The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Curlers help out with stress study
Some of Scotland’s greatest curlers have lent their weight to a research project that aims to assess the toll the sport takes upon their bodies.
Dundee University student Iona Robertson has been working with members of the men’s British curling team from the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Iona, who is studying applied orthopaedic technology, is focused on examining the stresses placed on curlers’ knees through many hours of training and competition.
She hopes her studies may show how elite-level curlers can tweak the way they deliver stones to minimise the strain upon their knees.
Olympians David Murdoch, Scott Andrews and Michael Goodfellow have all helped with her project, taking part in sessions on the ice at The Peak sports village in Stirling.
Iona asked the team members to deliver 12 stones, six from a flat-foot slide position and six from a toe slide whilst wearing Pedar pressure measurement insoles in their shoes.
The student is looking to understand and establish the difference in knee force when using both delivery techniques.
She said: “The data collected so far looks very promising in that the calculated joint forces in the knee are significantly higher for toe slides than flat-footed slides.”