Nick Owen

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Professor (Associate) at Swansea University

Most prosthetic foot products are adjusted by skilled prosthetists using a variety of gait analysis and information given to them by patients in terms of feel and experience. The design of prosthetic foot has traditionally focused on optimising stiffness to support the body weight and storage/release mechanisms of strain energy from heel contact to...

There is demand in applied sport settings to measure recovery briefly and accurately. Research indicates mood disturbance as the strongest psychological predictor of mental and physical recovery. The Brief Assessment of Mood (BAM) is a shortened version of the Profile of Mood States that can be completed in less than 30 s. The purpose of this study...

There is general agreement that the most valid method of measuring peak lower body power output (LBPP) in a countermovement jump (CMJ) is by analysis of the corresponding vertical component of the ground reaction force (VGRF)-time history of the jump. However, there is no published standard protocol. The purpose of this study was to establish a sta...

Normative data for lower limb peak mechanical power in children aged 7 to 11 years old N.J. Owen1, W. Griffiths2 & J. Watkins1, 1 Applied Sports Technology, Exercise and Medicine Research Centre, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK. n.j.owen@swansea.ac.uk 2 Neath Port Talbot Education Authority, Civic Centre, Port Talbot, SA13 1PJ, UK. Abst...

The accurate quantification of bones cross-sectional geometry provides valuable information about mechanical properties of bones such as rigidity to torsional, bending and compressive loading and also reveals insights into habitual activities of humans in the past. However, the use of current methods can produce large errors between measured and tr...

The purpose this study was to examine the effect of body size on countermovement jump (CMJ) kinetics in children. Participants (n = 160) aged 7-11 years, divided equally by sex and into primary school year groups (years 3, 4, 5 and 6), each performed one CMJ on a force platform. The variables bodyweight (BW), peak force (Fmax), in-jump minimum forc...

Determination of start time for a countermovement jump - force /time histroy collected with Kistler Bioware. (should work with any force /time array which is collected the same way but I've not tested it for anything other than Bioware) The following is based on the methods described in: Owen, NJ, Watkins, J, Kilduff LP, Bevan HR and Bennett MA. De...

Aim: The ability to accelerate and attain high levels of speed is an essential component of success in team sports; however, the physical qualities that underpin these activities remain unclear. This study aimed to determine some of the key strength and power predictors of speed within professional rugby union players. Methods: Twenty profession...

There is considerable conflict within the literature regarding the relevance of isometric testing for the assessment of neuromuscular function within dynamic sports. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between isometric measures of force development and dynamic performance. Thirty-nine professional rugby league players participa...

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of postactivation potentiation (PAP) on swim start performance (time to 15 m) in a group of international sprint swimmers. Nine international sprint swimmers (7 men and 2 women) volunteered and gave informed consent for this study, which was approved by the university ethics committee. Initially,...

Start performance (as defined by time to 15 m) has been shown to be a key performance indicator during 50-m freestyle swimming; however, there is limited information with regard to the key strength and power variables that influence start performance during sprint swimming. In light of the above, this study aimed to examine the key strength and pow...

This study examined the validity of 2 kinematic systems for estimating force and power during squat jumps. 12 weight-trained males each performed single repetition squat jumps with a 20-kg, 40-kg, 60-kg and 80-kg load on a Kistler portable force plate. A commercial linear position transducer (Gymaware [GYM]) and accelerometer (Myotest® [MYO]) were...

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of opposition and gender on knee kinematics and ground reaction force during landing from a volleyball block jump. Six female and six male university volleyball players performed two landing tasks: (a) an unopposed and (b) an opposed volleyball block jump and landing. A 12-camera motion analysis syste...

After a bout of high-intensity exercise of short duration (preload stimulus), the muscle is in both a fatigued and potentiated (referred to as postactivation potentiation [PAP]) state. Consequently, subsequent muscle performance depends on the balance of these 2 factors. Although research has shown PAP to be an effective method of increasing power...

The aim of the study was to assess frontal and sagittal plane kinetics (normalized ground reaction force and normalized knee moment) in male and female university volleyball players when performing opposed block jump landings. Females displayed a significantly lower normalized knee extension moment at the start of muscle latency than males. The gre...

The ability to develop high levels of muscular power is considered an essential component of success in many sporting activities; however, the optimal load for the development of peak power during training remains controversial. Our aim in the present study was to determine the optimal load required to observe peak power output during the ballistic...

After a bout of heavy resistance training (HRT), skeletal muscle is in both a fatigued and potentiated state. Subsequent muscle performance depends on the balance between these 2 factors. To date, there is no uniform agreement about the recovery time required between the HRT and subsequent muscle performance to gain performance benefits in the uppe...

The aim of this study was to investigate gender differences in knee valgus angle and inter-knee and inter-ankle distances in university volleyball players when performing opposed block jump landings. Six female and six male university volleyball players performed three dynamic trials each for which they were instructed to jump up and block a volley...

Following a bout of heavy resistance training, the muscle is in both a fatigued and potentiated state with subsequent muscle performance depending on the balance between these two factors. To date, there is no uniform agreement about the optimal acute recovery required between the heavy resistance training and subsequent muscle performance to gain...

Following a bout of high-intensity exercise of short duration (preload stimulus), the muscle is in both a fatigued and a potentiated (referred to as postactivation potentiation) state. Consequently, subsequent muscle performance depends on the balance between these 2 factors. To date, there is no uniform agreement about the optimal recovery require...

The ability to develop high levels of muscle power is considered an essential component of success in many sporting activities; however, the optimal load for the development of peak power during training remains controversial. The aim of the present study was to determine the optimal load required to observe peak power output (PPO) during the hang...

The purpose of the present study was twofold: firstly, to assess the reliability of various body composition methods, and secondly, to determine the ability of the methods to estimate changes in fat-free mass (FFM) following creatine (Cr) supplementation. Fifty-five healthy male athletes (weight 78.3 +/- 10.3 kg, age 21 +/- 1 years) gave informed c...

The purpose of the present study was twofold: firstly, to assess the reliability of various body composition methods, and secondly, to determine the ability of the methods to estimate changes in fat-free mass (FFM) following creatine (Cr) supplementation. Fifty-five healthy male athletes (weight 78.3 +/- 10.3 kg, age 21 +/- 1 years) gave informed c...

The aims of the present study were to investigate the effects of gender on frontal and sagittal plane knee kinematics in university volleyball players when performing opposed block jump landings. 6 female and 6 male university volleyball players performed volleyball block jumps under opposed conditions. Knee flexion/extension and knee valgus/varus...