Research stories

The grant will allow for evaluating and spreading the impact of the healthy lifestyle program, designed for people living with dementia and their care partners.

Dr. Kaylena Ehgoetz Martens receives a portion of $1.35 million USD for research in Parkinson’s freezing of gait symptom.

Kinesiology professor Nikolas Knowles receives a Canada Foundation for Innovation John R. Evans Leaders Fund for his project to help slow or prevent joint deterioration from osteoarthritis.

A new study, led by researchers at the University of Waterloo, found that the subjective visual vertical – a measure of how individuals perceive the orientation of vertical lines – shifted considerably after participants played a high-intensity VR game. 

The DREAM project has developed a new series of learning modules and resources with an aim to improve how community service providers support and include persons living with dementia in their wellness programs and services, especially those related to physical activity and healthy eating.

Dr. Nikolas Knowles, a researcher in Kinesiology and Health Sciences, is studying a new imaging technology to assess shoulder osteoarthritis. 

The Faculty of Health’s Human Anatomy Laboratory, which is housed in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, offers the perfect location for surgeons to test procedures on cadaver donors.

Engineering and Health experts at the University of Waterloo are collaborating on research that may lead to breakthroughs in preventing a serious, all-too-common injury — broken bones. 

A group of researchers from the University of Waterloo is providing community partners with training and resources to support people living with dementia.

Researchers have linked the fitness of elite soccer players to the positions they play. The ability to make this assessment can help coaches regulate individual training loads based on player position.

Synthetic cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive compound also found in the cannabis plant, appears to prime the innate immune system of cells, potentially offering protection against pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2.

Remote monitoring of health-related behaviour with wearable sensor technology is feasible for people with complex health conditions, shows a recent University of Waterloo study.

Many things change when a person is diagnosed with dementia, but one thing that doesn’t have to is the ability to exercise.

Marina Mourtzakis, a Kinesiology professor who leads Waterloo’s Centre for Community, Clinical and Applied Research Excellence, examines how to exercise safely as a cancer survivor during or after treatment.

Persons with neurodegenerative diseases can monitor at home

Flip-flops have a tendency to come off the foot entirely during slips in dry and wet conditions, contributing to a greater risk of injury, says a University of Waterloo study.

We talked to sports mental performance consultant Wade Wilson in the Department of Kinesiology to help us understand some of the risks of convening the major leagues to play again.

The study, conducted by the Brain and Body Lab at the University of Waterloo, is asking people of different age groups how vulnerable they believe they are to COVID-19.

If your workspace is not optimized, chances are that you may experience at least one of the following issues: sore shoulders, neck pain, back pain, eye strain, or repetitive wrist strain.

The human body is a complicated, intertwined network of systems that miraculously allows us to walk, breathe, talk and understand others, normally without any thought as to how we do it. 

Sex differences in airway size are not innate, but likely develop because of hormonal changes around puberty, reports a new study.

A storyline with emotionally evocative details can reduce virtual reality cybersickness for some people, according to a new study.

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut David Saint-Jacques will return to Earth in a few days after more than six months in space.

People who stand at work for long periods of time might be able to avoid lower back pain by intermittently using a footrest, says a new study by researchers at the University of Waterloo.

Playing games in virtual reality (VR) could be a key tool in treating people with neurological disorders such as autism, schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease.

The researchers examined whether mindfulness meditation could be used in large classrooms to ease the anxiety first-year university students tend to experience around written assignments.

The pushup is a highly adaptable exercise that can be tailored to help individuals with specific needs, say a team of UWaterloo researchers who studied a modified pushup, called a ‘pushup plus.’

Researchers at the University of Waterloo have made progress toward predicting who is likely to feel sick from virtual reality technology.

A team of Waterloo researchers found that applying artificial intelligence to the right combination of data retrieved from wearable technology may detect whether your health is failing.

Nearly half of people who use a standing desk are at risk of developing lower back pain, according to a study at the University of Waterloo.

Seniors need twice as long as young adults to realize they are falling, a delay that puts them at increased risk for serious injury, according to a new study from the University of Waterloo.

University of Waterloo study finds moving from manual to powered stretchers could reduce the number of injuries to paramedics by 78 per cent.

University of Waterloo researchers have created a tool aimed at decreasing the rate of malnutrition in hospitals. Known as the Mealtime Audit Tool (MAT), it will help dietitians, doctors and nurses identify why a third of patients in acute care settings don’t eat the food on their trays.

Two new studies are part of the Biomechanics: The Machine Inside exhibit, which gives visitors a hands-on look at the marvels of natural engineering that drive human and animal movement.

Taking certain omega-3 fatty acid supplements during pregnancy can reduce the risk of childhood asthma by almost one third, according to a new study from the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood (COPSAC) and the University of Waterloo.

To uncover just what makes Kilganon such an athletic outlier, Cannon is using state-of-the-art motion capture and electromyography technology to measure muscle activation and joint angles where he suspects they matter the most—not in the legs, but around the spine and hips.

A high proportion of older adults entering long-term care homes in Ontario are B12 deficient, with more developing deficiencies over the course of their first year in residence, according to research from the University of Waterloo.

A researcher at the University of Waterloo who authored new exercise recommendations for people living with osteoporosis has won the prestigious Bloomberg Manulife Prize for the Promotion of Active Health.

The University of Waterloo and Pervasive Dynamics will develop and test wearable health technologies that can improve stroke rehabilitation as part of a new partnership aimed at transforming the health of older adults.
 

Investing in biomechanical assessments and revamping strength training programs is the best way to keep major league baseball pitchers off the disabled list, according to research out of the University of Waterloo’s Department of Kinesiology.

Using advanced ergonomic and health risk calculations, Jack Callaghan, a professor in Waterloo’s Department of Kinesiology, has found that the ideal sit-stand ratio lies somewhere between 1:1 and 1:3  – a vast departure from traditional wisdom. 

The study, published in Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, is the first to conclusively link reduced activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex with weakened self-control around tasty but unhealthy snacks.

For the first time ever, scientists have successfully documented the way the spine moves during sex and discovered exactly why certain positions are better than others when it comes to avoiding back pain.