By Alexander Germanis
Before a baby is even brought into this world, a record is kept regarding his or her development. That record continues in earnest once each child is born. Parents often continue to keep a record of their children’s development — from first steps to first words. Children everywhere quake at the thought that their academic “permanent record” will follow them throughout their school years.
Keeping track of medical history and school performance have become so commonplace, we often do not stop to think of the advantages of keeping detailed journals of such things. Dr. Joseph Norris, a surgeon at McLean County Orthopedics and founder of Method Sports Performance in Bloomington, not only understands the importance of keeping a record, but is looking for new ways in which a very specific record — metabolic monitoring — can work to an individual’s advantage.
Metabolic monitoring makes up a part of the Method digital application. Once it is determined what an individual’s metabolic fingerprint is — their unique number based on their heart rate and lactate ranges — the application, or app, does more than just store that information. As the doctor said in earlier parts of this series, that information is also crucial in knowing how to exercise in the most efficient manner possible, thus avoiding wasted time, wasted effort, and avoiding injury.
Dr. Norris explains further: “By being on the Method application, you, as an individual, will have a longitudinal record of what you’ve done for exercise for, potentially, a lifetime. If you want to know seven years ago what you were doing to work out, how strong you were, what your weight was, the routines you did — it’s there and ready for you.”
Having that detailed record provides benefits to the individual both during times of health and times of injury. Having that consistent thread of information, tracked with scientific data, provides medically vital information if one were to get injured.
Knowing an individual’s normal performance, as it is tracked digitally, can help physical therapists and trainers track one back to a prior state of health. “For the athlete,” the doctor adds, “it will get you back to a metabolic as well as functional strength-monitored view to know when you’re ready to start practicing and when you’re ready to get back in the game.”
As aforementioned, the record then becomes vital to reducing the risk of re-injury once you return to your exercise regimen. “It loops back into your exercise routine and your goals,” Dr. Norris continues. “You record how many reps and how much weight you did, but it also tells you to rest when you are in your peak zone. The Method app on your smartphone tells you what to do, when to start and when to stop. You are guaranteeing yourself that everything you do is as efficient as it can be with a minimum risk of injury.”
Physical well-being aside, Dr. Norris points out there are real world “applications for the application” as well. “If you are applying for certain jobs, or maybe you’re a high school athlete that wants to play in college, you have a record of your performance athletically in the training room. You can say, ‘I’m healthy. I’m a good risk.’ Knowing the true health of someone based on how they’re behaving is important.”
That record of health is so important, it carries over into the world of insurance as well. “We’re working with insurance companies to have it be a compensable insurance-driven charge in order to get the metabolic test, because it will keep you healthy. So, it will be part of their wellness platform. There are medical insurance codes right now that qualify for a metabolic test because of metabolic dysfunction.”
For once, maintaining a permanent record can be immensely beneficial, both to one’s overall health as well as one’s pocketbook.
Learn how the metabolic fingerprint can help everyone, from the individual to the community, by reading “Clockwork Precision in Athletics, Part 9” in next month’s issue of Healthy Cells Magazine. If you missed the previous articles in this series, you may read them online at www.HealthyCellsBN.com or contact Cheryl at 309-664-2524.
Method Sports Performance, developed by Dr. Norris and Dr. Newcomer, is now open as part of the Integrated Center for Wellness, located at 1111 Trinity Lane in Bloomington. Method Sports Performance offers a science-based approach to improving the performance of athletes of all ages. For more information, you may visit their website www.themethoddifference.com, call 309-433-9355, or contact Dr. Norris at joseph.norris@themethoddifference.com.