Co-Founder at Poseidon Strength. Isokinetic evangelist. Changing how athletes, coaches and trainers test, track, and improve performance.
Our focus is a safer, simpler way to assess strength and rehab athletes faced with injury. I'm interested in hearing what the experts have to say on this one - our conversations naturally go to prehab/rehab and high-risk injuries. Hamstrings are typically at the top of the list for common injuries with intrigue as to how we could assess hamstring strength/endurance. The standard for this has been the Nordic curl. We would pose the straight-leg deadlift or RDL as an appropriate substitute, which was often challenged. However, today, thanks to Adam Sundh we were turned on to a recent study by Austin Driggers, PhD: "Effectiveness of Single Leg Bridge Testing for Determination of Hamstring Injury Risk" The study found that both the eccentric Nordic curl and the isometric single leg bridge are capable of predicting hamstring injuries with relative accuracy. However, what we found interesting is the single leg bridge more accurately reflecting an athlete's posture/mechanics while sprinting. This is important because we stress "assessing athletes through movements that reflect what they do in training or in sport." How much emphasis do you put on biomechanics when assessing performance? Is it essential or an afterthought? If you're interested to see how we more accurately assess athlete's through functional ranges of motion, check us out at: poseidonstrength.com
