Revolutionizing sports training: 3D analysis helps athletes improve performance and mitigate injury risk
BENSENVILLE, Ill. - Amateur athletes are now taking advantage of advanced technology that has become a staple for the pros.
When high school pitcher Cole Chaney gets on this mound, his every move is analyzed down to his bare-bones
Chaney is undergoing a 3D analysis with trainers at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush's sports performance lab, which is taking place at Bo Jackson Elite Sports in Bensenville.
As a pitcher at Mount Prospect, he was dealing with constant shoulder and elbow injuries that sidelined him for months and brought him in with the hope of recovery and prevention.
Brittany Dowling and Dave Heidloff are trainers in the performance lab.
It involves using 10 marker-based cameras, some taking up to 700 pictures in just one second which allows the trainers to slow things down frame by frame to focus on what he's doing right and wrong.
"We can use these cameras and try to pinpoint some things for them to work on their performance, to work on some things, correct it to help mitigate injury risk, kind of just build a better athlete," said Dowling.
It's similar to technology used by the pros in real-time during live professional games to improve their performance and help them win championships.
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But now, it's available to amateur athletes and everyday people recovering from things like running injuries, hip, knee and ankle injuries and even retirees fighting osteoporosis. It's all about correcting what they call inefficiencies.
"Any inefficiencies you have are either going to increase your risk for an injury or could be holding back your performance. So once we identify those, we can kind of rip the band-aid off and say hey these are things that need to be improved and address those," said Heidloff.
Because it's so specialized, it's a personalized analysis that will be different for every individual.
The cost is about $295 for the initial assessment.
For Chaney, it's allowed him to get back on the field.
He hopes to one day play in the big leagues. For now, he's committed to playing for Cal University in Wisconsin, and he thinks the 3D analysis is giving him an advantage and going to be a game changer.
"I'm not having any arm problems anymore, and I can last through more pitches and last more innings and that's what's needed," said Chaney.
After the initial $295 assessment, the training sessions cost $100.
It's all part of a comprehensive package that gets the patient back on track to not only feel better and recover, but to try to make sure injuries don't happen again.