A tool not a compass - Does data drive outcomes in rehab?

What Does Good Rehab Look Like?

First, I will start with my philosophy as a S&C Coach: Good rehab starts with trust, understanding, and athlete buy-in—not with the sophistication of testing equipment or the size of the facility.

We must never lose sight of the fundamentals: adherence, motivation, communication, and connection. These are the true drivers of progress. Rehab and S&C are not just a science; it’s a relationship. If the athlete doesn't trust the process or the practitioner, even the best program won’t stick or work.

In this current era, we’re seeing a new generation of practitioners becoming overly dependent on data—while neglecting the basics of movement quality, coaching, and human connection.

Testing equipment such as dynamometers and force plates can offer valuable insights, but only after the foundations have been addressed. If an athlete doesn’t move well, doesn’t understand the goals, & does not adhere to the rehab plan, then numbers don’t have the meaning we think they do.

We also cannot forget that testing and using this equipment requires skill. If I had a dollar for every athlete who has come to see me with their test results, just to find out the person ran the protocol wrong, I’d be a rich woman.

Key Pitfalls of Over-Reliance on ‘Data’ in Rehab:

1. Missing Context Behind the Numbers

Force plates, for example, give you raw data—peak force, rate of force development, asymmetries—but they don’t explain why those numbers are what they are. Without a trained eye for movement, you're treating the symptom, not the cause.

Example: An asymmetry may be due to fear, altered motor control, or compensatory strategies - those are observable with your eyes. Ask an athlete to hop on the spot and trust me, you will pick up a lot of information.

2. Ignoring the Human Element

Pain, motivation, fatigue, fear of reinjury, and buy-in all affect how someone loads or moves—and force plates/tech can't measure any of those.

Rehab is personal. Trust, understanding, and communication often drive better outcomes than data alone.

3. Overvaluing Precision and Underestimating Variability

Data can fluctuate based on the day, sleep, stress, environment, and effort level. Chasing exact metrics may lead to unnecessary program changes or false assumptions. I am still waiting for a gold standard warm-up for force plate testing that we all follow, so data collected is more valid…

Progress is not always linear or measurable session to session. This is why several observations (not just ‘testing’ day) gives us the full view of the athlete, not a slice of the pie on a given day.

This is also why I love my plyomats - I can use them readily with very little set-up. I use them before, during at at the end of sessions to not only get jump data, but data as the athlete grows more fatigues over the workout. Because they are so user friendly, I find myself opting to use them much more often than the force plates I have access to.

4. Neglecting Movement Quality and Coaching

You can have symmetrical force output but still move poorly. Force plates can't assess:

• Joint coordination

• Timing of muscle recruitment

• Motor pattern quality

Good coaches still need to watch athletes move.

5. Delaying Return-to-Play Decisions

Some practitioners get "paralysis by analysis"—waiting for perfect symmetry or ideal thresholds before allowing sport reintegration, which may unnecessarily delay return to play.

Data should inform—not dominate—clinical judgment. And it should be integrated seamlessly into the process. Again, hence why I am loving my Plyomats.

6. Loss of Athlete Autonomy

Overemphasizing data can reduce the athlete’s perceived control over the process. It shifts focus from how they feel and move to what the numbers say.

After 29 years I still feel that empowering athletes and teaching them how to move leads to better engagement and long-term outcomes. I still feel that the hands on coaching and refining of movement as a skill is the best route to rehab. And this is why I insist all athletes see a qualified S&C for late stage rehab, esp with ACLR.

There is no ‘ultimate test battery’:

Like all technology that can measure outputs related to fitness qualities (notice I did not say performance) they are a tool, not a compass. They can enhance rehab when used appropriately, but not at the expense of clinical reasoning, movement observation, athlete connection and an outstanding skill set as a coach.

If you like this perspective, you might want to consider taking my ACL Rehab from A-Z Fully online course HERE.