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Keynote Lectures

The Biomechanics of Sports Injuries and Prevention Strategies
Jim Richards, Allied Health Research unit, University of Central Lancashire, United Kingdom

New Approaches to the Calculation and Analysis of Breath-by-breath Alveolar Gas Exchanges in Humans
Carlo Capelli, University of Milan, Italy

A Engineering Led Approach to Reducing Head in Injuries in Cricket
Andy Harland, Loughborough University, United Kingdom

 

The Biomechanics of Sports Injuries and Prevention Strategies

Jim Richards
Allied Health Research unit, University of Central Lancashire
United Kingdom
 

Brief Bio
Jim Richards was appointed Professor in Biomechanics and research lead for Allied Health Professions at University of Central Lancashire in 2004. Professor Richards work includes the clinical application of biomechanics, the development of new assessment tools for chronic disease, conservative and surgical management of orthopaedic and neurological conditions, and development of evidence based approaches for improving clinical management and rehabilitation. The focus of Professor Richards work is to encourage inter-professional research and to develop direct parallels with research to the ‘real world’ of allied health work. Professor Richards holds International Professorial Chair positions at the University of Perugia, Italy; the National Taipei University of Technology, Taiwan; Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal and Palacky University Olomouc, Czech Republic and School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Singapore Polytechnic and is an associate editor for “The Knee”. Professor Richards has authored over 300 papers and written and edited a number of textbooks including Biomechanics in Clinic and Research (2008) and the 5th edition of Whittle’s Gait Analysis (2012). He has also contributed to Tidy’s Physiotherapy (2003, 2008, 2012), the 10th edition of Mercer's Textbook of Orthopaedics and Trauma (2012), and Experimental Research Methods: A Guidebook for Studies in Trauma Care (2015).


Abstract
Much of the biomechanical testing in sport is still conducted using very simple biomechanical models. However these do not allow a complete picture of the movement and forces acting about the foot, ankle and knee joints during tasks involving large amounts of rotation and medial-lateral loading, despite these frequently being linked with injuries during sporting tasks by clinicians. With the most common injury sites being around the ankle and knee joints.

There is an evident demand for an increase in understanding of joint mechanics during sporting and functional tasks. The latest techniques in biomechanics allow us to model each body segment in ever increasing detail. We can now measure movement of the body segments in rotation and translation independently during complex tasks. This is particularly interesting in complex sports movements and can help our understanding of injury mechanisms.

This talk will focus on the ankle and knee joints and will discuss what information biomechanics can tell now us, how this relates to injury mechanisms and our understanding of potential preventive injury and re-injury interventions and how these can be related to a clinical benefit to individuals.



 

 

New Approaches to the Calculation and Analysis of Breath-by-breath Alveolar Gas Exchanges in Humans

Carlo Capelli
University of Milan
Italy
http://www.dnbm.univr.it/?lang=en
 

Brief Bio
Dr Capelli graduated in Medicine at the University of Milano on 1984. He worked as research assistant of Human Physiology at the University of Udine from 1988 to 2000 and, then, as associate professor until 2006, when he was appointed Full Professor at the University of Verona. It is author of more that 80 papers published in international scientific, peer-reviewed journals. He has been the coordinator of the PhD course in Exercise Sciences, University of Verona. A present, he is on leave from the Univeristy of Verona and he has been appointed full professor of human physiology at the Department of Physical Performances, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway from 2105 to 2019. The main scientific fields of interest of Dr. Capelli are the respiratory responses during exercise and the adaptation of humans to microgravity and disuse/training. He is member of the Italian Physiological Society, of the American College of Sports Medicine of the European College of Sport Sciences and of the American Physiological Society. Dr. Capelli spent several periods of study and work in foreign institutions: SUNY at Buffalo (USA), 1993 – 1994, Moscow (Russia), 1995, Ames NASA Centre, Moffet Field (USA), 1995, NASA Lyndon Johnson Space Centre, 1995 e 1996, Cologne (G), 2001, 2002 and 2003. He has been the co-ordinator of the study “Cardiopulmonary consequences of short-term bedrest in humans” (2001-2003 Short-Term Bed- Rest – Integrated Physiology study, Cologne, funded by the European Space Agency; he participated as co-investigator to several bed rest campaigns funded by the Italian Space Agency. He is responsible of the local unit of the multicentre project funded by ESA “ASTRONAUT EXERCISE PRESCRIPTIONS PROMOTING HEALTH AND FITNESS ON EARTH” coordinated by Prof. Tesch, Karolinska Inst., Sweden. Title of the local project: “CARDIOVASCULAR AND SKELETAL MUSCLE RESPONSES TO CHRONIC CONCURRENT EXERCISE USING FLYWHEEL TECHNOLOGY IN OLD MEN”. He has been funded as responsible of a local unit by the Italian Minister of University and Research, by the Italian Space Agency and by a local charity for a study on motor disability and exercise capacity in cerebral palsy


