Perform evidence based rehab and testing with PrimusRS

My colleagues and I have worked with professional sports teams for much of our careers and we've long planned to open our own training and conditioning center to share these valuable experiences with the public.  

In January 2008, we opened TEKTONIC, a unique sports development center in Houston, the culmination of our long-planned goal.

TEKTONIC differentiates itself in several ways. First, we assembled staff who are experts in optimizing athletic ability; second, we invest in professional caliber training equipment; third, we have a very scientific approach, and last but not least, we promote seamless, integrated communication among all professionals working with our patients-their coaches, physicians and our physical therapy teams. Although our center has been open for less than a year, these differentiating factors have given TEKTONIC a market edge, and our referrals are increasing dramatically. We specialize in athletic development and rehabilitation to minimize future injuries for athletes ranging from Little League budding stars to avid weekend golfers, and from collegiate to professional NFL, NBA, MLB teams.

In addition to working with professional teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, I've also been senior director for NASA, creating a comprehensive performance lab for their test pilots. Steve Wetzel, my partner, has spent 17 seasons with the National Football League (NFL) and has been associated with teams that have made the playoffs 10 times, including a Super Bowl Championship.

Naturally, we're used to working with patients who need exact and reliable measurements for their training.  We've combined our scientific approach with the most precise, state-of-the-art equipment to give our patients the detail that they need for performance testing. I continued using the BTE Primus™ when I was with NASA and I knew the Primus with a sports package would be ideal for the precise strength and conditioning work that we perform.

We can track performance and progress with such precision; for example, a patient might generate power of 8.2 watts during one workout and improve his power output to 8.7 watts for the next workout, and we know exactly how his body is changing. When we apply 23 pounds of pressure, we know that it's a very precise and repeatable measurement, not varying based on the particular therapist leading the treatment. Our feedback is quantitative, as well as qualitative.

BTE's Primus with a sports package helps us measure many parameters-an athlete's speed, strength, flexibility, agility and overall performance ability. We want to measure the strength and force of throwing, batting, club swing and racquet speed. We do this by analyzing the strength and power per time, generated in the shoulder muscles, leg muscles, calves, hips and trunk acceleration. Once you master the Primus, there are many time-saving features. I can save a patient's profile, and I have a more precise history of his progress, which is also more accurate.

Many of our patients are not professional athletes, and the Primus is ideal for their programs, too. We worked with a 71-year-old avid golfer who came to us to find a solution for the excessive pain in his knees that occurred while he was golfing. We used the BTE Sports Primus to analyze his biomechanics of driving and movement restrictions. While working with Larry Seymour, a handicap-3 golfer, and within a month of treatment and training, he was able to hit 40 to 60 yards further without knee pain.  

"I was amazed by the accuracy and efficiency of TEKTONIC's testing equipment," said Seymour. "The results of the BTE test showed that my method of swinging was causing the chronic pain in my knees. I hadn't gotten that precise feedback from tests before I went to TEKTONIC."

We also use MedGraphic's cardiopulmonary systems for exact assessments, including their oxygen analyzer and their Ultima/CPX system. These systems allow us to test how much oxygen a patient can consume, and gives us an Olympic caliber measurement and help us evaluate them biomechanically. Our BodPod is a body composition analyzer that we've used with the NFL and with NASA to see how lean and how fit a person is. This is also extremely accurate.

Our facility focuses on performance-driven training, and many of our athletes want to be better than they already are. We are very scientific in our approach, and that further differentiates our center. The equipment that we choose not only tests our patients but it lets us know how much they are improving, with a complete evidence-based approach. I tell our patients, we take the "guesswork" out of our reports because our programs are not based on our opinions but on these precise tests results.

Additionally, we've created a seamless, communications continuum between our physical therapy and the coach and the patient's physicians. Through our integrated model, we give each other feedback and treat each other as the essential colleagues that we are on the rehabilitation team, all with the same goal. 

Recently, a patient came to us who'd had knee pain for the past two years. When we first saw him, we started testing to figure out why he had certain movement patterns.

After six weeks of treatment, we were able to progress to strength and conditioning exercises. With no walls between doctors, coaches and our center, our seamless integration ensures that each one of us has the data that we need to rehabilitate patients and help them improve.  

Through this integrated communication, through our deliberate selection of state-of-the art equipment, and through our scientific methods of performance testing with a very experienced team of professionals, we offer athletes a precise measurement experience.

Dr. Thomas Sutton brings more than 14 years of experience in orthopedics and sports rehabilitation to TEKTONIC. He has served at the senior director level for NASA and the YMCA, while creating, developing and implementing comprehensive performance lab testing for NASA test pilots, collegiate and professional athletes. From 2004-2007, Dr. Sutton served as the lead sports physical therapy specialist and worked with orthopedic, vestibular, athletic and other sports injury-related patients at Glendale Adventist Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA. Most recently, Dr. Sutton contracted and consulted with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the University of Southern California's football/baseball programs.