In the back of every athletes mind is the haunting risk of injury. Sport related injuries can occur as a result of physical contact with another player or due to improper movement or technique. PhysiMax, an Israeli sports technology company, is a new start-up dedicated to helping athletes prevent and recover from movement-based injuries, while inherently guiding them with corrective training to boost their athletic performance.
PhysiMax recently launched an Athletic Movement Assessment, which provides a real-time evaluation of an individual’s injury risk level and movement performance. Ram Shalev, CEO and co-founder of PhysiMax, explained to us that the solution utilizes high-end computer video analysis and kinematic machine-learning algorithmic software. This cloud based service is able to assess quality of movement by providing reliable 3D body calculations, multimedia reports and validated scores.
“The technology weighs and extracts the 3D video data streams, continuingly composing a full 3D body kinematic map,” said Shalev. “The accuracy level of relative body angle has been proven to be in almost perfect correlation to experts’ scoring with up to a few degrees of variance.”
The Movement Assessment’s full body dynamic analysis is able to help athletes boost their athletic performance by providing them personal movement evaluations. Athletic trainers and coaches can utilize the evaluations to develop customized workout plans in order to help their athletes prevent future injuries.
Currently, PhysiMax’s Movement Assessment Beta program is only available for commercial use. It is currently being implemented by the University of Maryland, University of North Carolina, Mercer University, the Israeli Olympic contingent, Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. (2014 Euroleague champion), and MedStar Health, the official medical provider for U.S. Lacrosse, the Baltimore Ravens and Washington Nationals. The system is available for purchase by athletic teams, clinics and fitness centers.
“Right now there is not really anything on the market that is easy to use and reliable for assessing dynamic movement and quality of motion,” said Shalev. “PhysiMax is the first to make it accessible to, and realistic for (both in affordability and ease-of-use) the collegiate, competitive and scholastic athletic community as a whole.”
Coaches can also implement the system when looking to draft a prospective player. The PhysiMax system is able to identify athletes who are at high risk of suffering injury, based on their movement and dynamic stability, and is capable of highlighting areas where the player may require extra training in order to improve their technique.
“During the draft, coaches are aware if a player previously suffered from an injury, but this system allows them to see if they have fully recovered or if they are prone to a secondary injury based on the results,” said Shalev.
After working years in health services and the high-tech industry, Shalev, who holds an MSC in Engineering, realized the importance of technology to objectively evaluate physical condition and performance. The PhysiMax system is able to provide trainers and therapists visual statistics and graphs to develop a customized recovery exercise program for an injured athlete and, consequently, to ensure that a tailored workout is proving effective.
“These evidence-based exercises were designed to address specific impairments found in the dynamic movement patterns of athletes. By providing trainers with proposed sets of exercises for both teams and individuals, the assessment helps them better streamline their training process,” said Shalev.
A consistent screening tool for injury risk and faulty movement has been the Functional Movement Screen (FMS). Shalev explained that the FMS has been the simple go-to protocol to evaluate risk factors of injury and performance elements on professional sports teams and in army units. This commonly used system, in which a trained examiner grades performance of specific tasks with a rigid scoring scale (1-2-3), is now being used in conjunction with the PhysiMax system.
“Because the FMS scoring is subjective and screens non-dynamic postures, the need for an objective and immediate scoring of dynamic movement evolved,” said Shalev. “FMS is often used for injury risk assessment, but the correlation has not been claimed by the format developers, nor validated in scientific research, whereas the dynamic movement protocols PhysiMax facilitates have been proven in correlation to injury risk and athletic performance.”
Going forward, Shalev sees the PhysiMax Movement Assessment as a vital tool for coaches and athletes to not only monitor injury, but to also develop a personalized instructional method for athletes to enhance their techniques on the field. With evidence-based assessments, athletes will be able to alter their training methods in order to target those areas of motion in which they would like to improve.
“Eventually athletes will use our technology on smartphones so everyone can have a real-time movement assessment at their fingertips” said Shalev.
According to Shalev, “The quality of movement encompasses: control, coordination, range and symmetry of movement.” The PhysiMax system addresses whether the athlete is able to execute a specific movement pattern correctly and efficiently, therefore pointing out areas of weakness. For athletes, the risk of developing a movement-based injury is put to rest with the help of PhysiMax’s technology. Now all athletes have the chance to assess their movement patterns, enabling them to maximize their performance and play more confidently.