Kinematic movement analysis can provide important information to coaches, conditioning, and medical professionals to improve athletes’ performance and mitigate movement-related injury risk factors. Candice MacMillan provides practitioners with tips on capturing 2D video footage accurately to allow meaningful movement analysis.
Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon grounds out during the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports
Human observation and memory are not reliable enough to provide accurate and objective information on complex sports movements(1). Performance analysis can help by providing accurate performance data. Sports biomechanics provide information to coaches and athletes on sports skill techniques to assist them in achieving the highest level of athletic performance and mitigating movement-related injury risk factors(1–4). Kinematics, a branch of biomechanics, describes motion, including the pattern and speed of movement sequencing by a body segment, which often translates to the degree of coordination an athlete displays(1,3). Practitioners capture kinematic data using qualitative, quantitative, or semi-quantitative methods (see figure 1). Qualitative analysis describes and analyses movements non-numerically by “seeing” movements as patterns, while quantitative analysis describes and analyzes movement numerically. Semi-quantitative analysis fits in between and describes movement patterns with simple numerical measurements.
The ability to easily identify quantifiable kinematic risk factors for injury allows practitioners to intervene more effectively and enables them to educate athletes about sport-specific, at-risk positions(4,5). Laboratory-based 3D motion capture is the gold standard in evaluating kinematic risk factors(1,4). These systems are reliable and can accurately determine multi-planar and dimensional kinematics, including rotational forces across joints, but their clinical application is limited for several reasons (see table 1)(1,3,5). Two-dimensional video analysis is a potential solution to the challenges of 3D analyses as it is available for smartphones/tablets and requires little to no equipment or cost. However, less than 50% of physical therapists in the United States use video-based motion analysis in clinical practice, of which 91% use it for less than 25% of their caseload(5). Since compensatory or faulty movement patterns are known contributors to injury risk, movement analysis and subsequent interventions are essential in treating and preventing injury injuries. However, how clinicians capture the 2D footage will impact the meaningfulness of their conclusions and, consequently, the effectiveness of their interventions.
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