News

PhD candidate Lizzy Cooper and Dr Ben Schram were back in the field collecting data to assist the Ambulance Tasmania Wilderness Paramedics with their winter training block. This phase involved assessing the team's current levels of fitness and the physiological effects and fatigue associated with this type of training. The team particularly wanted to thank Bec Foxen and the team for once again allowing the TRU to be embedded within such a unique and incredible organisation of highly skilled professionals.

Professor Orr was invited to present at the UK Police Op Fortitude human performance programme led by Pete Flint to deliver a session on Conditioning for Specialist Police.

Professor Rob Orr from the Tactical Research Unit had the honour of presenting on ‘Load Carriage for Tactical Personnel’ on the Masters' of Sports Science in Human Performance Optimisation. The course, specifically designed for tactical personnel, is run by Dr Jonpaul Nevin, PhD from Buckinghamshire New University.

Dr Ben Schram and HDR Lizzy Cooper had an early and cold start at Mount Barney supporting a multi agency event. Data were captured during the event, which included paramedics, fire and rescue, law enforcement, and state emergency personnel, to help these agencies understanding the physiological demands and fatigue associated with remote search and rescue operations.

Dr Elisa Canetti and Dr Ben Schram presented their research on paramedics, military personnel, and law enforcement at the 2025 World Physiotherapy Congress in Tokyo. The work is drawn from several concurrent research studies currently underway with these populations.

Laura Clark and a team from HPO Technologies recently visited the TRU. The group toured the new facilities at BIHS-North before discussing:

- injury rates and prevention strategies within military, law enforcement, and the emergency services.

- the physiological effects of load carriage in high-performance and tactical settings.

- the impact of stress on the human body and its implications for operational performance; and - job task analysis for tactical professions.



This critical work in advancing the understanding and application of Human Performance Optimisation in demanding professions has been set as the framework for future collaborations between HPO Technologies and the TRU.

The Tactical Research Unit were out in force to present at the 5th International Physical Employment Standards Conference held in Oklahoma, USA. TRU staff, PhD students, and collaborators presented research investigating various aspects of physical employment requirements for military, law enforcement, fire and rescue and paramedicine.

The Tactical Research Unit were back in the field with the NZ Army assisting with their combat pack trials. Nothing like collecting data on a favourite topic - load carriage.

Article down range: Another article for the Tactical Research Team. In this systematic review, led by Doctor of Physiotherapy students from Bond University, the injuries of custody officers were profiled. The upper extremity was the most commonly injured body part (26–30%), with musculoskeletal sprains and strains (30–60.2%) the most common types of injury. This profile is similar to those reported in general-duty police officers. As such, musculoskeletal conditioning, reconditioning, and fall prevention practices employed in law enforcement may serve as an initial approach to risk mitigation in this population.

Read the published review here: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/12/23/2334

Professor Rob Orr getting together to present with long term colleagues and research collaborators Dr Jay Dawes, Dr Robert Lockie and PhD Candidate Joe Dulla at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Boston