Injuries. They just happen. Arsene Wenger could tell you that much – bad luck is to blame and there’s nothing you can do to prevent them. Right?
Wrong. The way you kick, run and jump places unique stresses on parts of the body (and not just your arse when you land on it). Learn precisely where your body is buckling and you can adjust.
That’s where Kitman Labs come in. Jump around on camera for 90 seconds and their motion-capture tech grabs vital biomechanical information, without the need for those table tennis balls they stick on players making FIFA promos.
It’s not dissimilar to Xbox Kinect, but instead of embarrassing yourself to Just Dance: Disney Party, you can spot and correct a body imbalance or adapt training before injury strikes.
Kitman’s three-pronged system also features an app that asks players about their well-being, and ‘Profiler’, which pulls together this data and more, including sleep patterns and in-game GPS tracking.
Everton and Norwich City both use Kitman, who even have famed Moneyball guru Billy Beane offering them advice.
As Norwich physio Stuart Wardle put it: “We can analyse the data in real time to spot any problems that require focused assessment or preventative measures.”
It sure beats being told: “What you’ve done wrong there, mate, is fall over.”
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