Returning to sport postpartum is poorly understood. Together with  Mrs Gráinne Donnelly I am aiming to improve our understanding in this area and inform clinical guidelines. 

Our most recent paper on returning to running postpartum was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine and was discussed in our blog. We have also published several studies on this topic and are working closely with sports to inform policy.

In 2020 I secured ESRC funding to use an interdisciplinary approach to support women to return to running postpartum. This is a collaborative project with Prof L Evans, Prof D Crone and G Donnelly.

My early research identified how beginner female runners self-optimised their gait following a running programme (paper 1, paper 2). In addition, I investigated acute and short-term responses to footwear and being barefoot. My more recent work with Dr Celeste Coltman focuses on applying a a female perspective to understanding economical running, breast motion and lower body interactions.

By bringing together international female athlete health experts, I hope to improve the recording and reporting of sports injuries and illness in females. Watch this space for our recommendations!

I am co-leading a tri-nations approach to preventing concussion in Women's Rugby. This project includes Dr D Palmer (Edinburgh University), Prof K Stokes (University of Bath), the WRU, SRFU and RFU.

I am working with Dr Liz Williams (Swansea University) to understand risk factors for female concussion. In addition, an international team of female researchers are conducting the Global Women's Rugby survey. Through this work we hope to characterise the experiences of female rugby players, particularly in regards to head injuries. I am also part of the Traumatic Brain Injury network.