Champion Sports Medicine and Samford University Announce Results of Ground-Breaking ACL Injury Prevention Study

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., March 7, 2018 (Newswire.com) - Champion Sports Medicine and Samford University today announce the first-year results of an ACL injury prevention study with the Samford University women’s soccer team.  

The study showed a reduction of ACL injuries resulting from the integration of the latest research, movement science, and 3D wearable technology.

“Lower extremity injuries account for nearly two-thirds of all sport-related injuries, the majority of which are non-contact,” Trent Nessler, PT, MPT, DPT, Regional Director of Operations, Champion Sports Medicine. “Our collaboration with the Samford women’s soccer team illustrates that these devastating injuries can be prevented with the proper training and technology.”

The Study
In the three years prior to entering into the study, the women’s soccer program suffered eight ACL injuries.

At the beginning of the 2017 season, all members of the team incorporated two elements into their training:

• A state-of-the-art 3D wearable sensor technology, ViPerform AMI™, to provide physical therapists, athletic trainers, and physicians with lab quality data instantaneously to assess deficiencies in functional movements that place athletes at risk for injury.
• ACL Play-It-Safe Program, a multicomponent training program that incorporates movements emphasizing strength, coordination, plyometrics, balance, and flexibility.  

Based on the data of the ViPerform AMI™, student-athletes were assigned to Level I, II or III of the ACL Play-It-Safe Program. Over the course of the fall season, injury rates, time-loss from participation and medical costs were recorded.

The Results
Year-over-year changes were significant:

• 100% reduction in non-contact ACL injuries
• 50% reduction in overall non-contact lower extremity injuries 
• 60% less practice and competition time lost

  Note: Medical cost savings are being calculated at this time.

The reduction in these injuries not only increased the team’s seasonal performance, it also demonstrates significant implications for how athletic teams and organizations can prevent injuries.  

“Our longstanding partnership with Champion Sports Medicine has been invaluable to the advancement of our player safety goals,” said Brandon Evans, Head Athletic Trainer, Samford University. “Champion’s support of our injury education, research and treatment represent a national best-practice collaboration of complementary strengths that will positively impact Samford University’s student-athletes.”

Due to the positive results from this study, other Samford University athletic teams will be implementing similar training programs. 

To learn more about the ACL Play-It-Safe Program and ViPerform AMI™, please email [email protected].

About Champion Sports Medicine
Founded in 2004 by Kevin Wilk, P.T., DPT, FAPTA, Champion Sports Medicine is a known leader in sports medicine and part of the Select Medical Outpatient Division, a nationally prominent, locally driven provider of outpatient physical rehabilitation with 1,608 outpatient rehabilitation centers in 37 states. Champion’s comprehensive sports medicine network is one of the largest in the state of Alabama with 26 outpatient centers, 88 licensed athletic trainers, 83 physical therapists/physical therapy assistants and five collegiate and 40 high school partnerships. Through our years of commitment to the physicians, coaches, and patients of Alabama, Champion Sports Medicine is the chosen provider of some of the top local and professional athletes and #WhereTheProsGo for physical therapy services.

For more information and a complete listing of all Champion Sports Medicine facilities across the state, please visit csmsportsmedicine.com.

About Samford University
Samford University is a premier nationally ranked Christian university. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th oldest institution of higher education in the United States. U.S. News & World Report ranks Samford 3rd among regional universities in the South, and Samford is recognized as the top-ranked university in the state of Alabama in national rankings published by Forbes Inc, The Economist and The Wall Street Journal. Samford enrolls 5,509 students from 45 states and 30 countries in its 10 academic units: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy, and public health. Samford also fields 17 NCAA Division I teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference. www.samford.edu.