Schools generally require all student athletes to have an up to date physical exam on file in order to be cleared for their sport. This exam can be the yearly wellness visit most pediatricians perform or be done by a nurse and include an eye, ear, nose and throat exam, as well as a scoliosis screening. While there is no doubt that these screenings are important, this type of exam does not uncover structural imbalances and weaknesses that could contribute to injury and mediocre performance.
As a parent, you want your child athlete to have fun, perform their best and to remain uninjured throughout the season. That is what CPOYA is all about.
What is CPOYA?
CPOYA stands for Concerned Parents of Young Athletes. CPOYA is a group of providers, lead by Dr. Maggs a youth sports medicine specialist, who are interested in the long term wellness of young athletes.
As a CPOYA provider, my focus is to determine the functional capabilities of school-aged athletes to keep them on the playing field, uninjured, and achieving elevated levels of performance. I do this by performing a Structural Fingerprint Analysis.
What is a Structural Finger Print Analysis?
The CPOYA Structural Finger Print Analysis is an advanced biomechanical examination that looks at structural imbalances and mechanical function in the human frame. Traditional medical doctors are not trained to perform biomechanical exams and unfortunately, a range of motion exam, looking at how far you can bend in every direction, is simply not enough. Many other health care providers who are trained in treating musculoskeletal conditions are primarily focused on treating injuries, and do not necessarily look at the uninjured person for biomechanical issues. To put it another way (use the image for reference), CPOYA looks at the preinjury athlete, seen on the left, while traditionally; the focus has been on treating the fallen athlete, seen on the right.
Over the past 30+ years, I have been examining and evaluating the post-injured human body for the clues of structural and functional faults that contribute to the pain. With the CPOYA program, I look for those same structural and functional faults and use them as clues in the asymptomatic young athlete that could point to an injury and reduced performance.
While the CPOYA Structural Finger Print Analysis cannot preclude traumatic injuries seen in contact sports, we can significantly minimize injuries that occur from the repetitive stress seen in athletes who are not biomechanically at their best, no matter if their sport is tennis, baseball, basketball, wrestling, or football.
If you are a concerned parent of student athletes, we urge you to call our office today to schedule a pre-injury CPOYA Finger Print Analysis for your school-aged child before the season starts and an injury occurs.
We want your entire family to have Better Health, Naturally!