Lord Sebastian Coe opened the new BRC-supported sport institute this week. The institute will treat elite athletes, ‘weekend warriors’ and NHS patients under the same roof and will carry out leading sport research.
The Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health (ISEH) will provide a national and international hub for clinical and academic work in sport, exercise medicine and sports injury rehabilitation. Its aim is to increase exercise in the community, develop strategies to prevent diseases related to inactivity; and prevent, diagnose and manage injuries for professional and amateur athletes.
Part of the National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine, the new Institute is London’s long-term health legacy from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The institute is a partnership between UCL, UCLH (University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust), HCA Hospitals, the English Institute of Sport and the British Olympic Association. It involves personnel from the BRC including Professor Monty Mythen, who is Chair of the ISEH Scientific Advisory Board and BRC-supported research, and BRC-supported researchers. Professor Hugh Montgomery will lead a team researching the genetics of bone physiology focusing on stress fractures in athletes.
Other research fields at the institute include genetic polymorphisms (identifying groups at risk of certain injuries and groups more suited to one form of exercise or sport), the process of returning injuries back to normal function, and clinical and imaging assessment of the young adult hip in sport.
Lord Coe, Chairman of the British Olympic Association, said: “This institute is a great example of the kind of thing we had in mind when we spoke about creating a lasting legacy from the London 2012 Games. Not only will it deliver excellence in injury prevention and management for elite athletes, it will offer the same level of care to amateur sportsmen and women who were inspired by what they saw last summer. This fabulous facility will also have a role in introducing exercise into the treatment regimes of NHS patients, spreading the word about the powerful impact sport and exercise can have on your quality of life.”
The institute will promote exercise to NHS patients and introduce exercise into the treatment plans of those patients who would benefit. The Institute plans to continue research into these areas and to offer expert teaching and training in sport and exercise medicine and other related fields.
Based at 170 Tottenham Court Road in the heart of London, facilities at the institute include a suite of consulting facilities, ultrasound, X-ray and MRI scanning equipment, an outpatient area and research and education facilities.
Research findings and best practice will be shared with the entire NHS.
The institute has already developed strong relationships with leading sporting stakeholders including the European Golf Tour, Rugby Football Union; Football Association and National Football League. The ISEH will focus on building affiliations with other international sports clubs and organisations with the ambition of the Institute becoming the premier worldwide destination for sports injury treatment.
Professor Fares Haddad, Director of the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health, said: “Our new Institute brings together clinical, scientific and research experts in a state-of-the-art facility. By working closely together we will be able to create an international centre of excellence for sport and exercise medicine and surgery. The Institute will be the most impressive and sustained health legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
"Our clinical and academic expertise will not only help our athletes win medals but help treat ‘weekend warriors’ who pick up sporting injuries.
"We will also have a role in promoting the benefits of exercise to our patients. So regardless of whether you are a cancer patient, a respiratory patient, a cardiac patient or a diabetic patient, if we can introduce exercise into your treatment programme, you will benefit. People talk a great deal about obesity as a great problem affecting society but it’s actually inactivity that is the biggest threat to our well-being."
Sir Robert Naylor, Chief Executive of University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We have assembled a team of experts in sports and exercise health which will form the backbone of a lasting Olympic legacy for professional and amateur sportsmen and women in London and beyond. However, this is not just about how we can support the development of elite athletes but how we can use the institute, and its close research links, as a vehicle to improve the health of the nation.”
Dr Mike Loosemoore, a Lead Sports Physician in the English Institute of Sport , who will be based at the institute, said: “It is great for our Olympic and Paralympic athletes to have access to such a fantastic facility that is able to provide them with a one-stop-shop service. It means they will be able to come to the clinic and receive a consultation and high-quality scan in the same place and leave that day with an agreed plan to manage their recovery and return to training. It certainly has the potential to reduce the number of days lost to injury, which is critically important to athletes and coaches and does have an impact on performance.”
