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How to Use Portable Force Plates to Aid in Upper Extremity Injury Rehabilitation

Rehabilitating upper body injuries – including those to the wrist, elbow, labrum, neck and rotator cuff – can be challenging. For years, physical therapists (PTs) and sports medicine practitioners had to rely on manual muscle testing (MMT) to guide their treatment plans. Unfortunately, MMT leaves much to be desired: testing is subjective, and any data generated is qualitative. Because of this, many PTs who rely on MMT find it challenging to keep patients engaged – and health outcomes often suffer.

Portable force plates, which generate accurate and objective data, are the salve to manual muscle testing – and have proven to be a valuable tool for PTs who treat upper extremity injuries.  

What are Force Plates?

Force plates (sometimes also referred to as a force platform) use load cells to measure the ground reaction force (GRF) or a body or limb that is either static or in motion. Top-of-the-line force plates, like the K-Deltas and K-Force plates from KINVENT, can be used to capture quantitative data about strength, agility, force, fatigue, power, agility, static and dynamic balance, and more.  

Data generated by KINVENT force plates is sent to a user friendly app via Bluetooth in real time. Within the app, PTs can easily create comprehensive reports that can guide their treatment plans and can be shared with patients and other members of a care team.  As a result, patients are more likely to remain motivated to complete their treatment plan and have a better chance of fully rehabilitating their injury.

The Primary Benefits of Using Bluetooth Force Plates

Like the other digital biofeedback devices and equipment in KINVENT’s suite of tools, the brand’s digital force plates provide many advantages over manual testing methods. Two of the primary benefits are objectivity and speed.

Objectivity

MMT is based on feel: PTs use their hands to estimate a patient’s strength or the force they can exert. KINVENT force plates allow PTs to move out of the highly subjective realm of MMT and into the realm of objective, quantitative data.

The plates capture highly precise biomechanical data for a wide range of tests, including shoulder and elbow strength testing, pushup analyses, and much more. PTs can use that data to better inform their treatment plans and keep a more accurate eye on a patient’s progress. They can also share data and reporting with patients so they can track their improvement – and remain engaged in the rehabilitative process.

Speed

Manual testing can be a slow and cumbersome process. PTs often report having to “MacGyver” tests and manually crunch numbers (which are not always accurate). The time the must spend setting up tests and performing advanced calculations takes away from the time they spend actually treating patients.

Tests conducted on KINVENT force plates are easy to set up – in fact, the app can sense the test being conducted on a connected plate. Data generated from the test is sent to the app instantaneously and can be organized into comprehensive reports with a click of a button. The upshot is that PTs can conduct more tests, more quickly and can help more patients – with no manual setup or calculations involved.

About JLW Instruments

JLW Instruments sells, calibrates and repairs top rated force instruments, including both models of KINVENT force plates – the K-Force Plates and K-Deltas – along with the six other biofeedback devices in KINVENT’s suite of tools. We also sell a variety of strength assessment and rehabilitative of dynamometers. In addition to physiotherapy devices, we sell and calibrate pressure gauges, vacuum gauges and vice grips.