Sport & Exercise Science - Wrexham University

Current and Emerging Research Areas

Our research activity encompasses a broad range of contemporary themes across sport, exercise, health, rehabilitation, performance and education, including:

Cancer exercise rehabilitation – investigating the role of exercise in cancer rehabilitation, recovery, physical function and quality of life.
Cardiac rehabilitation – exploring exercise-based approaches to cardiovascular recovery, long-term health and physical activity participation.
Exercise and GLP-1 medications – examining the integration of exercise prescription with GLP-1 medication use, including the potential application of artificial intelligence to support personalised and optimal exercise prescription.
Ergogenic aids and sports performance – investigating the effectiveness, application and implications of nutritional, physiological and technological ergogenic aids for enhancing sports performance.
Technique analysis and performance optimisation – applying biomechanical, technological and analytical approaches to understand and improve sporting technique and performance.
Artificial intelligence in sport and exercise – exploring how AI can be used by sport students and practitioners, including applications in learning, decision-making, performance analysis, exercise prescription and athlete development.
Personality profiling in sport – examining personality characteristics and profiling approaches in relation to athlete development, performance, education, coaching and team environments.
Game-based learning in football – investigating the use of games and game-based approaches to enhance learning, decision-making, tactical awareness and skill development in football.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in professional golf – exploring the application of psychological approaches, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), to support performance, psychological flexibility and wellbeing within professional golf.
Sociology of sport: Wrexham AFC as a case study – examining the social, cultural, economic and community dimensions of football through the case of Wrexham AFC, including issues of identity, place, fandom, ownership and community engagement.

Together, these areas reflect an interdisciplinary approach to understanding how sport and exercise can contribute to health, rehabilitation, human performance, learning and wider social outcomes, while also responding to emerging developments in technology, artificial intelligence and contemporary sporting practice.

Publications

Game-based learning and skill transfer in football coaching: a case for contextual practice from Wrexham AFC. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport [DOI] (2026)
Sara Hilton; Gus Williams

Coaching the women's game: A perspective on pedagogy, performance and coaching education. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching [DOI] (2026)
Nuno André Nunes; Kevin Braybrook; Sara Hilton

Exercise rehabilitation in Plasma Cell Leukaemia (PCL): A case study in oncology care, 4th Edition of Global Conference on Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. (2026)
Chelsea E Batty

Project U: Evaluating free gym memberships for physical and mental health, Journal of Sport Sciences (2026)
Chelsea E Batty; Richard Lewis

Evaluating digital prehabilitation in cardiac rehabilitation: impact on patient recall of exercise guidelines and programme familiarisation, British Journal of Cardiac Nursing, 20. [DOI] (2025)
Chelsea E Batty; Michelle Swainson; Theocharis Ispoglou

Enhancing Exercise Targets Recall In Cardiac Rehabilitation: Evaluating The Use Of Instructional Videos In A UK Setting, Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 56. (2024)
Batty, Chelsea E.;Hilton, Sara;Tsakirides, Costas;Ispoglou, Theocharis;Karnam, Swetha;Swainson, Michelle

Enhancing Exercise Targets Recall in Cardiac Rehabilitation: Evaluation of The Use Of Instructional Videos In A UK Setting, Medicine & Science In Sports & Exercise. [DOI] (2024)
Chelsea E Batty; Sara Hilton; Costas Tsakirides; Swetha Karnam; Michelle Swainson

Sports and Exercise Therapists - working across the physical activity spectrum, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 57. [DOI] (2023)
Weaver, Kristian; Northeast, Lynsey; Cole, Michael; Holland, Christopher James; Cassius, Tyrone

Lower Limb Anthropometric Profiling in Professional Female Soccer Players: A Proof of Concept for Asymmetry Assessment Using Video Analysis, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. [DOI] (2023)
Kristian J. Weaver; Nicola Relph

Exercise Based Cardiac Rehabilitation: Is a Little Encouragement Enough?, [DOI] (2022)
Batty (nee Moore), Chelsea; Tsakirides, Costas; Swainson, Michelle; Buckley, John; Theocharis, Ispoglou

UK cardiac rehabilitation fit for purpose? A community-based observational cohort study, (2020) BMJ Open, 10. [DOI]
Ibeggazene, Said; Moore, Chelsea; Tsakirides, Costas; Swainson, Michelle; Ispoglou, Theocharis; Birch, Karen

Dietary education provision within a cardiac rehabilitation programme in the UK: a pilot study, British Journal of Cardiac Nursing, 15. [DOI] (2020)
Chelsea E Moore; Costas Tsakirides; Zoe Rutherford; Michelle G Swainson; Karen M Birch; Said Ibeggazene; Theochairs Ispoglou