Dr Adam Naylor
| Biography | Across the 20+ years of my career, I have always aimed to ‘practice what I preach and preach what I practice’. I have taught in universities for over 15 years, and currently support the undergraduate Sport Rehabilitation teaching team with physiology topics and advanced practice approaches to assessing injury risk and applying individualised training and exercise prescription. I am programme lead for the BASRaT-accredited MSc Sport Rehabilitation and Athletic Training programme to offer post-graduates from wider backgrounds the opportunity to enhance their skillset and practice in our field. As well as teaching, I maintain my own practice skills across the scope of a sport rehabilitator, from injury assessment and rehabilitation, to exercise prescription and training, physiological fitness testing, strength and endurance coaching, and bike fitting. As a UoS Sport Rehabilitation graduate in 2002, I’ve worked in professional sport, private practice and with many everyday-athletes who set inspirational goals to push their limits. I completed a PhD in exercise fatigue and recovery in 2022, which deepened my insight into the way in which we manage any level of athlete’s recovery from training, injury or performance, and therefore manage injury risk in the most optimal ways. I am a BASRaT-registered sport rehabilitator, HCPC-registered musculoskeletal physiotherapist, and British Triathlon Federation coach, with a certification from the National Strength and Conditioning Association. I provide strength and conditioning and injury support for the England Triathlon North West Academy youth and junior athletes. I am a co-director of M20 Health and Performance, based in south Manchester - a multidisciplinary centre for injury, health, training and performance support for the general public and athletes. I’m also a member of the BASRaT executive committee, where I enjoy helping to develop our profession lead the way in the rehabilitation and exercise healthcare environment. I'm currently working towards gaining a blackbelt in Shukokai karate, and I may do the odd ironman triathlon, marathon or cycle sportive too…just to keep me busy. |
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| Research Interests | My research interests cover three main areas: (i) the measurement of fatigue and monitoring of recovery from sport activities (ii) the tissue responses and adaptations to endurance training (iii) injury risk identification and risk reduction in endurance sports As a 'recreationally competitive' endurance athlete, coach and musculoskeletal practitioner, my research interests reflect my practices and personal interests. In efforts to enhance the performance and training journeys of anyone enjoying endurance sport, I endeavour to improve knowledge and understanding underpinning injury risk, training responses and tissue-level changes, with view to inform effective and individualised strategies to maintain participation and performance. My PhD research focused on the impact of extreme cold on sports recovery, namely the use of 'wholebody cryotherapy (-120 degC)' and its influence on endocrine function and perception of recovery. Some of my previous research was in injury epidemiology in Super League rugby league, where I was a responsible for data analysis and stakeholder communication of injury trends, and reporting. At the time, this was a prospective injury surveillance and reporting project - the first of its kind in rugby league. It created an impact case study which influenced the changing and informing of concussion reporting laws set by the Rugby Football League. |
| Teaching and Learning | My teaching encompasses the whole of the Sport Rehabilitation curriculum on accredited UG and PG programmes: Neuromusculoskeletal anatomy, physiology and biomechanics Neuromusculoskeletal clinical examination approaches Exercise physiology, health and fitness testing Strength and conditioning Injury risk screening Exercise rehabilitation Therapeutic treatment modalities Pre-hospital injury care in sport (PHICIS) Research methods & project design and supervision |
| PhD Supervision Availability | Yes |
| PhD Topics | Fatigue and recovery in sport Injury risk screening and risk reduction in endurance sport Tissue responses and adaptations in endurance sport |