Use of heart rate kinetics during the rest-exercise transition for tracking changes in exercise performance in athletes. The project aims to develop an objective method for assessing fatigue and recovery in athletes during changes in training load. It is intended that this will inform training adjustments to optimise performance and reduce the risk of overtraining and injury. The method assesses the maximal rate of heart rate increase at the start of light exercise (rHRI), and has been shown in ....Use of heart rate kinetics during the rest-exercise transition for tracking changes in exercise performance in athletes. The project aims to develop an objective method for assessing fatigue and recovery in athletes during changes in training load. It is intended that this will inform training adjustments to optimise performance and reduce the risk of overtraining and injury. The method assesses the maximal rate of heart rate increase at the start of light exercise (rHRI), and has been shown in the project team’s early studies to track reductions in exercise performance when an athlete is fatigued from increased training. The project aims to now refine rHRI so it can also track improvements in exercise performance as athletes recover, and to evaluate rHRI in multiple sports and genders. A field test will be developed and mechanisms that allow it to track changes in exercise performance will be investigated.Read moreRead less
An investigation into performance characteristics of elite male and female soccer players in training and competition environments. The aim of the project is to identify critical determinants of soccer performance that will improve preparation of Australian teams for international competition. Three studies are proposed. Study One will utilize a decade of physical performance and anthropometric data on male and female soccer players at the Australian Institute of Sport to identify physical perfo ....An investigation into performance characteristics of elite male and female soccer players in training and competition environments. The aim of the project is to identify critical determinants of soccer performance that will improve preparation of Australian teams for international competition. Three studies are proposed. Study One will utilize a decade of physical performance and anthropometric data on male and female soccer players at the Australian Institute of Sport to identify physical performance standards characteristic of elite players. Study Two will comprise match analyses to delineate crucial physical, technical and tactical aspects of individual and team performance. Study three will identify characteristics specific to elite goalkeepers that may be used for monitoring responses to training and competition.Read moreRead less
Playing it Safe: Psychological Safety and Mental Health for Community Sport. At a time when over half of all Australians participate in organised sports it is critical to ensure that these environments are psychologically safe. The problem is that community sports clubs have no clear guidance on how to fulfil this substantial responsibility. There have been urgent calls for the development of psychological safety and mental health guidelines which have yet to be answered. This project will deliv ....Playing it Safe: Psychological Safety and Mental Health for Community Sport. At a time when over half of all Australians participate in organised sports it is critical to ensure that these environments are psychologically safe. The problem is that community sports clubs have no clear guidance on how to fulfil this substantial responsibility. There have been urgent calls for the development of psychological safety and mental health guidelines which have yet to be answered. This project will deliver the knowledge to underpin effective psychological safety and mental health guidelines for community sports with national impact. When implemented, this knowledge will help sports clubs to provide a psychologically safe environment, and promote the mental health and wellbeing of all Australians involved in organised sports.Read moreRead less
Strategies to reduce risk of heat induced illness during intermittent, high intensity activity in a tropical environment. Regular intermittent, high intensity physical activity (IHIA) affords protection against modern life-style diseases (type II diabetes, coronary heart disease and some cancers) but when conducted in the tropics, exposes persons to the risk of dehydration, heat cramps, hypotension, heat syncope, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Australia has rapid population growth in the tropi ....Strategies to reduce risk of heat induced illness during intermittent, high intensity activity in a tropical environment. Regular intermittent, high intensity physical activity (IHIA) affords protection against modern life-style diseases (type II diabetes, coronary heart disease and some cancers) but when conducted in the tropics, exposes persons to the risk of dehydration, heat cramps, hypotension, heat syncope, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Australia has rapid population growth in the tropics and key sporting fixtures have moved to the region. We have set up the research capability and must now move on a range of IHIA in sport, workplaces, armed and emergency services to provide strategies to reduce the risk of heat induced illness in a tropical environment.Read moreRead less
Improving determinants of Australian sports talent identification and development: a multi-disciplinary approach. Sport is important to many Australians. Our sport successes enhance our national identity, generate community pride and attract mega sport events. Currently our sport talent identification and development (TID) systems have been surpassed by our international rivals who borrowed from and improved our knowledge. This project will help regain Australia's international advantage and aga ....Improving determinants of Australian sports talent identification and development: a multi-disciplinary approach. Sport is important to many Australians. Our sport successes enhance our national identity, generate community pride and attract mega sport events. Currently our sport talent identification and development (TID) systems have been surpassed by our international rivals who borrowed from and improved our knowledge. This project will help regain Australia's international advantage and again make Australian TID the international benchmark. Results will highlight the role of TID practices in improving recreational participation and maximising, attracting, developing and retaining sport talent. This will result in improved use of sports limited TID funding by providing greater understanding of factors that influence elite selection and sport development.Read moreRead less
