The Importance of Habit Formation in Changing Behaviour

by Ben Jane

How much control over our actions do we actually have?

We like to think that we’re fully in control of our actions but we don’t have to look too far to see that the model of rational choice making is quite limited. Put a new kitchen in an old house and three months down the line you can still find yourself absent-mindedly reaching for the old cutlery drawer. Get in the car to go somewhere and you might, on occasion, find yourself driving to work rather than your intended destination. These actions are habits, patterns of behaviour that occur automatically when in particular situations and faced with specific cues or triggers. Trying to make sustained lifestyle changes for health reasons can require the disruption of old, unwanted habits and the creation of newer, more desirable routines (Danner et al, 2008, Marteau et al, 2012), the amount of willpower needed, or strength of intention to change might not be quite as important as how well we can create new habits. 

We need to create shortcuts in our thinking just to get by.

A reliance on goals or intentions alone requires a more reasoned, controlled approach to decision making which can be cognitively demanding, difficult to sustain in the long term, and easily disrupted if stressed or having to make many other lifestyle decisions (Baumeister et al, 1998; Verplanken et al, 2006).

Primary Care & Public Health Conference 2016

Primary Care and Public Health Conference 2016 – Therapy

Primary Care and Public Health Conference is the UK’s leading event for GP’s, commissioning groups and all healthcare professionals working in primary care, community, public health, global and prison health. The conference is organised into different areas depending on your profession and interests and staff visited the Therapy programme.

Some interesting topics were on offer and of particular interest were “Achilles Tendinopathy – Advances in Rehabilitation” by Chris Myers and “Innovations in the Management of Tennis Elbow” by Val Jones.

Previous treatments of such conditions have involved the use of eccentric loading, rest and cryotherapy. Current research suggests that there are other modalities that should be considered first when dealing with these conditions, namely isometric contractions. With each condition, Achilles and lateral elbow (namely extensor carpi radialis brevis) tendinopathies, it is also worth knowing there is a difference in size of the muscles in each area  i.e. Achilles tendon can take more load than the wrist extensors. Therefore exercises prescribed should reflect this difference (body weight compared to theraband) and intensity should be greater for the Achilles complex compared to the lateral elbow complex.

Access All Aerials Charity Event

On Saturday 16^th April, first and second year Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation in Sport and Exercise Students attended a charity event at Dame Hannah’s, Newton Abbot, in aid of Access All Aerials: http://www.discoverhannahs.org/seale-hayne/support/access-all-aerials/

Access All Aerials is a radio station broadcasting live over the internet with around 30 presenters who have a wide range of disabilities. This radio station has given these individuals confidence and allows them to be heard; "they can see the person and not the disability".

Free MOOC - Physical Activity, Exercise and Physiotherapy

We are all aware of the importance of health promotion via physical activity interventions. This Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is a 6-week course over the summer months aimed towards health care workers and covers topics such as the evidence for physical activity, health benefits and best practice models.

Book Review: Beyond Behaviour Change (edited by Fiona Spotswood)

It’s just a few years since Michie and colleagues attempted to draw links between the wide range of cognitive behaviour change theories that exist in the field of psychology and it seems logical to try and extend these connections beyond the field of psychology. While this book is clearly grounded in the field of sociology it manages to achieve its aim of acknowledging a range of disciplines, offering contradictory viewpoints and considering a variety of influences on behaviour.  The various chapters seek examine the nature of behaviour itself and present their own ideological and theoretical insights into creating meaningful changes across a range of lifestyle "choices".

Mike Kelly and Alan Maryon-Davis have each contributed excellent chapters, writing separately on the political influence and administrative regulation of behaviour change. There is also a chapter that gives a summary of the role of nudge theory and its use in the implementation of government policy by the Behavioural Insight Team’s Michael Hallsworth and Michael Sanders.

Sport & Exercise Science Laboratory Opening

Tuesday 22^nd March saw the opening of the Sports Science Laboratory at the University with guest speakers; Professor Cathy Speed and Professor Greg Whyte. The Vice Chancellor, Professor Cara Aitchison, and the Dean of the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, Professor Andrew Edwards, introduced the afternoon with some statistics about the facilities currently on offer to students and the wider community.

