Iker J. Bautista

About

Iker is a lecturer in Research Methodology (Sport and Exercise) in the Institute of Applied Sciences.

His primary responsibility is the delivery and leadership of postgraduate research methods teaching at level 7, which runs across the whole of the institute’s MSc portfolio in sport and exercise sciences – including the MSc Applied Sport and Exercise Nutrition, MSc Sports Performance Analysis, MSc Strength and Conditioning, and MSc Exercise Physiology.

Iker’s teaching covers research design, quantitative analysis using R and RStudio, and evidence synthesis through systematic review and meta-analysis. Iker also supervises MSc dissertation students across these programmes.

Alongside teaching, Iker maintains an active research profile in injury prevention and the application of advanced statistical methods to applied sport settings, with more than 30 peer-reviewed publications.

Before joining Chichester in 2023, Iker was a lecturer in the Department of Physiotherapy at the Catholic University of Valencia, Spain, and has over a decade of applied experience as a performance consultant and rehabilitation practitioner with elite teams and athletes in handball, football and tennis.

This applied background shapes how Iker teaches research methods, aiming to give students the statistical literacy to evaluate evidence critically and to apply it in professional practice.

Professional

Education

• 2012, PhD, University of Granada, Spain — thesis: Development and validity of a perception scale in resistance exercise (awarded November 2012)
• 2011, MPhil Research in Sport and Exercise Science, University of Granada, Spain
• 2010, BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science, University of Granada, Spain

Teaching

• Key module delivery: Research Methods in Sport and Exercise (Level 7) — delivered across the MSc Applied Sport and Exercise Nutrition, MSc Sports Performance Analysis, MSc Strength and Conditioning, and MSc Exercise Physiology
• MSc dissertation supervision across the postgraduate sport and exercise sciences portfolio
• Previously at the Catholic University of Valencia: Biostatistics Applied to Sport Science and Physiotherapy; Introduction to Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Methodology; Research and Documentation; Rehabilitation and Return to Play; General Procedures in Sport Therapy Interventions

Professional activities, roles and memberships

• Invited manuscript reviewer for:
  • Applied Sciences
  • BMC Geriatrics
  • BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation
  • Frontiers in Physiology
  • International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport
  • International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching
  • International Journal of Surgery
  • Journal of Clinical Medicine
  • Journal of Sport Rehabilitation
  • Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
  • Medicina
  • PeerJ
  • Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports
  • Sensors
  • Sports Biomechanics
  • Sports Medicine

Key Publications

Research and scholarly output

Selected publications, most recent first. Full list of 33 peer-reviewed articles available via ORCID: 0000-0002-7409-6290

