Move Well to Stay in the Game: Biomechanics-First Injury Prevention

By Jacques Courseault, MD, CAQSM, FAAPMR · The Fascia Institute and Treatment Center®

01 · The Evidence

Sports injuries are a serious concern for athletes, trainers, and clinicians. Left unaddressed, they lead to prolonged recovery, lost training time, and — in the worst cases — career-ending consequences. The good news is that the research on prevention is strong and consistent.

A landmark systematic review of randomized controlled trials by Aaltonen et al. (2007) found that the most reliable ways to reduce sports injuries center on biomechanical support, targeted training, and movement optimization. Since then, the evidence has only grown:

Neuromuscular Training

Multi-component programs combining balance, strength, and neuromuscular conditioning cut lower-limb injury rates by roughly a third (Emery et al., BJSM 2015).

Strength Training

A meta-analysis found strength training more than halves overall injury risk in a dose-dependent way — the strongest single intervention studied (Lauersen et al., BJSM 2018).

The through-line is clear: injuries fall when we improve how the body moves — not just how strong or flexible it is in isolation. That is exactly where our approach begins.

02 · The Whole Kinetic Chain

In partnership with GOATA Movement, we take a holistic approach to injury prevention, rehabilitation, and body-mechanics training — including pitching-injury care and shoulder-injury management for baseball players. Unlike conventional injury management, which focuses on muscles and joints in isolation, we treat the entire kinetic chain so movement is optimized for both performance and longevity.

Central to this is fascial health. We treat fascia as a critical organ system for mobility and performance, and our ultrasound-guided Fascial Mapping reveals dysfunctions in fascia, muscle, and joints that traditional imaging often misses. Catching movement inefficiencies and restrictions early keeps minor issues from becoming chronic injuries.

03 · Retraining How You Move

GOATA Movement focuses on movement retraining and biomechanics optimization. Using slow-motion video analysis, GOATA identifies faulty movement patterns and corrects them through personalized corrective exercise — so the body moves in alignment with its natural biomechanics.

This is well supported by the movement-science literature. Video-guided gait and movement-pattern retraining measurably changes running kinematics and reduces pain, and the benefit grows with practice and faded feedback — exactly the coaching model GOATA uses. And because muscles transmit force through connected myofascial chains rather than in isolation (Wilke et al., 2016), retraining a whole chain — not one muscle — is what protects the athlete. GOATA helps you:

· Minimize pain
· Reduce injury risk
· Maximize athletic potential

04 · Recovery & Performance

To restore function, we use Hydrofascial Release™ — an ultrasound-guided treatment using a solution of steroids, anesthetics, and/or dextrose to separate restricted fascial layers, calm nerve inflammation, and resolve muscle and fascial adhesions. It is especially effective for athletes and chronic musculoskeletal conditions.

Releasing tissue is only half the work — the new movement has to be trained and reinforced. That happens at our performance-and-recovery partner, FIT Therapeutics, where the Integrated Performance & Restoration (IPR) session pairs hands-on manual fascial therapy with technology-driven movement retraining.

Retrain the Gait

The AlterG anti-gravity treadmill lets athletes rebuild clean running mechanics at reduced body weight — a practical way to apply gait-retraining research without overload.

Build Strength in Motion

The OxeFit AI strength platform delivers the dose-dependent, movement-specific strength work the research favors — including the ISO training GOATA uses to recode movement.

05 · Putting It Together

The strongest results come from combining approaches. We integrate scientifically backed movement assessment and biomechanical training with FIT GPS genomic screening and, when tissue needs help healing, regenerative orthobiologic therapies. Together, proper body alignment, fascial health, and functional movement training are what keep athletes and active people performing at their peak while minimizing injury risk.

Ready When You Are

Whether you’re recovering from an injury or trying to prevent your next one, our team can map how you move and build a plan around it — from Fascial Mapping and Hydrofascial Release™ at FIT to movement retraining at FIT Therapeutics.

Get started: Request an appointment at FIT, book an IPR session at FIT Therapeutics, or call (504) 704-1254.

References

Aaltonen, S., Karjalainen, H., Heinonen, A., Parkkari, J., & Kujala, U. M. (2007). Prevention of sports injuries: systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Arch Intern Med, 167(15), 1585–1592. PMID: 17698680

Emery, C. A., et al. (2015). Neuromuscular training injury prevention strategies in youth sport: a systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 49(13), 865–870. PMID: 26084526

Lauersen, J. B., Andersen, T. E., & Andersen, L. B. (2018). Strength training as superior, dose-dependent and safe prevention of acute and overuse sports injuries: a systematic review, qualitative analysis and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 52(24), 1557–1563. PMID: 30131332

Doyle, E., et al. (2022). The Effectiveness of Gait Retraining on Running Kinematics, Kinetics, Performance, Pain, and Injury in Distance Runners: A Systematic Review With Meta-analysis. JOSPT, 52(4), 192–203. jospt.org

Krause, F., Wilke, J., Vogt, L., & Banzer, W. (2016). Intermuscular force transmission along myofascial chains: a systematic review. Journal of Anatomy, 228(6), 910–918. doi.org/10.1111/joa.12464

Wilke, J., Krause, F., Vogt, L., & Banzer, W. (2016). What Is Evidence-Based About Myofascial Chains: A Systematic Review. Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 97(3), 454–461. PMID: 26281953