Unlocking Peak Performance and Recovery: How We Use VALD Force Plates in Physiotherapy at Coastal Sports and Wellness
Unlocking Peak Performance and Recovery: How We Use VALD Force Plates in Physiotherapy at Coastal Sports and Wellness
At Coastal Sports and Wellness, we believe that effective physiotherapy is built on precision, innovation, and evidence-based care. That’s why we’ve integrated VALD Force Plates into our physiotherapy assessments and rehabilitation programs—bringing elite-level technology to everyday athletes and patients. Whether you’re recovering from an injury, optimizing performance, or preventing future issues, these plates allow us to provide a new level of insight into how your body moves.
In this blog, we’re diving deep into how VALD Force Plates are revolutionizing physiotherapy at our clinic—and how this smart tech is helping our clients heal better, train smarter, and return stronger.
What Are VALD Force Plates?
VALD Force Plates are advanced biomechanical assessment tools that measure the forces exerted by your body during various movements, such as jumping, squatting, or simply standing. They’re designed to collect high-resolution data on balance, power, symmetry, and loading patterns in real-time.
Unlike traditional subjective assessments, force plates give us objective, quantifiable metrics. This lets our physiotherapists spot even the most subtle movement imbalances or deficits—critical information when recovering from an injury or striving to boost performance.
Why We Use VALD Force Plates at Coastal Sports and Wellness
We’re not just in the business of treating pain—we’re here to optimize how your body functions. Integrating VALD Force Plates into our practice allows us to do just that.
Here’s how:
1. Pinpointing Injury Risk Before It Happens
One of the most powerful applications of the force plate is its ability to predict injury risk. By analyzing how weight is distributed during movements, we can identify potential problem areas—such as imbalances between limbs, instability, or excessive force loads on certain joints.
For athletes, this is game-changing. It means we can intervene early, before a strain becomes a sprain or a tweak becomes a tear.
2. Tracking Progress Like Never Before
Rehabilitation isn’t always linear—but with force plate data, we can track your recovery down to the decimal point. Whether you’re recovering from an ACL injury, ankle sprain, or post-op surgery, we’ll know exactly how much progress you’ve made and when you’re ready to move to the next phase of rehab.
This data-driven approach gives both you and your physiotherapist real confidence in every decision we make together.
3. Optimizing Athletic Performance
Are you a runner looking to improve stride symmetry? A basketball player wanting to increase vertical jump height? A CrossFitter dialing in their power output?
We use the VALD Force Plates to measure key metrics like rate of force development (RFD), peak force, ground contact time, and asymmetries. Then we use that information to build customized training programs that are tailored to your unique physiology.
4. Making Return-to-Play Decisions Safer and Smarter
Return-to-play after injury is one of the most sensitive stages of rehabilitation. Move too fast, and you risk re-injury. Move too slow, and you may lose valuable time and conditioning.
Our force plates help take the guesswork out of this process. By comparing your movement metrics to baseline or normative data, we can clearly determine whether you’re ready to return to sport or activity—and at what level.
Common Conditions We Treat Using VALD Force Plate Technology
At Coastal Sports and Wellness, we use VALD Force Plates across a wide range of conditions, including:
• ACL and meniscus rehabilitation
• Post-operative orthopedic recovery
• Sports-related muscle strains and sprains
• Lower limb biomechanics issues (hip, knee, ankle)
• Balance and proprioception deficits
• Tendinopathies (Achilles, patellar, etc.)
• Neuromuscular coordination challenges
Whether you’re an elite athlete or simply want to move pain-free in daily life, the data helps us customize your care with unmatched precision.
A Real-World Example: From ACL Tear to Game Ready
One of our clients—a competitive soccer player—came to us post-ACL reconstruction. We used the VALD Force Plates from day one of her rehab to assess asymmetries in her leg strength and force output. Over the months, we tracked her progress through double-leg and single-leg jump tests, making sure her surgical leg was catching up to her non-surgical leg.
At each phase, the data guided her training intensity and return-to-play milestones. When the plates finally showed near-symmetrical output under high-stress testing, we both had the confidence she was ready to compete again.
Why Choose Coastal Sports and Wellness?
At Coastal Sports and Wellness, we pride ourselves on staying ahead of the curve in physiotherapy and performance care. Our use of VALD Force Plate technology isn’t just about having the latest gadget—it’s about giving our clients the most accurate, personalized, and effective care possible.
When you walk into our clinic, you’re not just getting a session—you’re getting a data-informed partnership that helps you move, perform, and live better.
Ready to Experience It for Yourself?
If you’re dealing with an injury, preparing for surgery, or simply want to level up your performance, we’re here to help. Our team of expert physiotherapists will guide you through a full movement assessment using VALD Force Plates and design a plan that’s tailored to your needs and goals.
Contact us today to book your VALD assessment at Coastal Sports and Wellness—where science meets recovery.