4 Athletic Injury Management Platforms and Their Founders
The 2008 report titled “Go Out and Play: Participation in Team or Organized Sports” found out that sixty-nine percent of girls and 75 percent of boys in the United States take part in organized and team sports. More than 3.5 million children ages 14 and younger get hurt annually playing sports or participating in recreational activities. Although sports injuries rarely lead to death, the main cause of death from a sports-related injury is a brain injury. Sports and recreational activities make approximately 21 percent of all traumatic brain injuries among children in the United States. Given these numbers, it comes as no surprise that entrepreneurs come up with web & mobile startups for monitoring athletic injuries. Devvela conducted a research on the Internet to find out which tech startups have been launched lately to help secure athletes health and safety.
Player’s Health
Founder: Tyrre Burks had played college and professional football for about six years. One day he got seriously injured - he pulled his hamstring. Tyrre had a bad time trying to communicate with all his coaches and trainers about how he was getting to practice and what his responsibilities needed to be. Finally, Burks decided he would quit playing football and concentrate on building a platform for athletes that would allow them keeping closer in touch with their athletic staff, monitor injuries, and schedule training accordingly.
Summary: Player’s Health is a high-load sports injury management platform for the Web and mobile devices. It allows youth sports organizations to assure every athlete receives the proper medical care before they return to play. Proper care starts with a complete picture of an athlete’s medical background. With Player’s Health, an athlete’s medical record follows them throughout their career for the club subscribed. Every coach has a full understanding of any pre-existing medical condition.
As for youth sports, Player’s Health lays emphasis on parents who (not the coach) should determine when their child is fit to play. Parents can actively track their child’s medical conditions. With real time communication of injuries not only parents, but healthcare providers too, have a more detailed view of the injury, leading to better treatment and faster recovery.
The startup has been popular among investors from the very beginning. It has already developed a partnership with USA Wrestling, and could soon be ubiquitous in all middle and high school sports. At Devvela, we’re proud to have performed web and mobile development and design for the startup.
BrainCheck Concussion
Founder: BrainCheck founder, David Eagleman, is a neuroscientist and writer at Baylor College of Medicine, where he directs the Laboratory for Perception and Action and the Initiative on Neuroscience and Law.. BrainCheck is the result of 20 years of research conducted at the laboratory.
Summary: Head injuries have the power to take you out of the game or keep you from the sports and activities you love. If you continue practicing, playing, or exercising while injured you run the risk of more severe and long-term problems such as difficulty concentrating, remembering, and leading a well-balanced life. BrainCheck Concussion is designed to help you monitor your or your child’s brain health during the season or post-injury. Comprehensive tests assess brain functions such as attention, memory, response time, visual processing, and more, all in about 5 minutes.
S.T.A.C.
Founder: The app was founded and built by the Medical College of Wisconsin team. Idea man Adam Pfaler, a clinical research assistant, was inspired by his own experience. Brain Injury Research Program Manager, Jen Hill, said they found parents who were in the Emergency Department at Froedtert Hospital didn't know what to look for in a concussion. But to help the parents and coaches, the researchers had to pitch their idea to MCW's partner, the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee. Dustin Hahn, the project manager at the UWM's App Brewery, said the idea clicked with him, not just as a developer, but also as a dad.
Summary: S.T.A.C., or the Symptom Tracking Application (app) for Concussion, allows evaluation for the 22 most common symptoms of concussion. With this app, concussed individuals, or their parents or coaches, can check their concussion symptoms daily. Founders claim they “developed the app for populations that may not have immediate access to athletic trainers or other healthcare professionals.” Using the app, a concussed person can keep an electronic log of concussion symptoms throughout the recovery process.
Fit For 90
Founder: Founder of Fit for 90, Dr. John Cone is the Director of Sports Science for the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer. John is a former professional player and coach who is a specialist in soccer-oriented fitness training and periodization, with a Ph.D. in kinesiology (the effects of soccer-specific fatigue on movement mechanics)ю John has coached at levels ranging from youth to college and professional. Fit for 90 delivers soccer-specific fitness and injury prevention solutions for players and coaches.
Summary: Fit for 90 offers three categories of services: team monitoring, periodization and player recovery app. Team monitoring platform focuses on health and safety of players. It allows to identify early signs of fatigue, stress, or under-recovery specific to each player to help keep them on the field. Coaches receive email and real time alerts when players are at higher risk of injury. Player-specific recommendations are made based on each player’s current and historical data. Periodization platform allows periodizing all elements of training, while player recovery app focuses on quantifying training loads, managing fatigue and monitoring heart rate.
