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q&a Medical Wellness


Elite physiotherapist Don Gatherer has created a groundbreaking piece of strength-measuring equipment – the GP Analysis Suite. He talks to Kath Hudson about the ways in which it could help bridge the gap between the fitness industry and the medical profession


DON GATHERER


What is your background? I’ve been a chartered physiotherapist for 40 years. In 1978, I started my own private practice and moved into research. I have been the physio for the England rugby team, for the GB athletics team and for Commonwealth Games England, and I was chief physio to the Olympics.


What inspired you to create the GP Analysis Suite? About 10 years ago, working with the England rugby team, I was constantly being presented with players with neck injuries and weaknesses in the arms. To get a guy back to playing rugby, we needed to know how strong he was and how much force we could safely apply to the neck without damaging the underlying bone structure, ligament and nerve – but I never knew what I was up against, because there was no objective analysis for measuring strength. So I decided to design my own system that was easy, mobile and cost-effective. It was finally launched last October.


Data is analysed and presented in an easy-to-read graph format


So what does it do? It measures strength and endurance: how quickly the muscle fatigues. Both sides of the body are measured so subtle imbalances can be picked up, helping to detect injuries before they develop. It can be used to test the back, neck, triceps, quads, abductors and hip flexors – in fact, the whole body. Once identifi ed and defi ned, imbalances can be analysed to


ascertain their adverse biomechancial infl uence on functional body activity and the resultant, acquired compensatory movement patterns. Specifi c bespoke programming can then be targeted to the affected region or action; re-testing will then defi ne clinical progress and effectiveness.


How did you go about designing it? I looked at all the technologies available for measuring force and load. That led me to look at load cells – devices that are used to convert a force into an electrical signal. Those electrical signals are then presented in a graph format for ease of interpretation. Load cells are used by the Formula One industry, which is where I sourced all the hardware. But in order to test endurance, we needed to design


software too. I worked closely with the technicians to create software that’s user-friendly: the data is analysed and displayed as a graph. You don’t have to be a medic to use it; a gym instructor can use it after completing the training. I’ve been doing research at Edinburgh University, where the system’s been validated.


Who will use it? The Gatherer Partnership is now based at the Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital in Aylesbury, an international spinal injury rehab centre, and the new system is being used to analyse and rehabilitate spinal injuries and neurological trauma – in stroke victims, for example. We also have interest from national and club-level rugby


teams, and I think it has a huge part to play in health clubs too. It would be great for post-op rehabilitation, for example. Everything can be tested, with accurate measurements given, plus it offers peace of mind – you know how much weight you can safely put on someone.


70 Read Health Club Management online at healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital april 2011 © cybertrek 2011


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