I was going to write something today on testing, but people have more fear of getting injured than the passion of getting people better, so I will go with the flow. A few people asked me what teams or solutions I have witnessed first hand. What is being done versus what can be done. Fair enough, as soccer teams are wondering in what to others really do for Football preseason. I have seen things that look like riots and see things that look like military academies. The most important notes I have are written up formally, but figured this blog would do a good enough job to make the points come across clear. Noraxon has always lead the field with research tools, but now the lab is entering the market. The best holistic evaluation system is Noraxon integrate system of EMG, Motion Capture, Kinematic Analysis, and foot pressure. All systems integrated with one software package. Game changer. Here are some tips I have learned from organized teams.
Do a gauntlet of activities with cameras to see how movement really is. The FMS is not running or cutting, but even the PCA has a lot of lying table tests. To make a movement screen complete, just do field tests and measure with at least two HD cameras. EMG is nice, but the Noraxon Motion capture is portable, takes less than 2 minutes to put on, and the reports take seconds to generate.
How one trains should be assessed. Amazing how everyone will do a hurdle test, but rarely does one record the activities they do every training session. The best screens are sporting and training movements. Us an IP Camera and just rotate guys in to see progress. Make sure the videos are shared with everyone so the medical people understand what you do. Prevention is best done in the weight room and field during warm-up.
It’s better to formally test less frequent with more data variables than to retest constantly. More data sets equal a bigger well rounded picture. Jumping kinematics are great, but if you know the EMG readings and gait curves that tells the story of why it’s happening and why it’s risking injury.
Nascar understands value of time. Athletes get annoyed waiting as many are divas. Two things to change that. Random massive flat screens showing the results publicly. The easiest way to sedate an athlete is a glowing rectangle and generation Y loves screen time. Second find ways to get more interns for preseason to do grunt work that is painfully simple. Reward the good ones with a seasonal position. Competition drives speed.
Create risk factors and score the tests with injury contributions to the tests in the reporting and have benchmarks for the year to reduce them. Training should be natural and not overreact to the assessment, but still have goals to hit so that injuries can be addressed.
Of course more can be written, but a general rule of thumb is how much information can be collected in as little time. FMS is a great start in the 1990s but it’s 2013 and we can do more.