Solent Sport Science Labs awarded BASES accreditation

The physiology laboratory at Southampton Solent University was officially awarded British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) Accreditation today. 

Saints players utilising the newly accredited physiology lab

The recognition is an industry-required quality assurance process that provides clients and users a means of confirming the appropriateness of the laboratory to conduct physiological testing. 

The laboratory director Dr Stewart Bruce-Low said 'this is part of the next phase of our development strategy. This aligns our quality and standards with the other few accredited laboratories in the country, such as the English Institute of Sport in the north West, Manchester United F.C. and Loughborough University. Students and staff from the Applied Sport Science and Sport Coaching degrees already work extensively with a selection of elite athletes and clubs so this ensures these clients are using a quality assured service."

Congratulations to Stewart and his team of technicians for this fantastic accolade.

HESS research update - low back pain

Back in 2006 the Centre for Health, Exercise and Sport Science secured funding to purchase the MedX Lumbar Extension Machine for the purpose of specific testing and strengthening the lower back, and for treating chronic low back pain (CLBP). 

Since then, Laboratory Director Dr Stewart Bruce-Low has also received funding from Backcare, a charity funding research into low back pain, to conduct research to further understanding of the condition and its treatment. Dr Bruce-Low has already published several studies conducted using the equipment and now his doctoral student, James Steele, has published further evidence demonstrating its efficacy and refining understanding of the approach it utilises.

The first study completed by James in his course of doctoral research has involved examining the effects of the range of motion utilised during exercise for strengthening the lower back in people suffering with CLBP. For some sufferers, pain is experienced in the extremes of the range of motion (either bent fully forwards or backwards) and so investigation as to whether exercise can be effective even when avoiding these positions is of great value.

The results of James’ study demonstrated that, regardless of the range of motion utilised, participants training for 12 weeks using the lumbar extension machine significantly improved their strength and significantly reduced their pain and disability.

The reasoning why such strengthening exercise is so effective is due to the suggestion that, in people suffering from CLBP, the muscles that extend the lower back are weak and deconditioned. Thus James conducted further analyses on his data to uncover whether the improvements in strength were associated with improvements in pain and disability. The findings revealed that the participants with the greatest increases in strength also had the greatest improvements in pain and disability, suggesting a link between the two.

James presented preliminary results from this research last year in Edinburgh at Physiology 2012 – the main annual conference of the Physiological Society, and the study has also been published in the medical journal Spine. This study offers further evidence to the effectiveness of a brief, infrequent specific exercise program using a high intensity of effort to strengthen the lower back muscles, in rehabilitating those with CLBP. The research team are in the midst of a number of further studies in this area so look forward to the results of those in the near future.

Solent students help players win a professional football contract

Applied Sport Science and Sport Coaching students spent Wednesday afternoon putting the three finalists from the 'Win a Pro Contract' competition, sponsored by Samsung, through their paces prior to their two weeks training with Swindon Town and Leyton Orient FC. The ultimate prize on offer; a professional football contract with one of these two respective clubs!

In order to give the finalists a taste of the demands of elite sport, they were put through a battery of tests including body composition, functional movement screening, visual perception, field of view, as well as the VO2 max/ lactate threshold test (shown below).  This is the final stage of testing that has seen BSc Applied Sport Science and BSc Sport Coaching students from Solent support the players throughout the competition, undertaking performance analyses during their matches using SportsCode and Catapult GPS systems.

Overseeing the testing were Associate Professor Dr Stewart Bruce-Low (Course Leader BSc Applied Sport Science) and Senior Lecturer Matt Johnson (Course Leader BSc Sport Coaching). When given the opportunity to comment on the value of such opportunities for students, Dr Bruce-Low stated “this is a typical example of one of the many opportunities that the BSc Applied Sport Science and BSc Sport Coaching degrees provide, allowing the students to obtain hands on experience with a range of sport science testing but in a real life situation. This is essential for CV building and can make the difference between getting a job or not. The students were as ever a credit to themselves and the courses they represent ensuring they successfully applied not only the theory learnt in the classroom but also the professional skills learnt throughout their degree. We look forward to working with Samsung in the future as their exciting competition 'Win a Pro Contract' goes from strength to strength”.

Sport Scientists team up with Samsung

Solent’s sports science lecturers have teamed up with Samsung Electronics (UK) for their nationwide football competition, Win A Pro Contract.

The sports scientists will be monitoring the competition’s 22 players and conducting a number of assessments as they battle to become a professional footballer.