Biological Role of Contraction-Induced Heat Shock Protein Expression. It is well known that mammalian skeletal muscle increases its expression of a group of highly conserved proteins, the heat shock proteins (HSP) in response to repeated contraction. However, the biological role of this expression is unclear. The aim of this project is to determine the biological role of contraction-induced HSP expression. We expect to show that HSP synthesis in response to exercise has three major roles; 1) to ....Biological Role of Contraction-Induced Heat Shock Protein Expression. It is well known that mammalian skeletal muscle increases its expression of a group of highly conserved proteins, the heat shock proteins (HSP) in response to repeated contraction. However, the biological role of this expression is unclear. The aim of this project is to determine the biological role of contraction-induced HSP expression. We expect to show that HSP synthesis in response to exercise has three major roles; 1) to act to repair damaged proteins in recovery from muscle injury 2) to act as a "molecular motor" to translocate proteins from one region of a muscle cell to another and 3) to be released into the circulation in order to act as a central signal to activate immune cells. Such a project will be significant because it will allow for a fundamental understanding as to why these proteins are produced in response to exercise. We expect to enhance our understanding of fundamental cell biology.Read moreRead less
Does Manipulation Of Arterial Shear Stress Enhance Cerebrovascular Function And Cognition In The Aging Brain?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$707,914.00
Summary
Globally, 9.2 million less cases of dementia could result from delaying it by as little as 12 months. We will assess the impact, on artery health and cognition, of a novel exercise intervention involving enhanced patterns of brain blood flow and arterial shear stress during exercise, stimuli which should optimise cerebrovascular health. Given that pharmacological approaches to prevention are ineffective, this project has the potential to address the future impact of this common and debilitating ....Globally, 9.2 million less cases of dementia could result from delaying it by as little as 12 months. We will assess the impact, on artery health and cognition, of a novel exercise intervention involving enhanced patterns of brain blood flow and arterial shear stress during exercise, stimuli which should optimise cerebrovascular health. Given that pharmacological approaches to prevention are ineffective, this project has the potential to address the future impact of this common and debilitating disease in Australians.Read moreRead less
Visualising vascular adaptation at the micro-scale in humans. The project aims to investigate fundamental issues in the mechanisms underlying vascular remodelling. It plans to develop novel optical scanning techniques to acquire high-resolution images of the cutaneous microvasculature, alongside absolute blood flow quantification. These novel tools would allow us to visualise and quantify functional and structural adaptations in the microvasculature in response to physiological stimuli such as h ....Visualising vascular adaptation at the micro-scale in humans. The project aims to investigate fundamental issues in the mechanisms underlying vascular remodelling. It plans to develop novel optical scanning techniques to acquire high-resolution images of the cutaneous microvasculature, alongside absolute blood flow quantification. These novel tools would allow us to visualise and quantify functional and structural adaptations in the microvasculature in response to physiological stimuli such as heat exposure and exercise. The non-invasive tool aims to enable us to assess adaptations in microvasculature health, improving our understanding of cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes and potentially reducing the impact of costly and debilitating morbidities such as nephropathy, neuropathy, retinopathy, impotence and skin ulceration.Read moreRead less
Improving Muscle Function After Injury: Novel Tissue Engineering Strategies For Exercise, Surgery And Sports Medicine
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$288,210.00
Summary
Muscles can be injured by excessive strains when playing sports, in road and workplace accidents, and during plastic and reconstructive surgery. Some surgeries require an unavoidable interruption to the muscle's normal blood supply (called 'ischaemia'). Subsequent return of the muscle's blood supply (reperfusion) is problematic in that a severe secondary muscle injury can ensue mediated by the influx of damaging free radicals when blood flow is restored. Tissue-engineering provides a novel thera ....Muscles can be injured by excessive strains when playing sports, in road and workplace accidents, and during plastic and reconstructive surgery. Some surgeries require an unavoidable interruption to the muscle's normal blood supply (called 'ischaemia'). Subsequent return of the muscle's blood supply (reperfusion) is problematic in that a severe secondary muscle injury can ensue mediated by the influx of damaging free radicals when blood flow is restored. Tissue-engineering provides a novel therapeutic approach to restore muscle structure and function to damaged muscles after injury or disease. Our recent research using controlled release of growth factors from biodegradable hydrogels has exciting application for muscle repairafter injury. We will utilize these cutting edge tissue engineering strategies to deliver to damaged muscles a hydrogel containing controlled delivery (slow release) microcapsules loaded with an anabolic agent (the beta-agonist, formoterol) and-or a growth factor (IL-15) designed to enhance functional muscle repair after three distinct but clinically relevant models of muscle injury: a) crush injury: A model for muscle injuries on the sports field, in the workplace, and those associated with road trauma; b) ischaemia-reperfusion injury: a model for muscle damage associated with surgical interventions, muscle transfers for functional restoration, and other injuries associated with plastic and reconstructive surgery; and c) contraction-induced injury: a model for strain injuries such as hamstring muscle tears that can occur on the sports field. After injury we will assess functional muscle repair using a comprehensive series of histological, biochemical, molecular, immunochistochemical, and physiological techniques. The research has broad application to exercise and clinical medicine; including sports, emergency and rehabilitation medicine, and plastic, reconstructive, and orthopaedic surgery.Read moreRead less
Exercise Cardiac Imaging To Study Right Ventricular Functional Remodelling In Athletes With And Without Ventricular Arrhythmias
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$392,587.00
Summary
Extreme exercise results in heart remodelling for which the long-term consequences are incompletely understood. We have described transient reductions in heart function following endurance sport. However, we have also described a group of athletes with serious heart rhythm problems and sustained right heart abnormalities. Therefore, we hypothesize that extreme exercise can cause potentially serious heart changes in some athletes and that detailed heart assessment during exercise will predict tho ....Extreme exercise results in heart remodelling for which the long-term consequences are incompletely understood. We have described transient reductions in heart function following endurance sport. However, we have also described a group of athletes with serious heart rhythm problems and sustained right heart abnormalities. Therefore, we hypothesize that extreme exercise can cause potentially serious heart changes in some athletes and that detailed heart assessment during exercise will predict those at greatest risk.Read moreRead less