The England-capped AFCB striker took part in a series published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine, which aims to encourage patient involvement at all stages of the research process in sports and exercise medicine.
Co-led by academics Dr Osman Ahmed, from BU, and Physiotherapist Tracy Blake from University of Toronto, the series takes testimony from athletes and sportspeople in order to share with clinicians. Dr Ahmed said: The Patient Voices series will be first-person pieces from recreational and elite athletes, talking about aspects related to their care that other researchers and clinicians can learn from.”
“Tracy and I have been co-leading on the series, and we’ve been lucky enough to have Jermain as the first of our Patient Voices pieces. He is also co-author on the launch editorial that explains a little more about the series and its intentions
He added: “Hopefully Jermain’s involvement will encourage other athletes, both elite and recreational, to share their Patient Voices, and will ultimately benefit both athletes and patients.”
Jermain talked about some of the changes he had seen in sports medicine from the start of his career until present. He also drew upon his experience to provide three “top tips” for how clinicians can best manage the more experienced athlete.
Speaking about Jermain’s involvement with the series, AFCB Head of Medicine, Dr Craig Roberts, said: “With almost 20 years of experience at the top level of football, we felt Jermain was the perfect subject to work on the Patient Voices series, and having approached him about it, he was just as enthusiastic to be involved.
“Jermain thoroughly enjoyed reminiscing about how sports medicine has evolved from his early days at West Ham to the present day here at AFC Bournemouth and the study is a fascinating read about the first-hand experiences of an elite athlete.”
He added: “This was another example of AFC Bournemouth and Bournemouth University working closely and continuing to develop what has been an incredibly productive partnership across all areas of the club.”
Dr Ahmed has also led university trips to AFCB for physiotherapy students, where they have met members of staff involved in all areas of medicine, health and wellbeing, nutrition and physiotherapy. He has also conducted research on subjective wellness and injury in conjunction with the club, the findings of which were presented at the Isokinetic conference in Barcelona in June.
To read more about BU’s Higher Education with AFCB, visit: www.bournemouth.ac.uk/afcb
