MEDICAL RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE

Research Institute For Sport and Exercise Science
Liverpool John Moores University
Henry Cotton Campus
15-21 Webster Street
Liverpool
L3 2ET

Telephone: 020 8423 7211/0151 231 4341
Email: SPSSPRIV@livjm.ac.uk

20th May 2004

My name is Sheena Privett and I am a Postgraduate Researcher working at Liverpool John Moores University, in collaboration with the British Olympic Association (BOA) and the Olympic Medical Institute (OMI). My research involves the investigation of the incidence of pre-syncopal symptoms (lightheadedness, blurred vision and nausea) and the incidence of syncopal episodes (a brief loss of consciousness) after exercise.

We think that these symptoms and episodes are common in well trained and elite endurance athletes. They may occur when a person abruptly finishes exercise, but there is a lack of data of prevalence of these matters. It is within this period of inactivity after exercise that a gradual reduction in blood flow to the brain can occur. The human body is capable of telling us when this is happening, and this is when pre-syncopal symptoms and syncopal episodes can occur. An effective way of preventing these symptoms and episodes from occurring is to continue with some light exercise after an athlete's event or training session has finished. Alternatively, the athlete could lie down with their legs elevated when they have finished exercising.

We have designed a questionnaire to enable us to gauge the occurrence of these symptoms and episodes, after exercise, amongst endurance athletes within the UK and Ireland. The questions are designed to discover which symptoms athletes may experience, in which environments they have experienced them, and how often they may occur. The second part of the questionnaire studies the circumstances surrounding an athlete's loss of consciousness after exercise and how often this may occur. Finally, there are some questions regarding the athlete's and their immediate family's health backgrounds. Any data obtained from completed questionnaires will be strictly confidential.

We would like to invite competitors in the LAMM to participate in this study. Your help in completing this questionnaire is of great importance and is in the interest of elite athletes and fellow competitive club athletes. Please click here to display the questionnaire as a .pdf file (requires Adobe Reader). Please print the questionnaire, complete it and bring it with you to the LAMM. You can hand it in at the Information Desk at LAMM Registration.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this letter and completing the questionnaire.

Yours Sincerely

______________________________
Sheena Privett BSc (Hons)
Prof Tim Cable
Dr Greg Whyte
Dr Keith George