Throughout the 2016 season, as part of a recently formed power meter partnership with Cylance Pro Cycling, the women’s cycling team athletes have been conducting product testing for cycling and run power meter specialist RPM², along with the riders’ traditional power data collection. It was during this product testing that a discrepancy in one of the team rider’s results was noticed.
“I spent 10 days doing repeatable power tests using different cadences and efforts,” said team rider Alison Tetrick. “I noticed a power discrepancy between my left and right leg. I had noticed this before in training, because I would often favour one leg over the other. After I submitted the daily tests to RPM² to help with the development of their product, the brains behind RPM² asked if I had ever suffered an injury to my right leg.”
RPM² is a force-based foot bed training device that ‘measures both running and cycling power, as well as assesses symmetry of the athlete.’ RPM² offers a thin pair of insoles that operate with Android and iOS smart phones. This is ANT, and .FIT compatible and can upload directly to TrainingPeaks.
Alison suffered a traumatic injury during the 2010 season where she broke her pelvis and has continued to feel lingering issues from the accident to this day with her power output and symmetry. “Turns out the data doesn’t lie,” added Alison, “even if you try to ignore it!”
The injury hasn’t prevented Alison from becoming a world class professional athlete, so she put it behind her until RPM² noticed there was a clear difference between her right and left leg symmetry.
“Since this injury,” continued Alison, “I have had great results and been able to train and race at the highest level even through the uneven power distribution. The injury has caused discomfort on the saddle as well as some limited power output while riding.”
Having noticed this balance issue, RPM² suggested Alison be included in a specific round of testing, focusing solely on range of motion exercises off the bike. “We want to look at the reproducibility of range of motion in athletes like Alison,” said Keith Hill, Retail Market Manager for RPM².
“We created a protocol which will monitor Alison’s range of motion and her symmetry over time,” he added, “and through these exercises Alison should experience an improvement that will correlate to an increase in her power output on the bike.” The company adds that without a measurement tool like RPM² it would not be possible to scrutinize Alison’s injury with such accuracy; however, Keith is quick to point out that Alison is not testing inside a vacuum.
“Working with such a professional athlete like Alison is a huge opportunity for RPM²,” continued Keith, “however we are fully aware that crashes could affect the results, though we should see a quicker recovery through these range of motion exercises.”
Alison is already in the middle of the 30-day testing protocol and will be sharing some of her exercises on her social media. RPM² will be working with Cylance Pro Cycling to analyze her results on a weekly basis.
Throughout the month of August, riders can use the discount code ‘SYMMETRY’ (all caps) to receive a US$25 discount on an order at rpm2.com.
MedHab, is a privately held athletic and medical device company behind RPM². It is focused on the development of unique rehabilitative and sport-enhancing tools. The wireless smart insole tracking system technology was originally developed for MedHab’s steprite device to remotely monitor patients undergoing physical therapy for leg injuries. The company notes that ‘steprite provides healthcare professionals a way to customize physical rehabilitation protocols to meet each patient’s unique need, while minimizing imbalances and the overall risk of future injuries.’
www.rpm2.com
www.cylanceprocycling.com
