Ashva

Objective strength assessment in clinical practice.

A look at how Reroute Rehab uses FitMust to objectively assess muscle strength and bring measurable data into rehabilitation.

Because strength shouldn’t just be assessed
it should be measured, tracked, and understood.

🤝 Reroute Rehab × FitMust

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Objective strength assessment in clinical practice.

In this session, Dr. Rahul Shyam demonstrates a groin muscle strength assessment using FitMust, with real-time feedback through the Ashva X app.

From performing the assessment to seeing the force output in real time, objective data can help clinicians better understand muscle performance and track progress over the course of rehabilitation.

Measure. Monitor. Make progress visible.

A simple assessment can add another layer of objectivity to clinical decision-making.

🎥 Clinical demonstration with Dr. Rahul Shyam

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Rehabilitation isn’t just about reducing pain.

It’s about measuring progress, building strength, and helping patients understand that their recovery is moving forward.

As Dr. Padmanabhan Shekaran shares, objective strength assessment with FitMust allows clinicians to:

✔ Document strength objectively
✔ Monitor progress over time
✔ Show patients measurable improvement
✔ Build confidence in the rehabilitation process
✔ Help patients see recovery as more than just being pain-free

One example from clinical practice: a non-operative rotator cuff rehabilitation patient whose strength continued to improve week after week—even while experiencing pain during higher-level activities like badminton.

Because sometimes, patients don’t just need to be told they’re progressing.

**They need to see it.**

And that’s where objective data can make rehabilitation more meaningful.

🎙️ **Dr. Padmanabhan Shekaran**

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A young football player walked into the clinic after suffering an ACL tear.

The question was simple:

Should he undergo surgery, or could rehabilitation be enough?

Instead of relying solely on assumptions, the physiotherapist established clear goals, measured progress, and used objective data to guide every decision.

✔️ Baseline assessment

✔️ Strength measurements

✔️ Symmetry targets

✔️ Phase-wise rehabilitation goals

Over the following weeks, every milestone became a checkpoint, every number became a guide, and every improvement became visible.

By the end of this phase, he had regained his strength.

But the story wasn’t over yet.

There was still one more metric to measure.

And that number changed everything.

(Part 2 coming soon.)

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Why do graphs, reports, and visual feedback often have such a powerful effect on patients?

One possible explanation comes from Allan Paivio’s Dual Coding Theory, which suggests that we understand and retain information more effectively when it is presented in more than one form.

Words help us understand.

Visuals help us remember.

Together, they help us build a clearer picture.

Imagine a patient presenting with left-sided back pain.

One approach is to say:

“Your left glute is weaker, and we’ll need to strengthen it.”

Another approach is to show the patient exactly what’s happening.

✔️ Strength measurements

✔️ Left-versus-right comparisons

✔️ Progress reports

✔️ Visual graphs

Suddenly, the patient isn’t simply hearing information.

They’re seeing it.

And when people can clearly understand what’s happening inside their bodies, they often become more engaged, more confident, and more committed to the rehabilitation process.

This isn’t about replacing clinical expertise.

It’s about combining expertise, communication, and objective data to create a better understanding of recovery.

Sometimes, the difference between information and belief is simply being able to see it.

💬 What has been your experience? Do patients respond differently when they can see their progress?

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Why do patients trust numbers?

Perhaps the answer goes far beyond rehabilitation.

Today, we track almost everything.

👣 Steps

😴 Sleep

❤️ Heart rate

🩸 Blood glucose

⚖️ Body fat percentage

We’re constantly collecting information, analysing patterns, and changing our behaviour based on what we see.

Psychologist Albert Bandura described this phenomenon through his theory of self-efficacy. The idea is surprisingly simple: when people see evidence that their efforts are producing results, they become more confident, more motivated, and more likely to continue.

That idea is beginning to reshape rehabilitation as well.

For a long time, recovery has relied heavily on observation, clinical experience, patient feedback, swelling, mobility, and pain levels. All of these remain extremely important.

But objective data adds another layer.

Because numbers don’t simply measure progress.

They help patients understand that progress is happening.

Sometimes, seeing improvement is the very thing that gives someone the confidence to continue.

Perhaps that’s why objective assessment isn’t just about collecting data.

It’s about building trust.

💬 Do you think objective measurements improve patient adherence to rehabilitation programmes?

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Why do we measure almost everything in healthcare... except muscle strength?

When I first stepped into healthcare as an engineer, one question kept bothering me.

We objectively measure hearing, vision, blood pressure, bone density, and countless other health parameters. Yet one of the strongest indicators of human function—muscle strength—is still often estimated in many clinical settings.

This isn’t about blaming clinicians.

It’s about recognizing a design challenge.

Accurately quantifying muscle strength requires technology built for the job, and that realization became the foundation of what we’re building at Ashva.

Our mission is simple:
To make strength and movement measurable.

Because understanding how much force a muscle can produce—and how quickly it can produce it—can help clinicians make more informed rehabilitation decisions.

This episode shares the thought process that started our journey.

💬 I’d love to hear your perspective:
What first made you realize the importance of objectively measuring muscle strength?

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What makes objective assessment valuable in everyday clinical practice?

For Dr. Rahul Sha from Empower Physiotherapy Clinic, it’s more than just measuring muscle strength.

It’s about helping patients understand their progress.

With FitMust, strength measurements are automatically converted into easy-to-understand reports through the companion app, making it easier to explain rehabilitation progress and involve patients in their recovery journey.

As Dr. Rahul shares, these reports don’t just document progress—they help build patient confidence, improve engagement with rehabilitation, and create meaningful conversations around recovery.

Being able to compare progress over time and educate patients using objective data can strengthen trust and encourage better adherence to the rehabilitation program.

🎥 Hear Dr. Rahul Sha share how objective assessments have become a valuable part of his clinical practice.

Thank you, Dr. Rahul Sha, for sharing your experience with FitMust.

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EP 12 | Sometimes the Pain Isn’t the Problem

A 68-year-old retired bank manager came to a physiotherapy clinic with persistent low back pain.

For over 25 years, he’d played golf every Sunday.

He’d been told it was “just age” and advised to manage it with painkillers and heat therapy.

But the physiotherapy team looked beyond the site of pain.

Using objective muscle strength assessment, they found significant weakness in his trail-side hip extensors.

Instead of focusing only on the back, they addressed the underlying strength deficit.

Eight weeks later, he wasn’t just experiencing less pain.

He was back on the golf course.

Sometimes the painful area isn’t the primary driver of the problem.

A thorough assessment can help identify impairments that may be contributing to a patient’s symptoms and guide a more targeted rehabilitation plan.

Treating the symptom isn’t always enough.

Finding the underlying impairment can make all the difference.

This is Episode 12 of our Objective Assessments in Rehab series.

Have you ever identified a strength deficit away from the site of pain that changed your rehabilitation plan?

👇 We’d love to hear your experience.

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