The wheels of research go round and round

A gruelling cycle journey from John O’Groats to Lands End has led to a pioneering piece of sport science research by four University of Teesside graduates. The Sport & Exercise graduates, Claire Donohue, Carli Turnbull, Shona Burton and Zoe Brenchley, entered their research paper, entitled ‘The effect of saddle angle on stress exerted on the female perenium during cycling: A finite element approach’, into a national student competition. The perenium is the nearest area of contact to the bicycle’s saddle.

The quartet went on to clinch the biomechanics prize in the BASES (British Association of Sport and Exercise Science) competition, held at the British Olympic Medical Centre in Harrow. The judging panel agreed that the Teesside research outshone PhD and MSc students from across the UK.

Zoe, 26, from Leeming, North Yorkshire and Shona, 27, from Stokesley are both keen cyclists. Zoe has cycled for eight years and Shona for ten. Shona was once placed eleventh in the country in downhill mountain bike racing, while Zoe was RAF and British Forces champion in 1998. In 2000 the pair cycled from John O’Groats to Lands End.

Former RAF Air Traffic Controller Zoe, said: “We were quite sore after the cycling, and looked at previous cycling research. An article in the Lancet stated that 96% of mountain bikers experienced abnormalities in the saddle contact region. All of the previous research had been written by men and recommended tilting the saddle forward for comfort. We decided to test this theory, and were the first women in the UK to do so.”

The six-week research project involved the creation of a computerised model, which gave a side view of the pubis, measuring the pressures applied during cycling on the female perenium. The technology applied was entitled finite elements, a computational modelling technique more commonly used in aeronautical engineering.

Zoe added: “We set out to understand the stresses and strains which cause pain in the saddle region. The research revealed the more the seat was tilted, the higher the pressure exerted. Tilting the seat forward, as recommended by several of the male researchers, may actually increase stress in the female perenium, and this could be one of the reasons for causing damage in this important reproductive region. It would be nice if our findings were noticed by bicycle manufacturers.”

All four of the students will be staying on at the University to study for Masters Degrees in Sport & Exercise Science. The project’s Research Supervisor, Dr Iain Spears, said: “I’m pleased but not really surprised by the competition success. The girls showed dedication and innovation, both of which are vital ingredients for any research project.”

For more information on Sport & Exercise degree programmes at the University of Teesside please call 01642 342308, or check the University of Teesside’s web site at www.tees.ac.uk

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