NordBord Hamstring Testing System is a relatively new product from Vald Performance, based in Brisbane, Australia. We covered this innovative hamstring testing product last year and since then they have improved the technology and are now officially ready for the market.
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Dr. Anthony Shield of Queensland University of Technology and Dr. David Oparhave of Australian Catholic University began to develop the idea for this product almost 10 years ago. They realized that hamstring injuries are very prevalent in sports; and therefore they began researching and testing ideas of how they might curb these injuries for athletes.
What they noticed is that hamstring injuries, unlike some others in sports which are often totally unpreventable, are almost always non-contact injuries, which can be avoided. They saw this as an opportunity to work on a testing method that would be able to help monitor and therefore work to prevent hamstring injuries for athletes.
While NordBord was in the testing phase the product was used by many top professional sports clubs around the world; including many in the Australian Football League and even the English Premier League.
Vald Performance officially launched this product in January, 2016. Although there is no price listed or method of purchase for product at the moment, it is assumed that all pro teams, colleges, and even youth sports programs will be able to start using this product to help monitor their athletes very soon; as contact requests are currently available on their website and on twitter.
The NordBord System is based on the nordic hamstring curl exercise. The product is able to run tests for eccentric hamstring strength (when a muscle returns from a shortened or contracted position to a resting one) and isometric strength (when joint angle and muscle length do not change during contraction).
The relatively small and compact wireless product uses minute and advanced sensors to collect data on hamstring strength. The testing period takes roughly 30 seconds; previous test and products could take up to 15 minutes. The data is then presented in their accompanying ScoreBord App; allowing coaches and players to view the results in real time. Once all of the information and results are collected they are stored in NordBord’s DashBord cloud computing system. The data can then be monitored and manipulated before it is integrated into the user’s current data and analytics platform(s).
The NordBord is launched. Time to #getlong #getstrong and #getonbord – contact us at info@valdperformance.com pic.twitter.com/uOT2xFG9TN
— The NordBord (@the_NordBord) January 19, 2016
The bilateral testing’s goal is to develop baseline numbers that athletes should be able to reach for their size and body type. The hope is to gain an understanding if an athlete’s hamstring(s) are strong enough and fit enough for the rigors of their particular sport.
The next step is to implement training to maintain or build strength based on the tests to hopefully prevent the litany of possible injuries that can occur, from strains to tears. It is also great to test if an athlete is ready to come back from a current hamstring injury, after they have gone through rehabilitation.
In professional sports where the money is massive and the players are the driving forces behind the profits; any injury can cost a team or athlete a lot of money. The NFL recorded 96 incidences of hamstring strain injuries in the 2014 season, placing it third behind knee and ankle injuries.
While many injuries suffered in sports are freak accidents, such as breaking a leg or tearing an ACL, the doctors behind NordBord see hamstring injuries as often preventable.
This easy to use technology is already a mainstay in one of most profitable leagues in the world, with 9 teams using it in the English Premier League. Now that NordBord has graduated from its development phase it seems like only a matter of time before many more professional and elite armature sports programs are using this technology to help prevent hamstring injuries from putting a strain on their seasons and bottom lines.