What is sport and exercise science?

From working with footballers and elite athletes, to helping those in extreme environments and the emergency services, and even improving public awareness around physical activity - sport and exercise science is an exciting field to be in! Learn more about what sport and exercise scientists do in this short animation!
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Produced by Orinoco Communications
Animation: Hayley Evenett
Illustration: Alex Scarfe
Sound Design/Music: Alexander Bradley
Narration: Adam Hawkey
Director: Peter Barker
Scientific advisors: Adam Hawkey, Gladys Onambele-Pearson, Mike Tipton, Steve Harridge.
Producer at The Physiological Society: Emily Wylde
Transcript:
Athletes today can run faster, jump higher and hit harder than ever before. Thanks, in part, to sport and exercise scientists, who are using their understanding of physiology to optimise athletes training, performance, and recovery. And helping us live healthier lives through physical activity.
Take Jamie, he works as the sports scientist for a professional football team. Jamie is helping the players stay injury free by using sensors on the skin to gather data on muscle contractions and fatigue, and using these data to tailor players’ training to maximise performance and minimise injuries. Then there’s Victoria. She’s investigating why athletes with spinal cord injuries seem prone to overheating. This is when our deep body temperature goes too high, increasing blood flow to the skin and putting greater strain on the heart. Below their injury, these athletes’ bodies can’t regulate temperature through usual methods like sweating. And the higher up the injury the worse the problem is. With competitions like the Paralympic Games increasingly held in hot climates, this research could play a vital role in helping to prepare athletes and keep them safe.
And it’s not just athletes who benefit from sport and exercise science. It’s also helping people with physiologically challenging jobs, like those working in extreme environments and the emergency services…
Radika works with the fire service to measure the physiological impact of wearing protective equipment like protective respiratory devices. These units allow firefighters to work in hot, smoky conditions BUT the extra load can place increased strain on the heart and decrease firefighters’ capabilities. So Radika’s research is being used to devise recommendations about how long firefighters should use such protective equipment.
And what does sport and exercise science mean for the rest of us?
Well, it’s been said that ‘if exercise were a pill, it would be one of the most impactful drugs ever invented”! From improving patients’ fitness prior to surgery, to combating epidemics such as obesity and diabetes. Sport and exercise scientists are showing us how physical activity can help us to live healthier lives for longer.
But is occasional exercise enough? Recent research has uncovered something known as the ‘Active Couch Potato Phenomenon’. This describes people are physically active but who still spend many uninterrupted hours sitting down. It turns out prolonged inactivity like this can cause real problems for our bodily systems, with increased blood pressure, cholesterol and risk of cardiovascular disease. So sport and exercise scientists have a big challenge to make sure we’re moving more and staying healthy.
By helping athletes, protecting workers and pushing for greater public health, physiologists working in sport and exercise science are using their knowledge for good everywhere. Now is a great time to get involved!

[@bozitrapboy]

i workout and wanted a degree in sports science, but after seeing this video i'm not so sure i want to anymore

[@jasonloh9641]

omg same bro,people is criticizing me for studying sport science,now my brain is starting to wanna learn computer science

[@littlebluedolphin]

Why do you say so? Sports science can be very much intriguing, and the fields you can work in can be rewarding. I'm a exercise & sports science graduate, and what made me study sports science back then, is that I'm an active person and very into learning how exercise testing and performance programming works to help better the performance of myself as an athlete, and other active individuals around me. Now, my vision is beyond sports performance, and that I wanted to help people using exercise on a very intricate basis, working towards their needs and goals in health. I work in exercise rehabilitation, helping injured individuals, regular folks and chronic illness-plagued patients get stronger, better, faster safely. I love my job, as I can help others by imparting them valuable health knowledge on how to exercise properly towards their goals, injury free

[@jasonloh9641]

@@littlebluedolphin thank you for telling :D,I'm gonna study sport science too now

[@littlebluedolphin]

@@jasonloh9641 All the best! And don't just plainly study and do well academically, thought that is still important. Make friends with course seniors, talk to your professors etc, and seek their advise on the direction you'd like to take. In your 2nd year, start looking for clinical shadowing or internship opportunities, broaden your network in the industry, reach out to the experts in the fields etc, it'll help in your future career opportunities in a field that's still quite niche. I didn't start out so smoothly in the beginning of my career as my networking wasn't that broad. Another coursemate of mine networked quite broadly, so with that she managed to clinch a job offer as an exercise physiologist before graduation. After a bit of toggling in 2 industries (training/education, then healthcare), now I'm in exercise rehabilitation and programming, something that I won't exchange for any other, and I get to do good for the general population and diseased population in my line of work, beyond sports performance wise (something which most sports science grads look at only).

[@jasonloh9641]

@@littlebluedolphin Thanks for sharing so much avalon. Love from Malaysia haha

[@jonathanr1840]

So what I’m seeing is sports and exercise science basically you study and help improve performance and health

[@littlebluedolphin]

Yes, that's pretty much in a nutshell what sports and exercise science is about. The spectrum of clients you can work with is pretty broad. From sub-acute patients recovering from injury/medical conditions, to the chronically ill patients needing exercise as an intervention, to healthy individuals trying to keep fit, to young kids(healthy / with medical conditions) needing to (re)learn motor skills, to recreational athletes or military personnel seeking better physical performance, and the high performance elite athletes needing to win medals.

[@kevin81s]

WONDERFUL VIDEO CLIP! DO YOU HAVE A COPYRIGHT OF THIS ? HOW CAN I PERMIT OF THIS CLIP FOR MY CONFERENCE PRESENTATION.

[@MonroeJonesJr.]

I like they example of exercise.😊

[@damilareidowu6363]

Very insightful, thanks

[@maxlockyer9110]

awesome

[@karanrupesh8702]

wicked cool!

[@maxlockyer9110]

@@karanrupesh8702 great watch, couldn’t take my eyes off it

[@varunphartyal9048]

Very good video 😃👌

[@mohammedrayyan8547]

Kurama

[@Drnikki22]

I am having bachelor degree in Physiotherapy and international Level-7 Diploma in sports and exercise sciences but still struggling in sports science field. Just earning with my physio degree. It's like I wasted my money cuz nobody consider this degree and experience.

[@SPORTSCIENCEps]

It's a long journey but like especially in sport, persistence!

[@littlebluedolphin]

You need to know where to look, who to network with, and how to work towards getting into the sports science field. Truth be told, to be in the sports science field, especially for performance based like working with national teams and elite athletes, most employers require at least a master's, sometimes phD in sports physiology for one to be considered. Or you must showcase you have a track record of working in elite sports and have delivered results for winning teams. On the other hand, instead of sports science, you can look into exercise science instead. The difference between sports and exercise is, sports is about what it takes to (enable the athletes you work with) win medals and competitions, while exercise is about how staying active can better one's health outcomes. I'm a exercise and sports science graduate, and now work in exercise rehabilitation with chronic illness patients. I love what I'm doing as I'm helping my patients get better and stronger through exercise, which is something very rewarding.

[@Jude.small11]

why just why