• Smith, J., Obine, E. A. C., Talbot, J., Grazier, N., Stevens, C., Needham-Beck, S., Bautista, I. J., & Sharpe, B. T. (2025). An investigation of the 10:20 protection rule for detecting aquatic hazards. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 21(3), 194–207.
• Maroto-Izquierdo, S., Bautista, I. J., Pérez-Guerrero, A., Redondo-Delgado, P., Jauregui-Fajardo, I., Simó, V., & Aldecoa, C. (2025). Effects of prehabilitation concurrent exercise on functional capacity in colorectal cancer patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Healthcare, 13(10), 1119.
• Vicente-Mampel, J., Bautista, I. J., Salvat, I., Maroto-Izquierdo, S., Lluch Girbés, E., & Ros Bernal, F. (2025). Dry needling in people with fibromyalgia: A randomized controlled trial of its effects on pain sensitivity and pain catastrophizing influence. PM&R, 17(4), 419–430.
• Van Hooren, B., Jukic, I., Cox, M., Frenken, K. G., Bautista, I. J., & Moore, I. S. (2024). The relationship between running biomechanics and running economy: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Sports Medicine, 54(5), 1269–1316.
• Martín-Rodríguez, S., González-Henríquez, J. J., Bautista, I. J., Calbet, J. A. L., & Sanchis-Moysi, J. (2024). Interplay of muscle architecture, morphology, and quality in influencing human sprint cycling performance: A systematic review. Sports Medicine – Open, 10(1), 81.
• Jaenada-Carrilero, E., Vicente-Mampel, J., Baraja-Vegas, L., Thorborg, K., Valero-Merlos, E., Blanco-Giménez, P., Gargallo, P., & Bautista, I. J. (2024). Hip adduction and abduction strength profiles in elite and sub-elite female soccer players according to player level and leg limb-dominance. BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation, 16(1), 53.
• Blanco-Giménez, P., Vicente-Mampel, J., Gargallo, P., Baraja-Vegas, L., Bautista, I. J., Ros-Bernal, F., & Barrios, C. (2024). Clinical relevance of combined treatment with exercise in patients with chronic low back pain: A randomized controlled trial. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 17042.
• Van Hooren, B., Vicente-Mampel, J., Piqueras-Sanchiz, F., Baraja-Vegas, L., & Bautista, I. J. (2023). T2 hamstring muscle activation during the single-leg Roman chair: Impact of prior injury. Exercise, Sport, and Movement, 1(4), 1–8.
• Bautista, I. J., Martín-Rivera, F., Martínez, I., Haff, G. G., & Maroto-Izquierdo, S. (2022). The influence of calculation method and relative strength on the load–velocity relationship in bench press exercise. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 17(3), 576–582.
• Bautista, I. J., Vicente-Mampel, J., Baraja-Vegas, L., Segarra, V., Martín-Rivera, F., & Van Hooren, B. (2021). The effects of the Nordic hamstring exercise on sprint performance and eccentric knee flexor strength: A systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention studies among team sport players. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 24(9), 931–938.
• Bautista, I. J., Chirosa, I. J., Robinson, J. E., Chirosa, L. J., & Martínez, I. (2016). Concurrent validity of a velocity perception scale to monitor back squat exercise intensity in young skiers. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 30(2), 421–429.
• Bautista, I. J., Chirosa, I. J., Robinson, J. E., van der Tillaar, R., Chirosa, L. J., & Martínez, I. (2016). A new physical performance classification system for elite handball players: Cluster analysis. Journal of Human Kinetics, 51, 131–142.
• Bautista, I. J., Chirosa, I. J., Chirosa, L. J., Martín, I., González, A., & Robertson, R. J. (2014). Development and validity of a scale of perception of velocity in resistance exercise. Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, 13(3), 542–549.

Research

Research interests

My research centres on injury prevention and on the application of advanced statistical methods to applied sport and clinical settings. A substantial part of my output is evidence synthesis: I have led or co-authored systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the Nordic hamstring exercise and sprint performance, the relationship between running biomechanics and running economy, muscle architecture in sprint cycling, and prehabilitation exercise in colorectal cancer patients.

My other interests include the effect of exercise selection on muscle architecture and strength, the use of velocity- and perception-based methods to monitor resistance training intensity, pain management during exercise, and eccentric exercise in the treatment of tendinopathy. Much of this work has been carried out with athletes and teams in football, tennis and handball, focusing on the rehabilitation process after injury and on reducing injury risk. I am particularly interested in translating statistical methods into tools that practitioners can use — for example, the cluster-analysis classification system I developed for profiling elite handball players.

Experience of research supervision

• Doctoral, completed: Miguel Herrera — Validation of a scale of velocity perception in the squat exercise (2014)
• Doctoral, completed: Eloy Jaenada — Injury prevention and strength development in female groin injuries (2025)
• Doctoral, in progress: Raúl Gallego — New insoles
• MSc dissertation supervision, University of Chichester and Catholic University of Valencia

Research examinations

External examiner, doctoral thesis, Miguel Hernández University of Elche, Spain.

Consultancy

• Over a decade of applied consultancy in elite sport and clinical rehabilitation.
• Performance consultant to the Spanish U21 National Handball Squad (2012–2016), delivering fitness assessment and injury-risk profiling.
• Performance consultant to Real Valladolid CF (2016–2017, Spanish 2nd Division), delivering force–velocity, jump, sprint and agility profiling of the first team
• Strength and conditioning coach to a WTA professional tennis player (2016–2017)
• Rehabilitation and return-to-play clinician at FisioSalud (2014–2018) and Lledó Physiotherapy Clinic (2018–2019).
• Researcher at iVolution R&D (2012–2014) on the development and reliability testing of a novel isokinetic assessment device.

• Externally funded project: £5,220, European University of Madrid — development of injury risk and performance profiles in soccer players