UVA Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation the SPEED Clinic
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The PM&R SPEED and Performance
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Jay Dicharry MPT, CSCS, Director
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Goal: We want you faster. We want you injury free.
Objective Assessment
Yes there is quite a bit of art required in the science of sport, but there are certain laws of physics and biomechanics that do come into play in sport analysis. If you have a problem, you go to the expert. The pursuit of fitness is no different. Our analysis is based on proven musculoskeletal research. Some of our analysis is based on work we have done, because honestly, no other lab in the country can generate the same amount of information for you that we can. There are only two AMTI Forceplate Treadmills like ours in the world. One is here, and another is at a US Army base in Massachusetts. If you want serious, comprehensive, analysis - no other facility can match what we do. Period.
The Source
When seeking out advice, you should always consider the source. We are your reference list. The SPEED Clinic was founded to be a testing and research center that uses proven methodology to identify dysfunction. Our faculty is actively investigating human movement research on a daily basis.The second part is to integrate this information. We'll process this information for you. We'll talk. We'll explain. We'll demonstrate. We'll make you perform the exercises and drills correctly to make sure you know what to do. Information is great, but integration into your training plan is essential to understanding and eliminating the problem. You'll learn how to make positive changes.
The Keys
There are numerous centers for obtaining physiological data (VO2 and Lactate testing). Lots of facilities have the equipment & knowledge to do this. We are another one of those facilities.
Biomechanical testing is another matter. There are only a handful of centers that have the equipment to analyze what we can in cycling. No other biomechanical testing facility in the country can match our 3D assessment we provide to runners.
Good information in = Good information out.
SPEED stands for Strength, Power, Endurance, Education, and Development. These are the cornerstones on which the center is focused.
Strength - How you control your joint movement during training and competition plays a huge role in motor control and injury prevention.
Power - How rapidly can you apply your energy stores? If you can't apply your force correctly, you are missing out on free performance gain. There is a correct way to move.
Endurance - Not just long slow distance, but how long can you maintain a given level of intensity? Long and easy probably won't win the race. Long and fast will.
Economy - The naked eye can miss things. Even a trained eye can't quite capture every nuance of a person's technique. Our camera system picks you apart at 250 times a second. It doesn't miss anything. If there is a flaw in your technique, we'll find it. Our treadmill analyzes forces at 1000 times a second. Can you even think that fast? Our experience then goes to work. We'll break this information down and help you understand your problems. Then we'll help you solve your problems.
Development - If you are reading this, you are passionate enough to make a commitment to your athletic lifestyle. We realize that commitment to training is tough, and we are here to develop you as a person - not just an athlete. We think long term. We think planning. We think results.
Gait Analysis
Research shows that 80% of runners will have some type of injury during their running career that will require them to take at least 1 month off. Well, 80% of basketball players don't have this problem, and neither do 80% of chess players. What's the difference? Little problems add up to a big deal after hundreds and thousands of miles on your feet. Fixing those little imbalances goes a long way. A proper gait analysis should help uncover any asymmetry or imbalance that contributes to your injury history and also make economy corrections that will increase performance. There is a correct way for you to run. We'll run the numbers, and find it for you.
Basic Gait Assessment
$150 - about 2-2.5 hours
Begins with a detailed interview and history. We want to know why you came to see us. Have you had persistent shin splints for the past 4 years that just won't go away, or are you trying to make a time goal for a specific race? Good communication is essential to getting the best results for you. After we talk, we'll put you through a full static and dynamic assessment. We'll piece together your comments and see how they play out with your body's alignment, flexibility, strength, and dynamic control. Following this we'll perform a visual assessment with our trained eye. These findings will be summarized for you and a specific plan of essential exercises will be formulated specifically for you, along with some drills to integrate this information into your form.
3D Gait Assessment
$350 - about 3-3.5 hours
This is our premier service. It could be called the wind tunnel for running. Remember, we are first and foremost an academic research lab. The amount of information our department's lab is able to assemble will dwarf any other athletic evaluation you've ever had. No other analysis in the United States is comparable to what we have to offer. We will capture your joint measurements at 250 times a second - this is as fast as current technology allows. Our treadmill is the only design in the world that is able to capture forces in three planes at once. This allows us to put together a unique amount of information for you that we will use to find the root of your persistent injuries, or the root of your performance roadblocks.
This service includes everything listed above, and includes the following. After your static and dynamic evaluation, you'll be marked with reflective markers and calibrated to our infrared Vicon camera system. This will allow objective measurements to be taken of range of motion (called kinematics) and forces (called kinetics). We'll use this information to get a more accurate insight to your running gait. This also allows us to examine how you compensate for certain dysfunctions as well. Most participants remark that they get "too much" information out of this session. That is why the 3D service includes a DVD of your running in video format. If you are currently under the guidance of a physician, therapist, or coach, you can share this narrated video to show them in 7-10 minutes what we spent the entire 3.5 hours analyzing. This will be a great boon to them as they will be able to use this analysis to tailor their interventions. This video will include still frame, slow motion and graphic representation as appropriate to help explain the technical explanations that the graphs show. The DVD also includes a library of exercises done both correctly and incorrectly so that you can check form if you have questions or wish to review them at a later time.
Bike Fits
You'll spend 1000 dollars on a set of race wheels that you use a few days a year. Why not spend some time and money to tune up your engine? Bike fit is the single biggest thing you can do to affect your economy. If you don't believe this check out the article "Can I Buy Speed?" under the articles section above for more on this. Wouldn't you like to work less while going faster? This is called economy and we can help.
Basic Bike Fit
$150, about 2 hours
No charts and formulas here. Begins with a detailed interview and history. Then we'll run through a full musculoskeletal assessment. Then we'll set you up on your bike. We use your actual bike, not a sizing device. Our fit begins with the principles that everyone has a certain anthropometric structure that we can't change. I can't make you leg longer, or change the proportions of you upper and lower body. That's why formulas just don't cut it. You position on a bike is dynamic - changing as you move. The goal is to get you within certain specific norms to make you as efficient and comfortable as possible. There is a specific way to sit on a bike. Research has proven that critical angles of the spine, pelvis, and lower body joints make a considerable difference in economy. We'll use a model of fit that will enable you to get your best position on the bike with your current flexibility, strength, and range of motion. Then we'll guide you with exercises and essential drills to progress your fit even further. We'll do our best with what you bring in, but sometimes different length stems or bars help, and we can make recommendations on these for you.
3D Fit
$400, about 3.5 hours
We can sum this up best by using the phrase firepower. You'll have quantitative data from the computrainer to help us analyze the efficiency of your spin and give us left and right power numbers. You'll be marked up and calibrated so that our Vicon camera system can fully identify your pedal stroke range of motion at 250 frames per second. This is processed through a program called RealTime that allows us to see real changes as they happen. What's the benefit of going to the 3D system over the standard bike fit? Again, good information in = good information out. With the Basic Fit, we try our best to re-create ankle positions when you stop pedaling so that we can measure you knee range of motion effectively. We do our best, but we are human. The 3D System Fit allows us to see triplanar movement in realtime - when you move forward on your saddle as you do in a sprint, we see changes instantly. When you move back as in climbing, you have a change in knee flexion angle as well. The 3D Fit allows us to quantify these changes 
instantly and get the best possible position for you, and makes sure we can get you in the optimal range for dynamic control over your bike. It just makes sense. It works.
A word to medical professionals:
We know that many of your practices are tremendously busy. We also know that every practice does not have access to our level of equipment and staff resources. At UVA, we do and are happy to assist you with injury causation of your athletes. Addressing the motion pattern dysfunction is essential for proper management and treatment of your athlete's rehabilitation plan. The 3D Gait evaluation will provide you with significant multi axis kinematic and kinetic data, as well as a video review of your patient's assessment. Basically, we will spend over 3 hours assessing subjective, objective static and dynamic factors, and gait. The graphs and DVD given to each 3D Gait assessment client will summarize this analysis allowing you to review this data within 8-10 minutes. Most clinicians find the ability to quantify this unparalled in providing the answers for chronic conditions. This will give you an accurate explanation of the tissue stresses the individual is experiencing and can help direct your treatment. Think of us a resource for your practice to find the biomechanical issues that overwhelm your patients.
Keep in mind that this service is not covered by insurance, and the cost is not any different than if the client came in indepently - but sharing this information should be both educational and valuable.