Dr Stewart Bruce-Low and his research team will use Samsung’s latest technology to conduct a number of assessments including cardio, body fat, sprint and recovery testing. 

Fitness testing at Solent's sport science laboratories

Samsung’s Win A Pro Contract this year attracted entries from nearly 6,000 amateur players - all chasing the dream of turning professional at either Swindon Town FC or Leyton Orient FC.

Their performances in the Semi Final will be filmed using Samsung equipment, and analysis fed ‘real time’ into Samsung tablets by the sports scientists.

This detailed information stream will be supplied to Swindon Town manager Paolo Di Canio and Leyton Orient boss Russell Slade to help them select their eventual winners. 

Players battle for the ball during the quarter final stage of the Samsung Win a Pro Contract competition

Samsung Sponsorship Director Martin Howard said: “We’re delighted about this partnership with Southampton Solent University. With the help of our technology the players will experience first-hand the way the work of the sports scientist aids professional sportsmen and women become faster, stronger and fitter.”

Stewart said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to work with a brand that supports sport in so many ways. The new relationship with Samsung is also a wonderful opportunity for our students to obtain great working experience, whilst building their expertise and confidence.

“Collaborative work like this shows why Sport Science degrees at Southampton Solent University are ranked number one in the UK for student satisfaction*.”

The two winning players will next January sign year-long professional playing contracts – one at Swindon, and one at Orient.

The fitness testing, as well as the players’ progress through regional skills trials to the Final, will be screened on Sky Sports in three 30-minute programmes to be broadcast in the new year.

*Courses grouped into the Sport Science JACS subject area, National Student Survey 2012

Paralympic Reflections

Now that the start of the new academic year is well under way, two of the HESS staff involved in the 2012 London Paralympic Games have had time to reflect and discuss their summer experiences. Both James Fisher and Dr. Stewart Bruce-Low, both of whom have significant experience with an array of different athletes, were heavily involved in the 2012 Games. James is a Senior Lecturer in Sports Conditioning and Fitness, and Level 4 Leader for Health and Fitness courses, whilst Stewart is an Associate Professor and Course Leader for BSc Applied Sport Science. 

GB Women’s Wheelchair Basketball

James Fisher has been Assistant Coach to the GB Women’s Wheelchair Basketball team for 4 years and has supported their training cycle from Beijing through to the London 2012 Games. He was in the village and coached through the tournament, culminating in a close loss in the quarter finals to eventual Gold medal winners Germany. He commented:

“The Games were a phenomenal experience; it really is justice that they only happen once every 4 years. It is the pinnacle of sporting excellence and to have been a part of that on home soil was incredible. The team didn’t perform as well as hoped in the early stages which gave us a tough cross-over in the quarter final against Germany, although we still gave them their toughest game of the competition. From entry to the village and signing for accreditation under armed guard through the opening and closing ceremonies, home crowds, and the immense support from family and friends it is the highlight of my career to date.”

GB Women warm up for their game against Brazil. James (shown right) takes responsibility for pre-game warm-up commenting that “it’s great to be part of the energy whilst the team go through final preparations”

 

GB Wheelchair Rugby

The Paralympic sport that was dubbed the event of the Paralympics was wheelchair rugby. The preparation for the games in the field of sport science was provided by the staff and students from Southampton Solent University. Dr. Stewart Bruce-Low has been the head sport scientist for Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby for the last 10 months as well as working closely with the individual conditioning of multiple athletes for years prior to this. He has ensured that his students obtained fantastic experiences working with the athletes in their build up to the London games through testing, training and conditioning sessions which directly influenced the team’s preparation to perform at their peak for the London Games. Stewart commented:

GB Wheelchair Rugby in action, Aaron Phipps (13) regularly trains at Solent University under the guidance of Dr. Bruce-Low

“The run up to the games was a great experience for the students on the Applied Sport Science and Sport Coaching degrees. The students applied the skills they had learned in the classroom to the live environment. This has ensured their CV’s were enhanced and this resulted in a number of success stories; three of the students studying Applied Sport Science delivered the performance analysis as part of the relationship Solent had with GBWR which meant they were heavily involved during the Paralympics. A number of the students who gained these experiences in the lead up to the Paralympics have now gone on to work at premiership football and premiership rugby clubs which shows the importance of not only building your CV but also the importance of choosing the right course for you. These examples show that studying Applied Sport Science at Southampton Solent University can provide you with the opportunities required to help obtain a job in the industry upon graduating”.