The high quality sporting facilities are ranked =4 in the UK and just last week the Sports Science laboratory was endorsed with the BASES accreditation; the only laboratory in the South West that currently has such an honour. The laboratory now has separate physiology, strength and conditioning, biomechanics, performance analysis and teaching areas, which the staff and students can utilise.

FIFA's Diploma in Football Medicine

FIFA have recently launched a free, flexible, online CPD course, the FIFA Diploma in Football Medicine, which covers 20 certificated modules relevant to the sports medicine practitioner and successful completion of all the units leads to the awarding of a diploma.

This post outlines the units covered and the thoughts of one of our students who is one of the first people to enrol on the course.

Sport & Exercise Lab awarded BASES accreditation

On 4th March, our recently updated sport and exercise laboratories received accredited status from the British Association of Sport and Exercise Science (BASES). confirming the high professional standards of the lab's staff, facilities, equipment, and procedures. BASES is widely recognised as the leading UK professional body in sport and exercise sciences and accreditation is a reflection of the high quality work that is undertaken at the University both with students and in active research in both sport and exercise/health.

10th Peninsula Public Health Network Conference

On Friday, 4th March, members of the health department attended the 10th Peninsula Public Health Network Conference at Buckfast Abbey, Buckfastleigh. The main focus of the day was to reflect on the impact of public health on individuals, communities and whole populations and the breadth and quality of presenters and topics was an illustration of the range of skills, knowledge and disciplines that are represented under the umbrella of public health.

Professor Kevin Fenton (Public Health England National Director for Health and Wellbeing) was able to give those in attendance an insight into the work of PHE, how they had developed over the last 3 years since their inception and what their current priorities were. These included getting the best start for children, tackling inequalities, scaling effective clinical interventions (of which physical activity was one), health, work and economic prosperity and also maximising digital health opportunities.

Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation Student Conference - 6th May 2016

The inaugural Student Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation Conference, in association with the STO, takes place on the 6th May 2016 at the University of St Mark and St John, Plymouth. The aim of the conference is to bring together sports therapy and rehabilitation trainees to share their research and practitioner experience within the remit of sports injury. The conference will provide an opportunity for practitioners to network and develop their skills through workshops as well as adding to the body of research within the field. It is hoped that this will grow into an annual event for showcasing trainee practitioner research and skills.

To find out more www.marjon.ac.uk/sporttherapyconference2016 or read more below.

BASES Webinar: 5 simple rules for more reliable and valid isokinetic dynamometry data

Bill Baltzopoulos – Professor of Biomechanics, Head of the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences (RISES), Liverpool John Moores University

On Tuesday 23^rd February BASES organised a webinar on assessment of muscular strength using the Isokinetic dynamometer. This is a piece of equipment is often used here at the University of St Mark and St John as both working with athletes, clients and for student research projects. This webinar provided further insight to how the equipment works, what is measures and how we can improve our ability to collect reliable and valid data. The webinar was hosted by Bill Baltzopoulos whose main interest includes the structure and function of the musculoskeletal system and the measurement and modelling of joint muscle and function during different activities including the isokinetic dynamometry. Prof. Bill Baltzopoulos has also contributed to The BASES Expert Statement on Measurement of Muscle Strength with Isokinetic Dynamometry. Prof. Bill Baltzopoulos provided an excellent insight to the isokinetic dynamometer and how we can improve our methods for assessing muscular strength in the future - see below for the 5 simple rules for improving muscle strength assessment with the isokinetic dynamometer.

About the Webinar

The webinar provided a discussion on appropriate techniques when using the isokinetic dynamometry for assessing strength.

Key areas included:

• Mechanical parameters used to describe human strength and joint function
• Differences between dynamometer moment, joint moment and muscle moments
• Background on how isokinetic dynamometer works and the implications
• Factors that affect reliability and validity of isokinetic dynamometry measurement
• Appropriate corrections to improve reliability and validity and ensure accurate measurements of muscle strength
• Application of isokinetic dynamometry measures – differences between strength assessments and functional assessments

Marjon Sport & Exercise Lab in the news

This week members of the team have been in the local paper explaining the merits of our Alter-G Anti-Gravity Treadmill. To see a video and to find out more have a look at the Herald article online.

