Be Like Mike: How Human Performance Facilities are Changing the Game

I used to run. A lot. My marathon career ended with unbearable chronic sciatic nerve pain which endured for a few months ultimately resulting in back surgery this past year. Now I need to monitor my level of activity and stick to low-impact training. I still see a physical therapist regularly when I can squeeze it into my hectic schedule. For the pain following my injury, the list of medications I was on was a bit shocking. Some pills were prescribed by my surgeon at a hospital on the other side of town, and the rest from my primary care physician located somewhere in the middle of this circle of care. For me to take care of myself, I need to run all over the place to see a variety of experts and trained professionals all contributing to some part of my overall attempt at wellness.

Imagine if I could receive the same quality care the pro athletes do. What if I could be assessed and treated by a team of experts working together to ensure I am healthy and always performing at my top level? What if I could walk to a single facility to receive personalized care from multiple professionals, the same ones Mike is seeing within the very same facility? Maybe I could have avoided surgery. Maybe I could have prevented injury or addressed it earlier. Maybe I’d be on my way to a PR-worthy fifth consecutive marathon.

The good news is that it is starting to become possible for common folk like me.  Human performance facilities are popping up around the country.

Human performance facilities are emerging as a new way for people to attend to their overall wellness. They offer clinical services, from outpatient surgery, physical therapy, basic imaging, and MRIs, in addition to performance centers, where comprehensive integrated technology platforms can provide measurable real-time data to a team of experts who create personalized plans to help individuals and teams perform at the highest level. Research labs serve as the link between performance and healthcare. Diagnostics inform everything from individual exercise plans to the latest biomedical device development. Amenities include spa-like locker rooms, saunas, and steam rooms, hydrotherapy spaces, recovery lounges, nutrition-centric cafes, and flexible meeting rooms. As a patient, you know ‘Mike’ uses these exact same facilities — it is branded to demonstrate this is where the pros go. Who wouldn’t want to be assessed by, train with, and receive treatment by the same team of people helping professionals?

Engagement from Start to Finish.

This model is a win-win for everyone. Professional teams have a new way to engage with fans in a place that lacked active participation. In an era when technology enables a fan to watch a game in high definition at home (and following on a personal device via social media), why would he or she pay for parking, tickets, and a nosebleed view?  If fans feel like they are more part of a team by receiving the same care as the athletes do, they are no longer just a spectator, they’re part of something bigger. UCLA Health has partnered with the Los Angeles Lakers for the new Lakers Training Facility.  In partnership with Rosetti, our Los Angeles office is designing the wellness-enhancing interiors. The building serves not only the Lakers organization and minor league D-Fenders team, but will provide the Lakers the opportunity to host sponsored, season ticket-holder and community events simultaneously. Dr. John Mazziotta, M.D., Ph.D, Vice Chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences and CEO of UCLA Health, said, “the partnership with the Lakers will provide both organizations with an unparalleled ability to share the message of health and fitness with a broad and diverse audience.”

A Boon for Research.

Entrepreneurs and researchers benefit from a wide variety of quality healthcare and academic institutions investing in innovation. From high school students to pro-athletes, users participating in research studies make the business venture possible and worthwhile.  Researchers gain insights from the data gathered at these types of facilities and can consequently develop and test technology that entrepreneurs can invest in. Product development and published results further enhance what the facility is offering its patients.  For example, last year the National Running Center at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, in affiliation with Harvard Medical School, published findings about the relationship of footfall impact to injury likelihood in runners. These types of studies can lend themselves to potential sneaker research and product development. New means and methods for patient treatment discovered through research have the potential to improve processes and outcomes.

A Community Resource in the Service of Wellness.

The local community finds comprehensive, one-stop superior care at their doorstep, encouraging healthy behaviors and influencing contagious (in a good way) healthy lifestyles.  Local high school teams with coaches and parents growing concerned with player safety can take advantage of team training sessions and informative meetings about injury prevention and appropriate recovery. If high school students have access to elite training, it can open doors for scholarship opportunities playing sports at colleges and universities. Families can become part of a health network  assembled within a single location, allowing a team of providers to see the big picture with data in one system. They no longer need to piece together information coming from a variety of doctors, locations, and networks each time an individual seeks care.

There’s a lot that separates someone like our pro basketball player ‘Mike’ and me. We have wildly different athletic abilities, lifestyles, and, of course, salaries. But we both want to be as healthy as possible so that when we’re performing, we’re as physically fit as can be and we’re able to give 100%. Proper injury prevention, training, and recovery can all be achieved with the right team of doctors in the right location.

The key to achieving your best athletic self is just a human performance facility away.