Motion Captured
Rice’s human performance center uses new technology to prevent and treat injury.
Winter 2024 | Andrew Bell | Photos by Jeff Fitlow
One of Rice’s latest forays into the world of research is shining a spotlight on the human body. The Houston Methodist-Rice University Center for Human Performance, a 6,000-square-foot facility in Tudor Fieldhouse, opened in October 2023.
Researchers at the center are studying exercise physiology, injury prevention and rehabilitation using the latest technologies for 3D motion capture, force-plate measurement, region-by-region quantification of bone density, metabolic analysis, cardiovascular screening and aerobic performance testing. The goal is to help both athletes and nonathletes avoid injury — and recover faster when an injury occurs.
“What’s really going to happen here is the ability for baseline testing … as it relates to injury and recovery,” says Tommy McClelland, vice president and director of athletics. “We will be able to say with more certainty and more confidence to a student-athlete, ‘You’re ready to reenter.’ It’s going to be a game-changer in that aspect.”
Rice student-athletes stand to benefit from the joint venture between Rice Athletics, the Department of Kinesiology within Rice’s School of Natural Sciences, and Houston Methodist’s Department of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. The center will also test patients from outside the Rice Athletics family with an aim to help overall public health through its findings. “This center is really the first of its kind in Texas,” says Marc Boom, president and CEO of Houston Methodist.