The focus of an interesting new study from Schurr et al. in the April 2017 issue of the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy (IJSPT) examines the agreement of 2D and 3D motion analysis at the lower extremity. Check out the original article here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5380858/

In recent years, there has been a push for more complex (and expensive) systems to help analyze and optimize movement within the clinic or other rehab setting. Is this a necessary evolution of care, or are we just over-complicating the process?

At LPTSR, we have used each method to successfully rehabilitate, optimize movement, and decrease risk of injury in both athletic and non-athletic populations alike. More recently, we have found that 2D motion analysis within the clinic provides a more efficient, reasonable, and inexpensive option for doing so. Our optimal running assessment, for example, employs a treadmill, a camera, and a 21 to 30 item analysis of your running form. All of this can be done in one session within the clinic, so that you can start to incorporate these components immediately.

What are your thoughts? What experiences have you had with motion analysis? What direction would you like to see future research in this area go?

Weigh in at the comments section below!

Schurr SA, Marshall AN, Resch JE, Saliba SA. TWO-DIMENSIONAL VIDEO ANALYSIS IS COMPARABLE TO 3D MOTION CAPTURE IN LOWER EXTREMITY MOVEMENT ASSESSMENT. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. 2017;12(2):163-172.