Abstract
Breath-by-breath alveolar oxygen uptake (V’O2A) kinetics allows us explore the dynamic adaptation of muscular O2 uptake and provides an integrated view of the mechanisms coupling mitochondrial aerobic energy production to O2 diffusion and convective transport.

V’O2A on-kinetics has been evaluated in several conditions (training, inactivity, elderly subjects, cardiopulmonary and metabolic diseases) and it is nowadays broadly applied to obtain deeper insights on the adaptations of oxidative metabolism in humans in response to medical, environmental, training interventions. As such, the topic is of relevance for a broad audience including exercise and respiration physiologists and physicians who apply stress testing to evaluate physical fitness and therapeutic response in patients.

A necessary proviso of this approach is the reliable estimate of the “true” V’O2A together with the parallel assessment of the beat-by-beat kinetics of cardiovascular O2 bulk delivery and of muscle oxygenation. In addition, as V’O2A kinetics is described by fitting several series of over imposed b-by-b data with mathematical functions, particular care must be applied to data reduction, filtering and statistical fitting.

In this lecture we first explain the theory behind the algorithms utilised to estimate the oxygen alveolar gas transfer and we will summarise the results obtained in evaluating and comparing some of the most diffused methods for Breath-by-Breath calculations. Then, the performances of some mathematical approaches applied to increase the signal-to-noise ratio of the Breath-by-Breath time series of data will be shortly presented.



 

 

A Engineering Led Approach to Reducing Head in Injuries in Cricket

Andy Harland
Loughborough University
United Kingdom
www.sports-technology.com
 

Brief Bio
Dr Andy Harland graduated with a first degree in Engineering Science and Technology before completing a PhD at Loughborough University in partnership with National Physical Laboratory on the topic of optical methods for underwater and medical acoustic measurement.  Soon afterwards he followed his passion and moved into sports engineering and has progressed to become Director of Sports Technology Institute, one of the World’s leading academic centre of its kind.  Dr Harland has been an investigator on over £4M of research projects and supervised 19 PhDs to completion.  He has undertaken research in partnership with FIFA, International Cricket Council, International Hockey Federation, adidas, England and Wales Cricket Board, Dunlop Slazenger among others and authored over 70 peer reviewed publications.


Abstract
In a 10 year period between 2003 and 2013, over 50 serious or career threatening injuries were recorded in professional cricket by batters hit on the head or face whilst wearing a protective helmet. The game of cricket at the elite level, where a 156g ball can be delivered upwards of 90 mph (~145 kph) towards a batter stood 20 m away presents significant risk of injury should it impact an unprotected location on the body or head. For this reason, players and manufacturers have developed items of protective clothing, many of which are embedded within the traditions of the game, although none are required to be worn under the laws of the game. In this keynote, Dr Harland will describe how an engineering approach using advanced measurement methods were employed to not only identify deficiencies in helmet performance but also the product safety standards and outline the partnership approach required to bring about real change within the game. By analysing the specific detail of known injury cases, laboratory based apparatus were developed capable of replicating conditions and the performance of a range of commercially available helmets assessed. Together with standards agencies, helmet manufacturers and stakeholders within the sport, awareness and understanding of player safety has improved significantly and incidences of injury reduced. Dr Harland will also explore how methods and approaches used in addressing safety issues in sport are also being applied to enhance the performance and comfort of athletes in products used across a range of other sports.



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