University Of Pittsburgh/UPMC Sports Medicine Researchers Create Human Performance Research Laboratory For Naval Special Warfare

Main Category: Sports Medicine / Fitness
Article Date: 17 Apr 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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Sports medicine and training advances developed and refined for elite athletes now are being used to protect and enhance the performance and lives of the elite U.S. Navy SEALs.

At a grand opening ceremony and news conference today, top officials from the University of Pittsburgh and Naval Special Warfare unveiled a new Human Performance Research Laboratory, the first facility of its kind within the U.S. Navy, to be applied specifically to Naval Special Warfare Group TWO's, East Coast-based Navy SEALs. The laboratory is located at the U.S. Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Norfolk, Va.

From Elite Athletes to Elite Navy SEALs

Designed by sports medicine researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), the new Human Performance Research Laboratory will study injuries and training techniques of the SEALs to optimize their tactical readiness. Researchers aim to reduce the incidence of preventable musculoskeletal injuries during training, combat and recreation; enhance force readiness by maximizing the effects of training to reduce fatigue and optimize performance; and prolong the operational life as well as enhance quality of life after service. The lab uniquely combines important advances in sports medicine science with the traditional excellence of the Navy's most elite warriors.

With a $2.1 million U.S. Department of Defense grant, awarded to the University of Pittsburgh research team over 2.5 years, the 2,200-square-foot laboratory employs state-of-the-art biomechanical and physiological instrumentation and techniques currently used for elite athletes. The new laboratory is modeled after the University of Pittsburgh's Neuromuscular Research Laboratory, a world-renowned facility for sports injury prevention and performance enhancement, located at the UPMC Center for Sports Medicine in Pittsburgh. Since 1990, the center's scientists have studied and published research findings involving athletes' body positioning and neuromuscular control as they relate to injury and performance.

"The operator himself is the most important weapons system of Naval Special Warfare," said Captain Chaz Heron, commander of Naval Special Warfare Group TWO. "We are always seeking ways to improve our operators' success on the battlefield. The last thing I want as a leader is for my men to be engaged in a fair fight. I want every advantage possible to give my operators a better chance for success on the battlefield. We're optimistic the research and practical applications from our Human Performance Research Laboratory will achieve just that, while improving the quality of life for our SEALs after their service."

Physical training and conditioning are the greatest cumulative source of acute and chronic injuries in this group, according to the University of Pittsburgh's Scott Lephart, Ph.D., ATC, the grant's principal investigator and director of the new lab. Dr. Lephart is an associate professor in the Department of Sports Medicine and Nutrition at Pitt's School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS), associate professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Pitt's School of Medicine and founding director of Pitt's Neuromuscular Research Laboratory, located at the UPMC Center for Sports Medicine.

"As with an elite athletic team, musculoskeletal injuries significantly limit the war-fighting capability and readiness of the Naval Special Warfare combatant force. Optimal physical training and conditioning are the cornerstones of the maintenance of the weapons platform of the Navy SEAL operator," Dr. Lephart said.

"Collaborating with Dr. Lephart's research team will enable us to identify potential gaps in current programs and develop a coordinated physical training continuum that is specific to Naval Special Warfare to prepare for their unique missions. This will achieve a critical doctrinal change in human performance strategies," said Capt. Heron. "The new laboratory will provide the impetus and vehicle to deliver Naval Special Warfare Group TWO SEALs to the next level of individual operator performance and overall musculoskeletal longevity," he added.

The Human Performance Research Laboratory

The Human Performance Research Laboratory is housed on base in Little Creek's Naval Special Warfare compound. Using sophisticated biomechanical modeling techniques and physiological testing equipment, researchers can study precise physical movement patterns, forces, cardiovascular response, strength and range of motion on test subjects while they perform task simulations. Based on the data compiled, intervention exercises will be designed to improve specific muscle strength, flexibility, neuromuscular control and cardiovascular efficiency to prevent injury and optimize performance.

Under Dr. Lephart's direction, the lab is staffed by exercise physiologist Greg Hovey, and certified athletic trainer Anthony Zimmer, both from the University of Pittsburgh. In addition, Dr. Lephart's co-principal investigators are John Abt, Ph.D., and Timothy Sell, Ph.D., both assistant professors in the Department of Sports Medicine and Nutrition at Pitt's SHRS.

This work is supported by the Office of Naval Research, under award #N00014-07-1-0549.

A similar research laboratory at Fort Campbell, Ky., is operated by the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Sports Medicine and Nutrition faculty and supported by a $2.75 million U.S. Department of Defense grant to study the 101st Airborne (Air Assault) Division of the U.S. Army.

About Navy SEALs

From 1962 when the first SEAL teams were commissioned, to present day, Navy SEALs have distinguished themselves as an individually reliable, collectively disciplined and highly skilled maritime force. Because of the dangers inherent in Naval Special Warfare, prospective SEALs go through what is considered by many military experts to be among the toughest training in the world.

The most important trait that distinguishes Navy SEALs from all other military forces is the SEALs are maritime special forces, as they strike from and return to the sea. SEALs (Sea, Air, Land) take their name from the elements in and from which they operate. Their stealth and clandestine methods of operation allow them to conduct multiple missions against targets that larger forces cannot approach undetected.

There are approximately 2,600 SEALs in the Navy today, supporting at least six geographic combatant regions around the world on any given day.

About the University of Pittsburgh's Neuromuscular Research Laboratory

Since 1990, the Neuromuscular Research Laboratory (NMRL) has initiated research in the area of proprioception and neuromuscular control in an attempt to answer many of the clinical questions regarding the role of capsuloligamentous structures and the pathoetiology of joint injury. The NMRL's objectives are to study comprehensive profiles of an individual's function by evaluating both the sensory and motor characteristics specific to several clinical conditions, examining task and demand analyses; evaluate physiological profiling; design nutritional interventions; and develop functionally specific training prescriptions for optimization of human performance. Deficiencies identified in the comprehensive profiles are then used to develop programs not only to improve performance but also minimize injury potential. More information is available at http://www.pitt.edu/~neurolab.

About the University of Pittsburgh's SHRS

The University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS), established in 1969, is dedicated to moving lives forward through academic research, technology design and rigorous training to educate the next generation of health professionals who will help others reach their fullest potential. As one of the university's six Schools of the Health Sciences, SHRS is an academic partner to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The collaboration involves a variety of multidisciplinary centers including the Center for Sports Medicine, Facial Nerve Center, Jordan Balance and Vestibular Laboratory, and the Centers for Rehab Services. SHRS also has established the Center for Assistive Technology, NIDRR Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center, Human Energy Research Laboratory, and Pitt/VA Human Engineering Research Laboratories. More information is available at http://www.shrs.pitt.edu/cms.

About UPMC

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is the largest integrated health care enterprise in Pennsylvania and one of the leading nonprofit health systems in the country. It has appeared eight times on the prestigious U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll of "America's Best Hospitals," most recently earning 13th position in 2007. Widely recognized for its innovations in patient care, research, technology and health care management, UPMC has transformed the economic landscape in western Pennsylvania. The region's largest employer, with 48,000 employees and nearly $7 billion in revenue, UPMC comprises 20 tertiary, specialty and community hospitals, 400 outpatient sites and doctors' offices, retirement and long-term care facilities, an insurance plan with more than 1 million members, and commercial and international ventures. More than 4,700 physicians are affiliated with UPMC, including nearly 2,500 employed physicians.

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center