Philip Hurst

Bio: Philip Hurst is an academic researcher from Canterbury Christ Church University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Athletes & Medicine. The author has an hindex of 9, co-authored 25 publications receiving 218 citations. Previous affiliations of Philip Hurst include University of Birmingham & University of Sunderland.

Consensus statement on placebo effects in sports and exercise: The need for conceptual clarity, methodological rigour, and the elucidation of neurobiological mechanisms.

Abstract: In June 2017 a group of experts in anthropology, biology, kinesiology, neuroscience, physiology, and psychology convened in Canterbury, UK, to address questions relating to the placebo effect in sport and exercise. The event was supported exclusively by Quality Related (QR) funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). The funder did not influence the content or conclusions of the group. No competing interests were declared by any delegate. During the meeting and in follow-up correspondence, all delegates agreed the need to communicate the outcomes of the meeting via a brief consensus statement. The two specific aims of this statement are to encourage researchers in sport and exercise science to: 1. Where possible, adopt research methods that more effectively elucidate the role of the brain in mediating the effects of treatments and interventions. 2. Where possible, adopt methods that factor for and/or quantify placebo effects that could explain a percentage of inter-individual variability in response to treatments and intervention

Sport supplement use predicts doping attitudes and likelihood via sport supplement beliefs

Abstract: The aim of this study was to examine: 1) whether sport supplement use is related to doping and 2) whether sport supplement beliefs mediated this relationship. In Study 1, athletes (N = 598), comple...

Athletes Intending to Use Sports Supplements Are More Likely to Respond to a Placebo.

Abstract: Purpose: We investigated associations between athletes’ use of sport supplements and their responsiveness to placebo and nocebo interventions. Methods: Participants (n=627) reported their intention to use, and actual use of, sport supplements. They then completed a 5x20m repeat sprint protocol in the baseline condition, prior to being randomized to one of three treatments. Participants in the positive-belief treatment were administered an inert capsule described as a potent supplement which would improve sprint performance. Participants in the negative-belief treatment were administered an inert capsule described as a potent supplement which would negatively affect sprint performance. Participants in the control treatment received neither instruction nor capsule. 20 minutes following baseline trials, all participants completed the same repeat sprint protocol in the experimental condition. Results: Compared to controls, no mean differences in performance were observed between baseline and experimental conditions for the positive-belief treatment (-0.07 ± 0.27%, d=0.02), but mean differences were observed for the negative-belief treatment (-0.92 ± 0.31%, d=0.32), suggesting a moderate nocebo effect. In the positive-belief treatment however, a relationship between intention to use supplements and performance was observed. Performance worsened by -1.10% ± 0.30% compared to baseline for participants not intending to use supplements, worsened by -0.64 ± 0.43% among those undecided about supplement use, but improved by 0.19 ± 0.24% among those participants intending to use supplements. Conclusion: Information about a harmful supplement worsened repeat sprint performance (a mean nocebo effect), whereas information about a beneficial supplement did not improve performance (no mean placebo effect was observed). However, participants’ intention to use sport supplements influenced the direction and magnitude of subsequent placebo responses, with participants intending to use supplements more likely to respond to the positive intervention.

An evaluation of UK Athletics’ Clean Sport Programme in preventing doping in junior elite athletes

Abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate UK Athletics’ Clean Sport programme in preventing unintentional and intentional doping in junior elite athletes. Track and field athletes (N = 202) attended UK Athletics’ Clean Sport programme. This programme delivered information about the World Anti-Doping Agency, drug testing, anti-doping rule violations, use of medications, and risks associated with sport supplements. Participants completed measures related to unintentional (i.e. knowledge of anti-doping rules, intention to use sport supplements, beliefs about sport supplements) and intentional (i.e. doping likelihood, doping moral disengagement) doping at baseline, immediately after the programme, and at 3-month follow-up. Compared to baseline, immediately after the programme, participants had more knowledge about anti-doping rules (mean differences ± SEM = 2.34 ± 0.11; d = 1.40) and lower scores for intention to use supplements (−0.92 ± 0.12; d = 0.44), beliefs about the effectiveness of supplements, (−0.57 ± 0.06; d = 0.45), doping likelihood (−0.16 ± 0.03; d = 0.20), and doping moral disengagement (−0.20 ± 0.04; d = 0.26). At follow-up, knowledge of anti-doping rules (1.94 ± 0.12; d = 1.22), intention to use supplements (−1.26 ± 0.12; d = 0.63), and supplement beliefs (−0.52 ± 0.07; d = 0.42) remained different from baseline, whereas doping likelihood (0.01 ± 0.05; d = 0.01) and moral disengagement (0.13 ± 0.03; d = 0.09) returned to baseline. After attending the programme, participants were less likely to unintentionally dope in the short and medium term and were less likely to intentionally dope in the short term. However, the effects on intentional doping were not maintained after 3-months. These findings suggest that although the programme reduces intentional doping in the short term, it needs to be strengthened to sustain effects in the long term.

Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct

Abstract: 1. Resolving Ethical Issues 1.01 Misuse of Psychologists’ Work 1.02 Conflicts Between Ethics and Law, Regulations, or Other Governing Legal Authority 1.03 Conflicts Between Ethics and Organizational Demands 1.04 Informal Resolution of Ethical Violations 1.05 Reporting Ethical Violations 1.06 Cooperating With Ethics Committees 1.07 Improper Complaints 1.08 Unfair Discrimination Against Complainants and Respondents

Pacing and Awareness: Brain Regulation of Physical Activity

Abstract: The aim of this current opinion article is to provide a contemporary perspective on the role of brain regulatory control of paced performances in response to exercise challenges. There has been considerable recent conjecture as to the role of the brain during exercise, and it is now broadly accepted that fatigue does not occur without brain involvement and that all voluntary activity is likely to be paced at some level by the brain according to individualised priorities and knowledge of personal capabilities. This article examines the role of pacing in managing and distributing effort to successfully accomplish physical tasks, while extending existing theories on the role of the brain as a central controller of performance. The opinion proposed in this article is that a central regulator operates to control exercise performance but achieves this without the requirement of an intelligent central governor located in the subconscious brain. It seems likely that brain regulation operates at different levels of awareness, such that minor homeostatic challenges are addressed automatically without conscious awareness, while larger metabolic disturbances attract conscious awareness and evoke a behavioural response. This supports the view that the brain regulates exercise performance but that the interpretation of the mechanisms underlying this effect have not yet been fully elucidated.

How to Construct, Conduct and Analyze an Exercise Training Study?

Abstract: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) can be regarded as gold standard in investigating dose-response and causal relationships in exercise science. Recommendations for exercise training routines and efficacy analyses of certain training regimen require valid data derived from robust RCTs. Moreover, meta-analyses rely on RCTs and both RCTs and meta-analyses are considered the highest level of scientific evidence. Beyond general study design a variety of methodological aspects and notable pitfalls has to be considered. Therefore, exercise training studies should be carefully constructed focusing on the consistency of the whole design “package” from an explicit hypothesis or research question over study design and methodology to data analysis and interpretation. The present scoping review covers all main aspects of planning, conducting, and analyzing exercise based RCTs. We aim to focus on relevant aspects regarding study design, statistical power, training planning and documentation as well as traditional and recent statistical approaches. We intend to provide a comprehensive hands-on paper for conceptualizing future exercise training studies and hope to stimulate and encourage researchers to conduct sound and valid RCTs in the field of exercise training.