Do You Want to Jump Higher?
Well did you know the strongest mechanism on a car is the brakes, not the engine? Stopping the car is more important than acceleration. Learning to Land can be more important than learning to jump, and is the foundation to jumping higher. Asymmetries and weakness identified in landing not only reduces your ability to jump higher but increases your risk of injury during the deceleration phase of landing. Testing and training individual landing mechanics is the foundation of safer and better performance of aggressive athletic movements like cutting, changing directions and jumping.
When jumping we need to the body to generate power efficiently from the core and transfer that energy to the floor to push off. On landing, we need our legs to absorb that force and place our whole bodies in exactly the right position for our next movement – whether that’s running, a quick cut, jumping straight back up again, or finishing the movement safely. At any one of the joints of the leg, pelvis and spine, that transfer of forces can become dysfunctional or even break down entirely.
We use a sensor system to evaluate the your body’s complex landing movements, both single- and double-legged. This technology assesses your body’s ability to decelerate in a safe and controlled pattern, and highlight any subtle, abnormal movements unable to be seen by even a trained eye. This allows us to create a training program that can both reduce risk of injury and improves athletic performance. This next stage in computerized testing can identify any deficiencies – large or small – that might be holding you back from peak health and performance.
Why do you need a Precision Landing Assessment?
- To identify areas of improvement of landing and jumping to improve performance and reduce injury risk
- To optimize muscular coordination, timing, power and speed for maximum explosion and deceleration
- To improve the landing and loading phase to enhance the takeoff and jumping phase of any sport
Who could benefit from a Precision Landing Assessment?
- The athlete with a history of previous lower quarter injury or surgery
- The athlete who is experiencing pain or symptoms during movements related to jumping or landing
- The proactive athlete who is looking to optimize their movement mechanics for jumping and landing in their particular sport
We offer the Precision Landing Assessment in our First Hill clinic in Seattle, WA. Tune up your brakes and jump higher — increase coordination and strength with a Precision Landing Assessment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Precision Landing assessment for basketball players?
A Precision Landing assessment tests how well an athlete’s body absorbs force when landing from a jump, cut, or change of direction. It evaluates the ankles, knees, hips, pelvis, and spine to find asymmetries or weaknesses in deceleration mechanics — the same mechanics that determine injury risk and jump performance. MTI Physical Therapy uses this assessment as the foundation for building safer, more effective training programs for basketball players
Why is landing mechanics testing more important than vertical jump testing?
Landing mechanics testing identifies the root cause of both injury risk and limited jump height, while vertical jump testing only measures the outcome. Jumping is about generating power; landing is about absorbing it, and that deceleration phase places far greater stress on the joints. If an athlete has an asymmetry or weakness in how they land, it will limit how high they can jump and increase the likelihood of injury — regardless of how much power they can generate on the way up.
Can better landing mechanics actually help a basketball player jump higher?
Yes. Efficient landing mechanics allow the legs, hips, and core to absorb force and reposition the body quickly, which directly improves an athlete’s ability to generate power on the next jump, cut, or sprint. Poor landing mechanics create breakdowns at the ankle, knee, hip, pelvis, or spine that waste energy and limit performance. Training landing mechanics is therefore considered foundational to jumping higher, not separate from it.
