Limestone University Professor Dr. Samantha Weber Published In Sports Medicine & Health Sciences Journal

Limestone University’s Dr. Samantha Weber, Assistant Professor of Athletic Training and Clinical Education Coordinator, recently had a paper published regarding a completed study that could lead to better health outcomes for student-athletes, both at Limestone and throughout the country.

The paper, entitled “Effects of a 4-Week Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Intervention on Psychological and Performance Variables in Student-Athletes: A Pilot Study,” was published in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Allied Health Sciences: Official Journal of the Ohio Athletic Trainers Association.

The study was done in the spirit of the NCAA initiatives to improve mental healthcare for student-athletes. While, as the study states, these initiatives center on education and encouraging student-athletes to pursue mental health treatment, Weber hopes to move the focus more toward treatments, interventions, and recovery.

“It definitely can provide them an easy tool to use during stressful moments, whether that is pre-game jitters, injuries, or rehab,” she said. “And it’s more stuff they can do in-season, out-of-season, or anytime, as long as they are learning the tools to do that.”

Thirteen student-athletes participated in the study, which was conducted by Weber with assistance of staff from the University of South Carolina in Columbia.

Although the participants in the study were not Limestone students, Weber says that it is significant that she is engaged in this work while working at a university where the majority of On-Campus program students are student-athletes.

“For me, it is about achieving something that will help the mental health of student-athletes,” she noted. “With Limestone having such a large student-athlete population, it will be a huge help.”

This marks Weber’s first time being published as the lead author.

The paper is a section of her dissertation for a doctorate in exercise science, which she completed at the University of South Carolina in December 2020 while working in the Athletic Training Program full-time at Limestone.

Before moving to the Palmetto State, Weber received a Bachelor of Science in athletic training from Concordia University of Wisconsin and a Master of Education degree in sport and exercise psychology from Northern Illinois University.

She is a certified athletic trainer by the Board of Certification and is a member of multiple trainers’ associations, including the South Carolina Athletic Trainers’ Association, where she serves as the Chair of Professional Education Committee.