Click here to see another blog post on the Alter-G Anti-gravity treadmill.

Everybody Active Every Day: 'Moving at Scale'

 

On Tuesday 23rd February, the University hosted one of a series of regional events, “Everybody Active Everyday: ‘Moving at Scale’”. The day was a joint venture by Public Health England, the BHF National Centre, the NCSEM and the CSP Network and was designed to bring together physical activity professionals from across the region to discuss the evaluation, of ‘what works’ in increasing activity levels at both individual and community levels and the barriers and facilitators to scaling up the effects of the most successful programmes. This article contains some links and notes from the day that we thought were worth sharing.

Book Review: Clinical Exercise Science

There are a range of books that address the evidence and guidelines for working with people with chronic health conditions but many of them approach the topic from either a physiological, psychological or epidemiological perspective. Clinical Exercise Science (£34.99, Routledge, 2016) has attempted to capture the range of content and considerations that should be of interest to anyone working in a real-world setting with real people.


The book contextualises the current landscape of provision and employment in health and exercise and opens with a description

Plymouth Argyle Football Club Sports Therapy Placement

As part of his degree, Peter Geller, a final year BSc Sports Therapy student has completed his work experience through our partnership with Plymouth Argyle Football Club. Here we have interviewed Peter on his experiences with working in a professional club, his reasons for choosing sports therapy and his advice for future students considering a career in sports therapy.

Sports Therapy & Rehabilitation Hydrotherapy trip

Final year students from the BSc Sports Therapy and BSc Rehabilitation in Sport and Exercise degrees took a day out from clinical practice to experience rehabilitation in a hydrotherapy versus land-based environment at Hannahs at Seale-Hayne in Newton Abbot.

AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill

Charlotte Robinson-Hodge, a third year Sports Therapy student has been in our sports and exercise laboratory using our new state of the art AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill to help with the rehabilitation of her client. 

"The Anti-Gravity Treadmill enables a therapist to reduce gravity’s impact and rehabilitate lower extremity injuries with less pain and impact than a normal treadmill. My client has suffered with chronic lower back pain which has resulted in her being unable to walk unaided, and she has altered movement patterns, pain, instability and low levels of confidence. The Anti-Gravity treadmill has allowed my client to exercise with reduced pain whilst minimising stress on the joints and the injured region. The rehabilitation programme will continue to encompass the Anti-Gravity Treadmill to improve her overall independence and wellbeing."

Welsh Exercise Medicine Symposium

On Saturday 30th January, a group of Marjon staff and students attended the 3rd Welsh Exercise Medicine Symposium in Cardiff. The day was designed to bring together physical activity experts from across Wales and the UK and was organised by the Cardiff Sports and Exercise Medicine Society.
For content from the day, try searching twitter for @WalesExMed & #WalesExMed2016 or read this post for our overview of the day. We've outlined the sessions and also supplemented this list with some of our notes and additional links to reading and resources referred to by the presenters.

Application of Duplex Ultrasonography in Musculoskeletal Research by Dr Gary Shum

On Tuesday 26th January 2016 Dr Gary Shum, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Sport & Health Sciences presented a seminar to BSc Sports Therapy and BSc Rehabilitation in Sport and Exercise students.

Dr Shum presented some of the findings from his extensive published research exploring the use of Duplex Ultrasonography, the monitoring of how blood flows through arteries and veins. The two main topics presented were:

• the neurological issues associated with post operative residual leg pain following disc herniation surgery
• blood flow changes in patients with cervicogenic dizziness.

The seminar provided students with an excellent introduction to the uses of diagnostic ultrasound in clinical practice and research. Our undergraduate and postgraduate students will now be able to experience the application of diagnostic ultrasound following our purchase of the Samsung Diagnostic Ultrasound which allows practitioners to visualise muscle injury, nerves and arterial blood flow analysis throughout their degree.

Keep an eye on our social media for details of future FSHS seminar series talks available free of charge at the University of St Mark and St John.

Sarah Martin - Lecturer in Sports Therapy & Rehabilitation