October 2024 Newsletter: Hawkin Dynamics Technology in the Clinic
Thank you to Dr. Josh Segal for contributing this month!
At Dirigo Physical Therapy and Performance, we have the unique privilege of being a customer of Hawkin Dynamics (a local Westbrook business). One of our PTs, Josh, actually works there as well! Hawkin Dynamics was founded in 2017 and their business works very closely with professional and collegiate teams around the country and world.
Hawkin Dynamics has two cutting edge technology devices that we utilize in all of our clinics (we are also the only clinic in Maine to have this technology). The first one being force plates, which we have been using with patients for 5 years. We use the force plates to guide rehab, especially when helping to determine return to sport or activity status. The most common use of the force plates is to jump on them, and the plates will tell you how strong and fast you are. Research tells us that the data we obtain during these jumps can be correlated with how well someone runs, jumps, or cuts during their sport. It also allows us to very clearly break down the jump into different phases which then helps us choose specific exercises to address deficits or asymmetries.
The other technology we utilize in the clinic is a device called the TruStrength; a dynamometer that measures strength. This allows us to identify asymmetries in various muscle groups that may correlate to your pain. It will also tell us how quickly your muscles develop and sustain the force, which can provide valuable insight into why pain may only occur during specific movements.
Our goal at Dirigo is to provide evidence based physical therapy, and using Hawkin Dynamics allows us to gather as much information as possible to help treat our patients.
If you’re curious about learning more about our PT, Josh, uses the force plates for his own journey back from ACL surgery, check out his blog here.
