The Evolution of Bike Fitting
In the past, a podiatry practice, although commonly equipped with some instrumentation such as pressure plates or 2D video, would not have been the most common candidate for investing in a fully-featured motion capture system.
However, owner of Le Bras podiatry, Sébastien Le Bras, is not your ordinary podiatrist and Qualisys is not your average motion capture system. Thanks to the Qualisys sport modules and their web report format, capture and analysis can be an easy and automated practice and the evaluation is comprehensive and in depth with its findings. With the cycling module especially, Sébastien has been able to expand his business and fit athletes from various regions of France.
A seasoned expert in all aspects of lower limb biomechanics, Sébastien has been investing in his clinic for years together with his business partners, to turn it into a pioneering biomechanical evaluation center. In addition to the usual pathologies and annoyances dealt with in similar clinics, Sébastien has built an amazing expertise in the field of human movement, which he is using to support a wide variety of patients.
Among his visitors, professional and semi-professional athletes have become quite common, especially in the cycling community in the French region of Brittany, where the clinic is located, and where cycling is a religion.
Getting to the clinic is a venture. Based in Brest, at the most western point of the country, Sébastien receives visitors from most of Brittany, but also from Paris and further.
When Qualisys’ French partner, Trinoma, got in touch with Sébastien, he was already using a number of video-based assessment tools, as well as a highly developed tool set in bike fitting. Getting detailed and purely objective 3D data was a huge step forward
Cycling & Running
Whether it is about fitting a bike using Qualisys’ Cycling PAF module, or providing advice based on motor preferences to runners, Sébastien has proven his capabilities many times when solving some of the most complex issues related to preventing injuries and optimizing performance.
He has adopted the Qualisys Sports Performance package for running and cycling, relying on 8 Miqus M3 and Miqus Video cameras to assess running on a treadmill, on the clinic’s indoor running track, or cycling on a trainer using Qualisys’ protocols.
Whether it is about fitting a bike using Qualisys’ Cycling PAF module, or providing advice based on motor preferences to runners, Sébastien has proven his capabilities many times when solving some of the most complex issues related to preventing injuries and optimizing performance.
He has adopted the Qualisys Sports Performance package for running and cycling, relying on 8 Miqus M3 and Miqus Video cameras to assess running on a treadmill, on the clinic’s indoor running track, or cycling on a trainer using Qualisys’ protocols.
The outcome can be training advice, custom-made insoles manufactured onsite, adjustments to a bike or pair of running shoes, physical therapy – also provided on site, or coaching sessions offered at the clinic. The most rewarding of all is when he receives a phone call from MDs about a patient, who had been through every single treatment and medicine, but continued showing a history of repeated injuries before visiting Sébastien.
Regional Recognition
The local medical community has now clearly recognized Sébastien’s contribution to solving some difficult therapy cases, and many of his patients are now being sent to him by their usual MD as early as they feel his biomechanical expertise could help.
Operating smoothly and easily in such a context would not be possible without QTM’s legendary ease of use that Sébastien immediately noticed upon trying it the first time, as well as the fast and scientifically recognized Visual3D biomechanical modeling toolbox he uses for each and every analysis.
As for many things in life, between Sébastien Le Bras and his team, the local medical and sports communities, his partners at Volodalen and ANPS, and the long-standing Qualisys-Trinoma partnership, success is a matter of passion and teamwork!
Investing in a Qualisys motion capture system was a natural evolution of my assessment arsenal
Sébastien Le Bras
Sébastien Le Bras gives advanced training courses to fellow podiatrists, always related to human movement, corresponding pathologies, and its connection to sports performance.
As an active member of the Association Nationale des Podologues du Sport (ANPS, National Association of Sport Podiatrists), he trains hundreds of colleagues per year, while advocating the use of objective assessment methods like 3D kinematic analysis.
Want to know more?
Visit the facility’s website to learn more about their practice with cycling and sport performance analysis using Qualisys motion capture.
