Patrick Ward was sharing high end ideas such as the body-self neuromatrix and made me think how few people are making an impact modulating this stuff? With people barely even measuring it, how do we know we are doing a good job managing it? Last year I predicted that the smart fabrics will be using GSR measurement to get an idea of arousal. One company professional teams need to contact is affectiva, a company that is very progressive in measuring less known biometrics. After watching the Atlanta Falcons share the power of polar, I felt another smart measurement would be getting sympathetic output, and the cold war with professional teams has already started. One team will be using GSR next year, I am confident in that.
I have used GSR before with the panther skin as the military wants to know who are the cowards and who are the heroes. Each sympathetic reaction is unique and often those that are too amped stiffen up at high speeds or those that are lazy flat line during times they need to be ready to go. The future is now. Coaches are not going to be looking down at an iPad and monitoring, the bluetooth on a flat panel TV and showing live what is going on. Again the purpose is not to replace the coach, but to calibrate the eye and quantify objectively what we are seeing to push the envelope.
What do you think the sympathetic reaction is when athletes see the spanish inquisition tool kit from Graston? Does anyone think that the navajo flute CD is going to calm down the nervous system when one is getting scraped on a table? A lot of claims are made on webinars, but talk is cheap and data and results need evidence.Therapy we have measured sometimes has a spark of discomfort but the drop in pain and stimulation can be picked up with other sensors besides HRV.
Again we need great human abilities to work with technology, not replaced by it. I have one piece of technology in my pocket when I coach and spend most of my time working with my hands. Will the Q-Sensor be the next big thing? I think so.