Read an honest review about the ins and outs of a biomechanical assessment with OneTrack Club Co-founder and Head of Performance, Anthony Fletcher (better known as Fletch), by ultramarathoner and former Team GB Rower, Ben Burch.
I met Fletch in Farnham, where the OneTrack Club HQ is, a small studio office and gym. The gym is kitted out with a state-of-the-art running machine (obvs) and a rather serious looking squat rack, alongside a splattering of extras. It’s not a gym for workouts, one for assessments. Next to the running machine a sharps bin for all those lactate testing ear prick lances and a few gadgets lying about. My first impression is one of professional and quality, but not extravagant or excessive.
I take a seat and we start with my history... Fletch listens intensely, I regurgitate my long history from rowing through to now. Probably 20-30 mins of conversation and questions ensue, it’s very one way with Fletch encouraging more and more detail along the way. Apart from my back, a bit of an abdominal hernia and ganglion on my left knee there’s not much else, I mean we stayed away from my head because clearly there are a boxful of issues in there!
At the end of that he said “ok, let me just check the notes” and using some AI wizardry he had a complete set of medical notes, he skimmed through and made adjustments. This was the first difference, he’d spent the whole time listening to me, understanding, absorbing…. not with his head down trying to take notes. It might sound like a small difference, but it was significant - I felt like he had been able to really hear what I was saying (well done Fletch for not falling asleep!)
"he’d spent the whole time listening to me, understanding, absorbing…. not with his head down trying to take notes. It might sound like a small difference, but it was significant - I felt like he had been able to really hear what I was saying"
Then came the physical assessment, head to toe, quite literally lifting up my big toes and seeing how far they moved! It was the most complete assessment I can remember, I don’t remember anything that comprehensive even when I was rowing - certainly from a full body perspective.
I twisted and turned, lifted and leaned. I was quite chuffed with my balance on one leg.. I was even more chuffed when I had to do the same on tip toes. Fletch was encouraging, I don’t know if I really was any good at the balancing, but I felt like I was! Each set of measurements were taken and stored in a form as he went along, on my back, on my front, stand up, turn around.. left a bit, right a bit. A short stint on the treadmill to get some video and a few photos later and then we are done.
He pressed save and a minute later a rather comical outline of “me” made from red and green squares came into view (see below). Each square denotes a part of the body and each of those squares is measured or marked against a “normal range” and also a left/right imbalance. From what I could make out, it’s not so much the actual range of “me” that’s important, but more the imbalance of each area of my body and how that could be impacting the symptoms I get.
The results, though not a total surprise, told a complete picture. Now to be clear, I’m not about to throw out all the knowledge I’ve garnered from Laura (osteo) and more recently the dry-needle wielding Jessie (physio), but this assessment has given me the most complete overview I have ever had. It’s technical enough to help explain things, but understandable enough without a PhD in anatomy being required. Coupled with a detailed look at a recent MRI scan on my lumbar spine Fletch was now armed with everything he needed.
So what did it tell me? Firstly there are certainly issues to fix, no surprise, but counter-intuitively some of the areas of focus (symptoms) seem to be coming from an overcompensation of other areas (the real issue). I’ve always been intrigued about the way the body responds and seemingly disconnected body parts can have an impact. Did you know your wisdom teeth can affect your hamstrings? Yep, bit weird but true.
A few clicks on his sheet and my “exercises to complete” are set. Fletch goes through each one and what struck me was that they were quite different to normal. They are much more about "retraining” my brain (good luck) about how my body should move or perhaps react - the relaxation part as important as the effort part.
"The whole process took about 2 hours, clearly longer that your standard consultation - but it was worth it."
I left the session not only empowered by my new knowledge, but remarkably confident in the process ahead of me - I think that’s part of the battle, especially when you have been dealing with a long term injury, confidence to keep trying and not lose faith.
It’s very early days in the routine, but there are green shoots of progress. A weekend of DIY which would normally trigger some kind of spinal response, seemed not to. Now I’m not stupid enough to think that the problem is fixed, but I am confident to think that I’ve made another significant step forward. OneTrack Club deliver bespoke training, fitness testing and biomechanics assessments. I have to say it was well worth it.
"Anyone who has an injury, or a propensity to get injured, or quite frankly wants to avoid injury entirely should drop them a line, not only are they brilliant.. they are really lovely people too."
This article was orginally published by Ben Burch on his website chronicling his journey to Badwater. To learn more about Ben and follow his training, visit: https://www.myjourneytobadwater.com
To find out more about booking a Biomechanical Assessment at OneTrack Club, visit: https://www.onetrack.club/biomechanics-assessment
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