Free Live Webinar on Dynamic Movement Assessment™

The following is a Q&A with Trent Nessler, PT, MPT, DPT, the developer of the DMA™ and founder of A.C.L., LLC.

What is the Dynamic Movement Assessment™?

• The Dynamic Movement Assessment™ (DMA™) and the Fatigue DMA™  are movement assessments designed to objectively quantify pathological human movement that is associated with increased risk for injury and decreased athletic performance.  Both of these are progressive assessments that use Dartfish video technology to film and objectively quantify the 6 essential movements of the DMA™.

What does progressive assessment mean?

• The DMA™ and the Fatigue DMA™ both progressively increase in difficulty as the test progresses.  The tests are designed to place the athlete in progressively more challenging situations so that the evaluator can get an idea of the athlete's strength, endurance as well as end of the game performance.  This design also allows us to make predictions on risk of injury based on performance earlier in the test vs. later in the test.

What is the purpose of the DMA™ ?

• The DMA™ is designed to identify mechanics we know impact lower extremity injuries and have the greatest influence on athletic performance. 
• The DMA™ will:
• Capture the mechanics we "know" are related to injury and decreases in performance
• Tax the body in ways similar to sport
• Improve inter-rater reliability using Dartfish video technology
• Test performance in single limb activities

What makes the DMA™ different from other movement systems?

• The DMA™ is different in several facets.
• Calculates the magnitude of the deviation - important as we know this is directly correlated to increased risk of injury
• Considers the number of deviations - also important as we know increase number of deviations equates to increased risk
• Provides visual feedback to the athlete - this is vital to motor learning and correcting pathological movement
• Creates a "competitive, sport like" condition for the athlete when used with the fatigue protocol
• It is flexible and easily integrated into current training programs and methodology
• The two major differences with the DMA™ are:
• The DMA™ utilizes single limb testing.  50% of the DMA™ is performed in single limb.  We know from the literature that single limb testing has a much higher reliability for capturing pathokinematics than bilateral testing and that the correlation to sport performance is much higher.
• When an athlete actually "sees" how they are moving during the DMA™ they get it.  They can see the correlation to injury, performance and their "buy-in" to their role is profound.

Who developed the DMA™?

• The DMA™ and Fatigue DMA™ were developed by myself and my partner.  As physical therapist and founder of A.C.L., LLC, it has been a calling for me.  After seeing a sharp rise in ACL injuries in my clinic 15 years ago, I felt a calling to personally and professionally do something about it.  The mission statement for our company encompasses this.  A.C.L., LLC is uncompromisingly driven by our mission to profoundly reduce injuries and dramatically improve performance in athletics using the most technologically advanced, research based movement assessment techniques and interventions. This vision resulted in me seeking a higher education in biomechanics and motor learning, performing clinical research in the area, writing a college textbook (co-authored by my partner) on this subject as well as learning from some of the thought leaders in the profession and field on ACL injuries and research.  I always felt that if could find a way to assess something clinically, the I could treat it.  Hence why we the development of the DMA™.

Where did the movements of the DMA™ come from?

• The movements of the DMA™ came directly from the research.  All of the movements are the same movements used in the biomechanics, physical therapy and sports medicine research to evaluate pathokinematics we know are associated with increased risk for injury.  All of these tests have been performed in isolation.  A.C.L., LLC has simply brought these together as a battery of tests along with a scoring methodology to quantify the movements.

How can I learn more about the DMA™?

• On Tuesday April 23rd at 12 CST, we will be hosting a live webinar on the DMA™, the research behind it and how we are integrating into a variety of settings (clinics, colleges, teams, military, etc).  For more information and to register, log onto https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/276694705  Even if you can not attend the live webinar, you can view it at anytime by registering.

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