Playing Squash to Improve Health & Wellbeing: Quantifying physiological and psychological demands towards advanced age

Faculty of Health & Wellbeing, Sheffield Hallam University
Centre for Sport and Exercise Science
PhD Research Studentship (full-time for 3 years)
Stipend: £14,777 per annum

A three-year PhD studentship is available to UK and EU students. The studentship covers home/EU tuition fees, stipend equivalent to full UK Research Council rate and research expenses.

Squash is played in all corners of the globe with the World Squash Federation boasting 150 national governing bodies and 50,000 courts worldwide (World Squash Federation, 2018). It was a showcase sport at the recent 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, conveying it’s international appeal. In England, over 200,000 individuals partake in a game of squash a week, across the 4,200 facilities which have a squash court (England Squash, 2018).

Squash is regularly cited as one of the best sports to improve and maintain cardiovascular and muscular endurance, strength, flexibility, increase energy expenditure and reduce injury risk (Sharp, 1998). Indeed, racket sports significantly reduce the risk of mortality and cardiovascular disease compared to swimming, aerobics, cycling, running and soccer (Oja et al. 2017).

Within the general population worldwide, the risk of mortality especially from cardiovascular disease in the elderly has increased (Bhatnagar et al. 2016), posing a considerable logistical and financial burden on healthcare providers worldwide. This has subsequently led the NHS to promote racket sports as a beneficial mode of exercise in an attempt to increase life expectancy rates and reduce cardiovascular disease incidence (NHS, 2016). Despite this, there is no current research quantifying the energy expenditure of squash and its effects on blood pressure, blood lipid profiles, body composition and overall health, as well as the proposed psychological benefits. Much of the scientific research concerning racket sports has focused on tennis, despite the Professional Squash Association claiming that squash is a superior mode of exercise due to it’s high-intensity interval-type nature and time-effectiveness (PSA, 2018).

Consequently, the purpose of this programme of research is to examine the energy demands of squash, study its effects on acute and chronic blood pressure, blood lipid profile, body composition and psychological markers of health and wellbeing to quantify the games health benefits in adults older than 50 years of age, who are at an accelerated risk of developing health-related medical issues.

Successful applicants will:

• hold a good undergraduate degree (2:i or first) in Sport and Exercise Science and ideally have a relevant Masters qualification in Sport and Exercise Science or Sport Nutrition
• have a strong minimum of English proficiency (IELTS minimum overall score of 7.0 with at least 6.5 in each component)
• have some applied sport nutrition experience in working with squash
• ideally hold a squash coaching qualification

Supervision team:

Director of Studies - Dr Mayur Ranchordas

Second supervisor - Prof. Jon Wheat

General information about the Centre for Sport and Exercise Science can be found at: http://www.shu.ac.uk/research/cses/