By Andrea Bolt
One of the Houston area's most advanced athletic performance centers will be opening in The Woodlands Sept. 10.
St. Luke's Performance Medicine, formerly known as Tektonic Athletic Development and Rehabilitation, is an outpatient department of St. Luke's The Woodlands Hospital designed to technologically and clinically test, train and assist top athletes and health conscious residents to achieve peak performance.
The facility specializes in sports medicine, rehabilitation, performance assessment and sports medicine training and also boasts a few technologically and scientifically advanced analysis techniques and machines, including the Bod Pod Analysis and Vox Max oxygen intake testing, the Woodway Force treadmill, Tekscan foot pressure and gait analysis technology, and more.
St. Luke's spokesperson Liz Grimm said the Bod Pod analysis helps athletes understand their body composition and breakdown.
" It measures the fat-to-muscle body composition and this is one of the few places in Houston you can find it," Grimm said. "It uses air displacement technology and shows the mass breakdown."
She said the center will also focus on concussion management and teaching athletes about warning signs and symptoms.
" They're really taking [concussions] seriously," Grimm said. "It's a big issue in sports now and they're really wanting people to know more about it."
The concussion management aspect of the center is a service of the St. Luke's The Woodlands Hospital Neuroscience Center and involves a support team of emergency medicine physicians, neurologists, neuropsychologists, physical therapists and licensed athletic trainers who specialize in concussion evaluation, treatment and management to maximize recovery and recovery time.
Grimm said the performance services can be used by anyone, from serious athletes, a busy mother training for her first half-marathon, to a business executive trying to stay in shape. The physicians and trainers at the center will tailor athletic and workout programs to fit personal needs.
" What equipment they have there and what they can do...it's amazing, scientifically," Grimm said.
She said costs start around $65 per hour, with most people needing two hours for a full evaluation. Athletes can also request more recommendations, or have their exercise programs monitored by the trainers and physicians at the center, to best identify issues and areas of improvement.
Grimm said the center will open Sept. 10 and a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held Sept. 19 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Medical Arts Center II building on St. Luke's The Woodlands campus.
