Module 2 · Sport movement quality

Overhead Movement Quality Assessment

A proposed standardized 2D observational framework for the sport task itself. Use it alongside the RSSI — not as a substitute for quantitative testing or formal 3D motion analysis.

Baseball is informed by ACES; swimming by the FSTA literature; volleyball by published spiking kinematics and scapular-observation research.

01

Athlete & Recording Setup

02

Standardize the Observation

The goal is not to diagnose mechanics from one frame. It is to make repeated clinical observation more reproducible.

Expected

Pattern appears clinically acceptable for this athlete and task across the observed repetitions.

Deviation

Clear, repeatable, clinically meaningful deviation seen on at least 2 repetitions or emerging consistently with fatigue.

Unable to assess

Camera angle, obstruction, task variation, or image quality does not support a confident rating.

Rater consistency rules

  • Use the same camera views, distance, task intensity, and number of repetitions when comparing sessions or raters.
  • Watch once at normal speed before using slow motion; avoid judging isolated still frames alone.
  • Rate only what is visible in 2D. Do not assign precise 3D scapular or joint angles by eye.
  • Use the athlete’s sport, handedness, symptoms, and known adaptations as context — not every asymmetry is an error.
  • When uncertain, select Unable to assess rather than forcing a deviation.

03

Structured Movement Screen

How to use: Watch several reps at normal speed. Rate the pattern you see consistently — not one imperfect rep.

Movement-quality evidence →
Shared core Sport-specific

04

Movement Quality Summary

—Expected-pattern rate
—Observed deviations
—Unable to assess
Rate the observable items to generate a movement-quality summary.

Priority observations

  • No deviations rated yet.
Open RSSI

Interpretation: This page intentionally reports observations rather than a validated pass/fail threshold. A high physical-capacity score with persistent sport-task deviations should prompt a clinical conversation, targeted retraining, and reassessment rather than automatic clearance.

05

Evidence Anchors

What supports this approach?

  • Baseball: ACES demonstrates that a structured 2D pitching checklist can achieve excellent total-score interrater reliability, although individual items vary.
  • Swimming: poolside freestyle error assessment has moderate reliability/validity for many items; crossover hand entry has prospective injury-risk evidence.
  • Volleyball: 3D research identifies meaningful shoulder/scapular/trunk differences at ball contact in players with shoulder pain.
  • Scapula: standardized definitions and rater training improve the reproducibility of clinical dyskinesis observation.

What remains proposed?

  • The shared core checklist and the combined baseball/volleyball/swimming framework.
  • The exact wording of several sport-specific observation items.
  • The expected-pattern percentage as a clinical summary metric.
  • Any use of this movement screen as a reinjury predictor or automatic RTS criterion.
Key reading: DeFroda et al. — ACES Pollen et al. — poolside freestyle assessment Pollen et al. — swimmer injury risk Shih & Wang — volleyball kinematics McClure et al. — scapular dyskinesis