Measures that matter: Health technology in the sporting world

Elite sporting organisations adore data. They crave it. These organisations produce tens of thousands of data points daily, with each team member having a vastly comprehensive analytical profile on their performance, wellbeing and output that is conducive to one thing: winning.

However, winning is the end result, and reeling back a few steps, the building blocks that lead to the performance are about understanding: How can these data points be interpreted to give the crucial transition into information, and who is it that can do it?

Firstly, we must know the language used.

Data is cited as ‘facts and statistics that are collected together’, whereas information takes the facts provided and advances them to learn about something or someone. The difference is very important.

Information that leads to performance

Before we explore how companies can use data, let us head back to the sporting world.

When top athletes enter a training facility they are often screened; this may be an in-depth analysis of their hydration through to flexibility and mobility testing, power-output assessments, and digitised wellbeing surveys.

This is a daily process that gives the backroom team of coaches, medics, and strength and conditioners a comprehensive profile to determine how the athlete can progress with training or compete in it at all.

This information leads to performance, but vitally it is player-centric, ensuring a balanced, consistent, and healthy individual.

By measuring and monitoring biometric and wellness data – provided by wearable technology – on sleep, hydration, movement and heart rates, coaches can help elevate performance, sustain a higher output for longer and ensure people peak at the right time, and crucially – have less people burn out.

Finding the the ‘hidden data gems’

A sporting translation of benefiting from data can be seen in the commonly mentioned concept of ‘Moneyball’.

Ever since the Brad Pitt-graced film, many people outside of sport know of the context of how it changed the way many cross-sporting teams recruit, manage and motivate.

The idea is simple; use statistics and analytics (data) to ascertain ‘the best deal,’ ‘the hidden gems’ or the players who have the ‘bang for their buck’ when assessed by specialist analysts and coaches within the club – and once these players are imbedded, performances can then be honed by training and feedback through this ‘data’ after it has become ‘information.’

So, what if the world of business could assess sporting models that include data and information to better the wellbeing of their companies and individuals, leaders, and new recruits?

And furthermore, what if a business and leaders could use readily accessible technology, data and services that are already available to their company, just not connected?

Back to business

There are many figures in business that are measured; EBITDA, productivity, engagement, to name just a few. Yet as with the aforementioned ‘winning’, these data points are all made up of foundation blocks.

Perhaps the most important contributors to this ‘success’ are the people, the staff that make up the company and drive the output. Yet this is where the data is often, not observed or measured.

It’s surprising as “stress, depression or anxiety accounted for 50 percent of all work-related ill health cases”, according to the Health and Safety Executive cited in a study from 2020/21.

These are powerful numbers, and loop back to how businesses can use technology to provide data that is important to not only reducing huge costs of illness, but also improving sleep, movement, stress, and nutrition – all of which flow into a betterment in health and happiness.

The crux is to transfer data into information for people in business. The data is simple to ascertain through wearables and technology platforms.

Adding context to the data with human-led treatment, allows experts to explore and plot the peaks and troughs of wellbeing to interject before illness or absence take their hold.

It’s understanding biometric and wellness data; as well as engagement scores, that allows leaders to find their peak performance.

Ultimately, it can’t be technology vs human-led treatment, it must be both.