Performance Health Case Study: Longitudinal Muscle Analysis
Performance Health Case Study: Longitudinal Muscle Analysis
A Four-Month View of Recovery
How AI-Powered MRI Enabled Tracking of Muscle Changes Over Time
Springbok’s platform delivers a new level of visibility into muscle recovery—offering AI-powered MRI analysis to assess muscle volume, asymmetry, and trends over time. This case study follows a professional male soccer player with a left quadriceps injury, using four Springbok lower extremity scans between August and November 2024 to track rehabilitation and readiness.
Key Takeaways
Total Limb Volume Change (Scans 1 → 4): –1.3% Initial reductions in muscle volume may occur during early recovery—but don’t necessarily signal stalled progress. Longitudinal data adds vital context to these trends.
Recent Improvement (Scans 3 → 4): +3.4% Muscle volume rebounded late in the rehab process, illustrating a positive trend toward pre-injury levels. These insights support continued monitoring to inform return-to-play readiness.
Tracking change in individual muscle CSA over time
What Springbok Revealed
This case demonstrates how Springbok’s full lower extremity scan reveals patterns beyond the injury site. Key findings included:
Muscle Adaptation Across the Limb A full lower-body analysis showed changes across multiple muscle groups—not just in the injured quadriceps. This broader view of adaptation supports more informed rehab and load management strategies.
Persistent Asymmetry in the Rectus Femoris Cross-sectional analysis showed continued asymmetry between limbs, even as volume increased in the injured side. These data suggest ongoing compensatory changes across both limbs.
Why Longitudinal Data Matters
Regular Springbok scans helped the care team identify subtle shifts and recovery trends that wouldn’t be visible from a single timepoint. This athlete’s scans highlight how:
Initial setbacks may be followed by meaningful gains
Recovery is not always linear—but objective metrics can show progress
Rehab planning benefits from muscle-specific, side-by-side comparisons
Download the Case Study
Get the full four-scan summary—including muscle volume changes, symmetry analysis, and visual data.
