pool when the campus was an army barracks, has now been refurbished into a fantastic place to relax with friends, get on with work, or grab a food or drink. The union has worked hard to create a space that all students can benefit from, this includes a bar, an alcohol free zone and the Mezzanine area you can hire out. The Deep End will be hosting events throughout term, including Social Wednesdays.
Students from the Sports Therapy course have been Volunteering to help athletes and the community. Students have been working with the Sports Ready Clinic with various different sporting events. Some events students have got involved with include the Samoa RFU where students provided soft tissue treatment to elite international rugby players and the European Women's Challenge Cup – Handball. This was the first time this event was hosted in the UK, and students got to work with elite athletes. We have non stop positive feedback from everyone involved. If you would like to volunteer please contact sportinjury@kent.ac.uk
www.kent.ac.uk/sportsscience
GSK- Expert Science Executive Guest Speaker On the 15th November Rebecca Williams an Expert Science executive from GSK was invited to the University to discuss Sport Science employment opportunities postgraduation. GSK provide this service exclusively to the top 20 Universities in the UK, this singles Kent out as one of the top places to study Sport and Exercise Sciences. Rebecca followed her discussion on employability with a presentation of the latest research recommendations for athletic protein requirements and guidelines for intake. The talk formed part of the 2nd year Applied Sport and Exercise Nutrition module Convened by Lecturer Lucy Hale but was open for all students to attend. Students commented the talk motivated them to start seeking out internship opportunities and it got them thinking about how they could gain further work experience so they are more attractive to employers when they graduate.
The Health and Wellbeing Fair The Student Support and Wellbeing service, with help from the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences and many others, hosted a Health and Wellbeing Fair which promoted a range of activities that would help students take better care of themselves. The all-day event included fun and interactive sessions from a range of experts which covered topics such as smoking, nutrition, mediation and sensible drinking. The school of sport and exercise science hosted stalls on Healthy Eating, Blood Pressure, Asthma Inhaler checks, Gate analysis and Postural Assessment. Students could drop in throughout the day for advice
School of Sport and Exercise Sciences
Graduate Profile – Chris Leslie, Consultant Football Analyst Chris is a former University of Kent student who graduated from the Sport and Exercise Science Bsc in 2013. He spoke to us about his experience at the University of Kent. What attracted you to Kent? The facilities and staff, the University was relatively new and Medway Park had just been refurbished when I was looking into different universities, so there was plenty to like when going around the campus on an open day, where some of the staff that showed us around were also very welcoming and helpful. How was your student experience? Really, really good, I enjoyed most parts of being at Kent, living in halls (Liberty Quays) and renting a house, meeting an entirely new and different group of people who I wouldn’t have otherwise come across. In addition to this my course presented me with new areas of sports science and a deeper look at the underlying mechanisms of exercise and how interventions are used in practice, the vast majority of which I found interesting and then being able to conduct my own research and taking an in-depth look at a specific area in sports science. How would you describe the facilities at Kent? When I was there the Sports Science facilities were very good, plenty of advanced equipment and space to work in which made for a good environment. The university in general was quite modern and well looked after with reasonable facilities on campus.
Did you find that your time a Kent prepared you to find work and excel in your job? It helps, an undergraduate degree is an essential criterion in most areas in my field, but job specific experience and other qualifications (such as coaching badges, technical courses) are also important. My degree helped me get an internship at a football club almost straight after graduating so it probably gave me a good foundation, but it needs to be built upon rather than relied on. What was your favourite module or Lecturer? The Physiology modules and James Hopker and Glen Davison. What advice would you give current students looking to get into this field? You need experience to go along with your qualifications, there will usually be opportunities through the university and with other clubs/organisations locally, the more experience you can get the better and this will also help you to see if you want to go into a career in the area/sport. Be pro-active in looking for opportunities in sports in general and sports science as they will at least boost your CV and occasionally can lead to job opportunities or further/new qualifications down the line.
www.kent.ac.uk/sportsscience
Get Involved rd 23
NSS opened on of January for all 3rd year students. The survey will give all 3rd year students the opportunity to tell us about your experience at Kent. If you are a 3rd year student, make sure you take part in the NSS survey that opens on 23rd of January. Every student who takes part will receive a £10 voucher and can enter a weekly £100 cash draw. Your feedback helps us know if we are making the changes you want. We work hard every year to ensure that our students have the best learning experience. Over the last year we have used the feedback in this survey to get you new equipment, uniforms and a social space to use between lecture.
Isokinetic Medical Group invite you to attend their next conference - “The Future of Football Medicine" in Barcelona, Spain “The Future of Football Medicine” is being organised in partnership with FIFA and hosted by FC Barcelona at Camp Nou and takes place 13th-15th May 2017. The School of Sport and Exercise Sciences have been involved with the Isokinetic conference for several years and have a special rate for our staff and students of €250 for all 3 days (normal rate of €550!). For more information please contact Alexia Sotiropoulou, a.sotiropoulou@isokinetic.com
School of Sport and Exercise Sciences
Do you have Asthma and Exercise? – Get involved in our research project and get £150 for your time. The University of Kent is running a study at Medway park to investigate the effects of wearing a face mask on asthma, airway health and cycling performance. We are looking for individuals who are aged between 18 and 45 years old, have a current diagnosis of Asthma or exercise induced asthma, perform any form of regular exercise at least twice a week. Participants must not have cardiopulmonary, metabolic disease or injuries. The research involves maximal exercise test on a stationary cycle, a full respiratory assessment to look at lung function, cycling challenges to investigate asthmas severity and four weeks or cycle training in a cold and dry environment. The benefits of taking part are free assessments of your airway health, a free maximal exercise test (VO2 Max test) and £150 to compensate you for your time and completing all trials and training sessions. You will be contributing to our knowledge on additional prevention strategies for asthma whilst exercising. If you are interested in taking part or would like any more information please contact Anna Jackson. arj20@kent.ac.uk
Inspire – Mental Health and Wellbeing peer support group. If you are struggling with a mental illness and want some support please drop in to one of the free support sessions on offer. The drop in session is open to all students on Monday between 17.30 and 19.00 during term time in the R2-05 Rochester building. The sessions are aimed to help fight depression and anxiety, reduce stress, discuss coping strategies and allow you to meet others going through similar situations. There will also on occasion be activities and guest speakers. For more information please contact Sam Strudwick Samuel.strudwick@rethink.org
LET US HELP / SPORTS THERAPY CLINIC
Our student lead sports clinic provide injury assessment, treatments, injury prevention, screening and the use of specialist equipment to all ages and athletic ability. Our final year students can help whether you train regularly or are experiencing every day aches and pains. Open Hours: Monday: 13:00-20:30 Wednesday: 9:00-13:00 and 17:30-20:30 Thursday and Friday: 9:00-13:00 The Sports Ready Clinic offers an exclusive discount to University of Kent staff and students
Further information T: 01634333079 E:sportinjury@kent.ac.uk www.kent.ac.uk/sportscience/clinic
SCHOOL OF SPORT AND EXERCISE SCIENCES / WINTER NEWSLETTER