Improving Olympic performance

10 August 2012

Dr Dick Thijssen, a Research Fellow at the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences (RISES), has been featured in the New Scientist July Newsletter for his research into protecting the heart from damage and through this new ways of improving elite athlete performance.
 
In 2010, alongside a team of cardiologists and with UKSport, Dr Thijssen found that cutting off the blood supply helped protect the heart from damage. To test this hunch, Dr Thijssen and his colleagues tried out the procedure –known as ischaemic preconditioning, or IPC. 

"If the technique had such a big effect on heart damage, I thought it might also be useful for athletes," Dr Thijssen told New Scientist.

Many athletes have already jumped on the IPC bandwagon, allowing them to get that vital extra 0.1 per cent improvement at events like the Olympics
 
A preview of the article is available at: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21528745.900-olympic-extremes-blood-sport.html
 
Additional coverage highlights: http://www.thestar.com/sports/london2012/article/1231008--london-2012-the-medical-technique-that-could-help-olympic-athletes-win-gold

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