Batter Up

Get the most out of your favorite sport with video technology that helps diagnose and treat sports injuries.

Whether you are a golfer, tennis buff, runner or weekend softball warrior, there often comes a time when playing the sport you love hurts.

Before you throw in the towel (or tennis racket or golf club), consider asking your doctor about a video analysis of your individual sport technique. It's sports medicine's version of an instant replay, designed to offer insights on what's injured and why.

At Mayo Clinic's Sports Medicine Center, pitchers can step on a mound to show their stuff, with ample room to hurl a pitch 60 feet. Golfers can tee up and drive a ball into a net. It's all digitally recorded at 58 frames a second. Video analysis allows sports medicine specialists to see if an individual's technique is contributing to an injury or interfering with performance. The video and other diagnostic tools measure range of motion, strength and balance as well as overall fitness.

"We aren't pitching coaches or golf pros," says Jay Smith, M.D., Mayo Clinic sports medicine and rehabilitation specialist. "Our job is to evaluate technique from a biomechanics perspective." Using the video system, a physical therapist or sports medicine physician can compare the patient's form to what science says is optimal technique. If more sophisticated analysis is necessary, patients are referred to Mayo's Motion Analysis Laboratory to evaluate technique in even greater detail.

"Our bodies are great compensators," says Joe Eischen, Mayo Clinic sports medicine physical therapist. "If a golfer has tightness in the neck, she might overcompensate in the shoulder, eventually causing pain from misuse." The video can show the area of concern in understandable still frames. "I can tell a patient how their tightness in the neck is causing problems," says Eischen. "With the stop-frame video, she can see it."

The solution might be changes in the swing or the throw. Or it might include an overall fitness regimen. "Athletes need that underlying fitness to help avoid injuries," says Eischen. You don't need be a pro to seek out medical help for sports-related injuries or performance enhancement. Golfers, pitchers, tennis players and runners commonly seek help. Most are people who simply love their sport.

"They want solutions so they can play longer, feel better playing and maybe even perform better," Eischen says.