CAP Baseline Testing Protocol

Get your athlete’s  brain and body tested so they can take control of their concussion risk and brain health for life! 

The CAP Baseline Testing Protocol Empowers Athletes to take a Proactive Approach to Brain Health and Concussion Prevention!

  • Gone are the days of baseline tests that are easy to memorize and rely on subjective questions!
  • Gone are the days that baseline testing is strictly for pre and post comparisons to assess if the athlete sustained a concussion!

Here’s How!

CAP provides two unique tests for brain and body that will fill the void, compliment, and validate other assessments.

  • The patented RAM4™ assesses the strength and biomechanics of the neck and cervical spine. The test results are measured against the CAP Goals (Safety Standards) to calculate concussion risk. 

 

  • The patented Brain Gauge™ is an objective sensorimotor test that measures brain function and cognitive deficits. We assess brain health to provide a baseline but also, therapists can identify issues and make recommendations to proactively improve short- and long-term brain health.

RAM4 Concussion Prevention

To prevent a concussion from occurring we need to establish the athlete’s concussion risk. The RAM4 Test is the only technology in the world that measures neck function relative to sport performance.

Peer-reviewed research and the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineering validated the RAM4 to test concussion risk. The RAM4 compares the movement velocity of the torso to the amplitude velocity, and rotation of the head motion. The total G forces, magnitude, and speed of the head tilt tells us exactly how the neck would respond to a concussion-inducing impact.

Improving Concussion Resistance

Not all strength training is equal or effective at reducing concussions. Peer-reviewed research conducted at Canadian and International Universities concluded that CAP exercises are effective for reducing concussion risk.

The qualities of strength must be developed through exercises trained in specific ways to have the functional carryover for protection. Our CAP eLearning courses are included in this program for therapists as well as your clients whether they are coaches, trainers, or athletes to learn how to implement the CAP exercises.

Performance Tracking

The RAM4 tests functional carryover and as concussion resistance improves, we retest at progressively higher impact forces to set new goals. Access to the RAM4 Reports are available in real-time providing a detailed analysis of the biomechanical response of the neck during the RAM4 test.

Brain Gauge Technology

  • Over 130 published papers.
  • Developed in conjunction with the Office of U.S. Naval Research.
  • Measures deficits after concussed patients are cleared by other baseline tests and physicians.
  • The only baseline test with the accuracy required to measure reaction time variability (Holden et al., 2019).

This is a Brain Gauge Assessment of an athlete who came to our flagship clinic CAP Health after she was given the green light to return to sport following SCAT 5, ImPact, and balance testing – a multi-modal approach. She didn’t feel ready for a return, and she was right!

Brain Function Descriptions

Metric
Accuracy

Test Type
Amplitude Challenge

Purpose of Test
The functional integrity of the parietal lobe.

Brain Region
The parietal lobe is responsible for integrating sensations that are detected by different parts of the body. It also plays a role in language processing. A poor Accuracy score can be related to imbalances of excitation and inhibition in the cerebral cortex.

Metric
Focus

Test Type
Simple Reaction Time

Purpose of Test
The integrity of the frontal lobe.

Brain Region
The frontal lobe is associated with motivation, attention span, determining similarities and differences between objects or events, and the ability to predict future consequences. Low Focus scores can reflect the severity of migraines, chronic pain, and traumatic brain insult to the cerebellum.

Metric
Speed

Test Type
Simple Reaction Time

Purpose of Test
White matter integrity, frontal and parietal pathways.

Brain Region
The brain’s frontal lobe is associated with motivation, memory, and communication skills. Poor Speed scores often indicate the presence of neurodegenerative disorders in the frontal lobe such as Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Metric
Fatigue

Test Type
Simple Reaction Time

Purpose of Test
Integrity of white matter and the frontal-parietal pathways.

Brain Region
Poor Fatigue scores have been correlated with sleep deprivation, concussion, and mTBI.

Metric
Connectivity

Test Type
Timing Challenge and TOJC Challenge

Purpose of Test
Systemic function of the brain and the ability of neurons to coordinate signaling.

Brain Region
The is a systemic test, which means that scores reflect the coordination of neurons throughout the cerebral cortex. Coordinated signaling allows the brain to process information from different sources. Poor Connectivity scores have been correlated with impaired motor skills and autism spectrum disorders.

Metric
Plasticity

Test Type
Amplitude Challenge and Duration Challenge

Purpose of Test
The ability of neurons to compensate for injury and disease and to adjust their activities in response to new situations or to changes in their environment.

Brain Region
This is a systemic metric, which means that scores reflects the neuroplasticity of the entire brain. In patients that have sustained a brain injury, neuroplasticity allows the brain to undergo cortical remapping, in which functions (like processing information or identifying sensations) in the damaged region are transferred to a different region of the cerebral cortex. Poor Plasticity scores have been correlated with migraines, chronic pain, neurodegenerative disorders, and traumatic insults (particularly to the parietal lobe).

Metric
TOJ (Sequencing)

Test Type
Timing Challenge

Purpose of Test
Integrity of the frontal-striatal cortex.

Brain Region
The frontal-striatal pathways control many of the brain’s executive functions, including decision-making, behavioral control, and information processing. A poor Temporal Order Judgment / Sequencing score can arise from conditions such as autism, migraine, chronic pain, and traumatic injury to the frontal-striatal area.

Metric
Timing Perception

Test Type
Duration Challenge

Purpose of Test
The integrity of neural connections between the cerebellum and cerebral cortex.

Brain Region
The cerebellum is directly responsible for motor learning, balance and coordination, and timing accuracy. Poor Timing Perception scores have been correlated with migraines, chronic pain, and trauma to the cerebellum.