Algorithmic Audits in Sports Medicine: An Examination of the SpartaScience™ Force Plate System

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Sports Medicine
• Human Performance Analysis

Background:

• Force plate systems are increasingly used by armed forces to predict musculoskeletal injury risk.
• The factors influencing injury risk scores from systems like SpartaScience™ and the impact of experimental changes are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate predictors of the SpartaScience™ Musculoskeletal (MSK) Health score.
• To examine the effects of experimental perturbations on MSK Health scores in healthy males.

Main Methods:

• 823 healthy males performed countermovement jumps (CMJs) on SpartaScience™ force plates.
• Multiple regression analysis identified predictors of the MSK Health score.
• A subset of 12 males underwent a test-retest reliability study with a 50% effort jump perturbation.

Main Results:

• MSK Health score was negatively correlated with vertical jump height (higher jump = lower score) and positively correlated with body weight (higher weight = higher score).
• Each inch increase in jump height decreased the score by 1.27 units; each pound increase in body weight increased it by 0.12 units.
• 83% of participants showed improved MSK Health scores during the 50% effort jump test.

Conclusions:

• The study identified unexpected relationships between MSK Health scores, jump height, and body weight, with jump height being a primary predictor.
• Findings suggest a higher injury risk with greater jump height but lower risk with increased body weight.
• Paradoxical score improvements with lower effort highlight potential dangers of using unvetted algorithms for health outcome predictions.