Use video analysis to improve sprinting, running, movement skills and athletic techniques
Speed Training Academy (S.T.A) is an online personalized coaching and training solution for male and female team sports and individual athletes 17 years to masters level. We offer video analysis services for sprinting, running, certain strength training exercises, movement screening and sports techniques to the following athletes:
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Track events: 100m, 200m, 400m, 100m hurdles, 110m hurdles, 400m hurdles, and relays.
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Fitness and Recreational Running Events: 1 mile, 5km (3.1 miles), 10km (6.2 miles).
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Team sport athletes and active persons - cricket, football/soccer, rugby, field hockey, netball, basketball, volleyball.
The above groups of active persons and their corresponding sporting activities rely heavily on using the legs (lower limbs) for running and jumping during performances. Additionally, other body regions, such as the trunk, head, and arms (upper limbs), influence positively or negatively how the lower limbs facilitate movement during sports.
These movements include linear and multidirectional running, horizontal and vertical jumping, throwing, and catching. In each sport, athletes and coaches must acknowledge that a synergy between the performance of movement, physical skills, sports-specific techniques, and the rules native to each sport or physical activity is necessary for optimum outcomes.
The human brain is a fantastic organ likened to a high-powered computer. Humbly, human cognition via the brain has a functional "weakness". This functional "weakness" is our ability to store large amounts of information, whether as text, images, or audio.
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Humans can recognize and make sense of patterns and trends when we have this large amount of information at our disposal. Video analysis allows the athlete and coach to make sense of and deduce patterns from the vast amount of text, images, and audio collected during any sport or physical activity. This information can be representative of training or competition. Once the large volume of information is adequately collected and stored, it can be analyzed.
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Collection of video images via cameras, camcorders, cellphones, or tablets enables analysis to discover information (metrics) relevant to sports and physical activity performance. From video images, it is now possible to determine metrics such as running speeds, running times, ground contact and flight times of a running step, jump height and distance, take-off angles, and release angles during throwing activities.
Application of Video Analysis to Running
A vital niche of the Speed Training Academy video analysis plan is its application to running analysis and gait retraining, focusing on 60m to 10km runners.
A Wang et al. (2004) review of the current state of sports video analysis gave three critical applications:
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Sports and athletic training
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Game strategy analysis
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Media broadcasting.
Within the article, the authors gave examples of usage in
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Tactics analysis
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Player and ball tracking
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Sports games, matches, and events highlight extraction
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Content insertion for advertising
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Role in computer-assisted refereeing
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Landmark detection in sports arenas.
Overall, the authors highlight the importance of video technologies in enhancing sports training, refereeing accuracy, and viewer experience. Wang et al. (2004) wrote of challenges in applying video technologies, such as accuracy, computational efficiency, and the integration of multi-modal data.
“Wang, J.R., & Parameswaran, N. (2004). Survey of Sports Video Analysis: Research Issues and Applications. Pan-Sydney Area Workshop on Visual Information Processing.”
In a qualitative assessment study of specific running kinematics using a high-speed video camera, authors Pipkin et al. (2016) found that video application is reliable. Extracting KPIs such as gait-event detection and kinematic variables
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Rearfoot position
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Foot-strike pattern
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Tibial inclination angle
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Knee flexion angle
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Forward trunk lean
Video recordings of 15 runners were found to be highly reproducible. In this study, all the athletes' video recordings were treadmill runs at a self-selected pace. This study helps establish a baseline video analysis procedure for recreational runners. Video analysis helps assess running biomechanics in the recreational running population.
“Pipkin, A., Kotecki, K., Hetzel, S., & Heiderscheit, B. (2016). Reliability of a Qualitative Video Analysis for Running. The Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy, 46(7), 556–561. https://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2016.6280”
A test-retest reliability study of two-dimensional video analysis during running by Dinenen et al. (2018) assessed the minimum number of steps needed to achieve a stable mean for various two-dimensional measured running kinematics. Then, an examination of the test-retest reliability of the kinematic measurements was done. The authors conclude that using at least seven steps facilitates reaching and maintaining a stable mean. Furthermore, standardizing seven steps provides excellent test-retest reliability for the kinematic variables under consideration. This study supports two-dimensional video analysis in clinical settings for assessing running kinematics.
“Dingenen, B., Barton, C., Janssen, T., Benoit, A., Malliaras, P., Test-retest reliability of two-dimensional video analysis during running, Physical Therapy in Sports (2018), doi:10.1016/j.ptsp.2018.06.009.”
A sub-niche for video analysis is injury management in the running population. The Gaudette et al. (2022) review article, "Clinical Application of Gait Retraining in the Injured Runner", took a deep dive into the effectiveness of gait retraining for managing running-related injuries (RRIs). The article discusses the lack of information on translating gait retraining research into clinical practice and summarizes findings on biomechanical risk factors for running-related injuries (RRIs). A positive application is in gait retraining, reducing pain and improving functionality for runners with patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS). Achieving positive outcomes occurs with video analysis and gait rehabilitation techniques, such as increasing cadence, decreasing hip adduction, and transitioning to non-rearfoot strike patterns. The authors discuss the need for more information on translating gait retraining research into clinical practice while summarizing the findings on biomechanical risk factors for running-related injuries (RRIs). The article also emphasizes developing a clinical and practical application framework.
“Gaudette, L.W.; Bradach, M.M.; de Souza Junior, J.R.; Heiderscheit, B.; Johnson, C.D.; Posilkin, J.; Rauh, M.J.; Sara, L.K.; Wasserman, L.; Hollander, K.; et al. Clinical Application of Gait Retraining in the Injured Runner. J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11, 6497. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11216497”
Speed Training Academy (S.T.A) offers its clients video analysis services in two flavours
1. As a performance monitoring tool with our coaching and training plans:
2. As a standalone package for athletes, active persons and coaches trying to understand their current performance level.
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Video Analysis