Use of Digital Sport Performance Tools for Assessment and Longitudinal Monitoring of Injury Risk
Abstract:
Technology is increasingly used for sport performance enhancement, which includes immersive and non-immersive virtual reality (VR) systems, mobile device apps, and wearable monitors, such as inertial measurement units (IMUs). Despite research evidence of close associations between various indicators of physical performance capabilities and injury susceptibility, data derived from digital sport performance tools are not widely used by athletic trainers to guide injury prevention or post-injury rehabilitation progression and return to sport decision making. This session will review research evidence that supports specific aspects of sport performance assessment and longitudinal monitoring that are highly relevant to injury susceptibility.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe differences between the prevailing reactive and reductionistic paradigm for injury management and a complex dynamical systems approach to optimization of health and performance.
- Relate key indicators of an existing or emerging state of elevated injury risk that can be derived from digital tools that are widely used for sport performance enhancement.
- Provide a proactive and individualized approach to reduction of sport injury risk that includes detection of change in autonomic regulation (e.g., heart rate variability) or external load tolerance.
- Demonstrate the value of data derived from digital sport performance tools for identification of individual athletes who develop an elevated level of injury risk over the course of a sport season.
- Implement a program of longitudinal monitoring of each athlete’s digital record of physiological status and accumulated physical load, with a focus on those who have recently sustained an injury.
Level:
Advanced
Domain(s):
Domain 1: Risk Reduction Wellness and Health Literacy
Domain 2: Assessment Evaluation and Diagnosis
Domain 4: Therapeutic Intervention
Domain 5: Health Care Administration and Professional Responsibility
Orthopedic Domain(s):
Domain 1: Medical Knowledge
Domain 2: Procedural Knowledge
Domain 3: Professional Practice
CEUs:
1.0 Category A
Keywords:
Risk Mitigation; Overtraining; Fatigue
In order to earn your CEUs, you must watch the session video in its entirety and complete the assessment.
Course Expiration:
All sessions of the NATA 76th Symposia On-Demand must be completed by October 31, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. CDT.
For full details, refer to the expiration policy on our FAQ page.
Gary B. Wilkerson, EdD, ATC, FNATA
Gary Wilkerson is a tenured professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he has taught in the Graduate Athletic Training Education Program since 1999. He has received degrees from Eastern Kentucky University (1978), the University of Arizona (1979), and the University of Kentucky (1989).
Clinical expertise acquired in a wide variety of practice settings has guided his research endeavors, which were initially focused on management of chronic ankle instability. His work gradually transitioned to a broader interest in predictive modeling of elevated risk for lower extremity injury. His most recent research has been focused on development of clinical methods for identification of individuals who possess subtle perceptual-motor performance deficiencies that increase susceptibility to both sport-related concussion and musculoskeletal injury. The findings of his research have been published in numerous peer-reviewed sports medicine journals, with more than 2500 citations of his work by other authors.
Gary was among the first scholars in his discipline to be designated as a Fellow of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association when the honor was created in 2008. He was inducted into the Southeast Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in 2010 and the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in 2016. The Research and Education Foundation of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association awarded him its Medal for Distinguished Research in 2019.