Brian O'Rourke

Research Interests

My interest in research began with my MSc here at SETU Carlow, which was research dissertation based. My project looked at manual therapies, and their interaction with sporting performance, as I felt that research in the area at the time was lacking in solid functional outcome measures. As such, combining my two greatest areas of interest made sense.

Following the completion of my MSc, I was lucky enough to gain employment here at the SETU Carlow. During my time here to date I have supervised three MSC students to completion, two of which were projects branched from my own original project, and were similarly therapy and performance based.

Going forward I hope to continue to grow my research and research supervision within these same areas, and also to engage with new and different research themes.

Current Research Students

Callan Byrne, commenced September 2019. The effect of repeated bouts of ankle dorsiflexion MWM’s on ankle dorsiflexion range of motion, balance and the gait cycle.

Postgraduate students supervised to completion

• Louise Barry, commenced September 2013. Project title: Does dry needling effect my ability to run?
• Frank Devereaux, commenced January 2015. Project title: The Effects of Myofascial Trigger Point Release on the Power and Force Production in the Lower Limb Kinetic Chain.
• Diarmuid Tobin, commenced September 2015. Project title: An investigation into the acute effects of utilising a live strength feedback system to ensure equal bilateral force distribution when performing the Nordic hamstring exercise, a randomised control trial.
• Darragh O Meara, commenced September 2018. Treatment timeframe guidelines for myofascial dry needling in the lower limb kinetic chain prior to performance.

Areas of interest as a supervisor include

My areas of interest include Manual Therapy, Sporting Performance, and Sports Science in general.

Publications

Peer Reviewed Journal Articles

Byrne, P., Kenny, J., O’Rourke, B. The effect of the addition of 3 depth jumps to a dynamic warm up prior to 20 metre sprint performance. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. 28(3)/610–615 (2014).

Lelental, B., Jordan, S., O’Rourke, B., Kinsella, S. The Effects of Mobilizations with Movement (MWMs) on the Shoulder Range of Motion and Strength. Journal of Athletic Training: September 2017, Vol. 52, No. 9, pp. 863-87.

Devereux, F., O’Rourke, B., Byrne, P.J., Byrne, DJ and Kinsella, S. (2017). The Effects of Myofascial Trigger Point Release on the Power and Force Production in the Lower Limb Kinetic Chain. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. 33(9)/2453-2463 (2018).

Tobin, D., O’Rourke, B., Lodge, C. Reliability and validity of a new eccentric hamstring strength measurement device (The hamstring solo elite). The Journal of Athletic Therapy Reference: JAT0532-16. Accepting, awaiting assignment.

Conference Proceedings and Papers

Oral presentations

Tobin, D., O’Rourke, Lodge, C. (2017). Reliability and validity of a new eccentric hamstring strength measurement device (The hamstring solo elite). All Ireland Postgraduate Conference in Sport Sciences, Physical Activity and Physical Education, 21st April, Institute of Technology Carlow, Ireland.

Lelental, B., Jordan, S., O’Rourke, B., Kinsella, S (2018). The Effect of Mobilisations with Movement on the Hip Power and Range of Motion. 14th Scandinavian Congress of Medicine & Science in Sport, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Barry, L., O’Rourke, B., Byrne, P.J. and Kinsella, S., (2017). Does dry needling effect my ability to run? Canadian Athletic Therapy Conference, June 1-3rd, Niagara Falls, Canada.

Devereaux, F., O’Rourke, B., Byrne, P (2016). The Effects of Myofascial Trigger Point Release on the Power and Force Production in the Lower Limb Kinetic Chain. All Ireland Postgraduate Conference in Sport Sciences, Physical Activity and Physical Education, 29th April, Waterford Institute of Technology, Ireland.

Other Research Outputs

Manuscripts in preparation for peer review

Lelental, B., Jordan, S., O’Rourke, B., Kinsella, S. The Effect of Mobilisations with Movement on the Hip Power and Range of Motion. Journal of Musculoskeletal Science & Practice.

Lelental, B., Jordan, S., O’Rourke, B., Kinsella, S. The Effect of Mobilisations with Movement on Shoulder Strength and Range of Motion. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies.