STAGE ONE: STRENGTH

We use Isokinetic dynamometry for this – A machine which measures not just how strong you are, but how strong you are through a joint’s full range of motion. This lets us find weak spots in your range (if they exist) and then we can guide your team in how to make changes to fill in the gaps. Isokinetic dynamometry is the gold standard in single joint strength testing.

We have looked at our data in detail, compared it to existing published data, and taken the key variables you need to improve on, measure and change as part of rehabilitation.

We have published some of this data for other’s to benefit from too, and to check that others agree with our data set, but most of our data comparisons we have kept to benefit you directly.

From our research into ACL injuries, we know that these scores are important as those with smaller differences in peak quad strength between legs and those with high quad strength return to play at 9-months with less knee pain (ES 0.42, 0.45) (Franklyn-Miller et al., 2018), but we use this to test neck, shoulder, back, hip, knee and ankle strength dependent on your condition.

Isokinetic muscle strength and readiness to return to sport following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: is there an association? A systematic review and a protocol recommendation. Undheim MB, Cosgrave C, King E, Strike S, Marshall B, Falvey É, Franklyn-Miller A. Br J Sports Med. 2015 Oct;49(20):1305-10 in post operative ACL patients Countermovement Jump and Isokinetic Dynamometry as Measures of Rehabilitation Status After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction. O’Malley E, Richter C, King E, Strike S, Moran K, Franklyn-Miller A, Moran R. J Athl Train. 2018 Jul;53(7):687-695

 

STAGE TWO: POWER

Imagine a dimmer switch on the wall, you can turn the lights on slowly or fast, you choose, and life is the same, you cannot just get strong when you rehabilitate, you need to adapt the speed of the muscle strength, and use more than one joint at the same time. We use force plates to assess rate of force development and over 1 million data points already collected to compare your progress. We can assess right versus left, and concentric versus eccentric, and test your neck, back, upper and lower body dependent on the condition.

We can identify gaps in your rehabilitation or encourage you to successfully progress to the next stage, with the knowledge that your progress is safe.

As with all our testing, we have published some of this data for other’s to benefit from too, and to check that others agree with our data set, but most of our data comparisons we have kept to benefit you directly.

We use the countermovement jump to understand how rapidly you are able to deceleration and accelerate your body and how much force you are able to produce while doing so. We are also able to measure the loads through each leg to understand if you are favouring one side over the other.

Our research has demonstrated that there are differences in deceleration and acceleration abilities between legs depending on the type of graft you have in your ACL surgery. Further, these asymmetries are different to those seen in maximum strength (Miles et al., 2017).

Back to Normal Symmetry? Biomechanical Variables Remain More Asymmetrical Than Normal During Jump and Change-of-Direction Testing 9 Months After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction. King E, Richter C, Franklyn-Miller A, Wadey R, Moran R, Strike S. Am J Sports Med. 2019 Apr;47(5):1175-1185 Whole-body biomechanical differences between limbs exist 9 months after ACL reconstruction across jump/landing tasks. King E, Richter C, Franklyn-Miller A, Daniels K, Wadey R, Moran R, Strike S. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2018 Dec;28(12):2567-2578