An MLB team began using MuscleSound® to evaluate and monitor their players’ glycogen levels before the 2013 season. Since then, the club has seen a drastic decrease in soft tissue injuries that have saved the organization millions of dollars in lost salaries. The following outlines how the training staff has incorporated MuscleSound® into their everyday routine in order to: 1. Decrease injury risk, 2. Improve performance, and 3. Ensure healthy return to play strategies.
Background: Player was healthy at the start of spring season; MuscleSound® testing was unfortunately not utilized at that time. He pitched in only 4 regular season games during April before elbow issues sent him to rehab.
MuscleSound® Intervention: MuscleSound® began testing in April, and was able to detect this injury and followed the lack of progression during his May rehab program. Test results continued to show an increase in damage to the elbow. He was shut down in June and underwent Tommy John surgery in July.
Result: MuscleSound® testing explicitly revealed the lack in recovery to the elbow. These results were a clear sign that injury was prevalent. Following MuscleSound®’s indicators could have prevented the season-ending injury to this player. The chart to the lower left illustrates his declining glycogen levels from May to June, as his status quickly went from normal to alert, as shown by the shift in the prevalence of green to red. The lower right chart explicitly shows his right forearm flexors increasing decline, exhibited by the orange line, ultimately displaying the presence of injury.
