Apr 13 • Peter Malliaras

Physical Function Capacity Assessment Framework

Here is a preview of my Physical Function Capacity Assessment Framework for Achilles tendinopathy and Achilles rupture.

I talk about this in detail in my Tendinopathy Rehab: Structured Frameworks and Practical Strategies course. The upcoming course in Melbourne is pretty much full – may be a spot left if you are quick. The online course is COMING SOON!

Need custom CPD for your team, or help with an athlete? I deliver custom CPD sessions for clubs, clinics, and departments and offer athlete consults (geography is not a barrier!).

If you want to organise a session or consult, email me at peter.malliaras@monash.edu.

So, what is physical function capacity (PFC)? It is a group of outcome measures that assess physical qualities in people and athletes, e.g. endurance, hop metrics, force output, etc. As we know, strength is a multidimensional concept. This is relevant for our clinical assessment because people can be good at some strength qualities and not at others, especially when they are recovering from an injury or painful condition. I commonly see people with, for example, excellent MVIC in a particular range, but not in others. Having a PFC assessment framework allows you to identify issues which directly inform rehab.

A few things to note about this framework.

·       You definitely cannot assess it all and you would not want to. What you assess is guided by where the athlete or person is in their rehab process (it changes as they progress) and clues about what is relevant (e.g. impairment at specific ranges or with specific tasks). 

·       The colours match the Tendinopathy Rehab Framework I launched not long ago (https://www.tendinopathyrehab.com/blog/tendinopathy-rehab-framework). Loosely, there are level 1, 2 and 3 assessments that I typically use, although the boundaries are often blurred depending on the individual.

·       The PLYO options are all riding the lower part of the force-velocity curve, ie super-fast CONC actions. You may have noticed there are no fast ECC assessments (no arrows go there) but of course these PLYO assessments involve fast ECC actions. That is, the PLYO qualities are tendon elasticity focused as opposed to the other high speed or CONC intent tasks riding the force-velocity curve which are muscle focused.

My next blog I will be talking about how knowledge of the muscle-tendon unit moment arm around a joint can help you to design better ISOM rehab programs to achieve various goals.