Competency and confidence in qualitative biomechanical assessment of exercise technique among exercise professionals

Key Points

1. Qualitative biomechanical analysis is the process of identifying external forces and moment arms of resistance exercises.

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BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE

The process of identifying external forces and moment arms during resistance exercise can be referred to as qualitative biomechanical analysis (QBA). Competency in QBA enables practitioners to direct loads to desired muscles and is crucial for performance optimization, injury risk reduction, and rehabilitation (1). However, few studies have objectively quantified exercise professionals’ QBA competency.

This survey study filled that gap by assessing exercise professionals’ competency, confidence, and perceived importance related to QBA of exercise technique.

Competency in qualitative biomechanical analysis enables practitioners to direct loads to desired muscles and is crucial for performance optimization, injury risk reduction, and rehabilitation.

Exercise professionals are overconfident in their ability to analyze technique, with average competency only slightly above guessing, highlighting a clear need for further education in qualitative biomechanical analysis.

METHODS

• A total of 310 exercise professionals participated in this study (32 ± 8 years old; 76% male, 23% female). Participants were strength and conditioning coaches (35%), physiotherapists/physical therapists (34%), fitness professionals (26%), or athletic trainers (5%). Most had a bachelor’s

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