How Stretch Affect and Kinotek Powered the Golf Trip of a Lifetime

Published: April 1 , 2025

Stretch Affect, based in San Diego, offers a unique combination of physical therapy and personal training with the goal of creating life-long change for clients to live better longer. As a data-driven and results based operation, the team of six professionals invested in Kinotek in 2023 and since have used it as part of their full-body assessment of every client. The team shared this case study as representative of the kind of results they have achieved through the right analytics, a targeted and aligned care plan, and of course, the knowledge and skills of the professionals.

Subject: 60 year-old male, John, complained about years of hip tightness and back pain. 

Goal: Eliminate hip and back pain in order to drive a golf ball consistently over 300 yards.

Background: John is an airline baggage handler whose constant lifting and twisting created continued compression and load through his back, resulting in back pain and hip tightness. An avid golfer, John wanted to improve his golf drive from the 250-270 yard range to consistently driving over 300 yards. 

Initial Consultation:

In the Stretch Affect approach, the initial assessment is critical. The team doesn’t accept an issue at face value because very often a primary issue can stem from problems elsewhere in the body.

To identify the root of an issue, the Stretch Affect extensive full-body assessment is designed to identify deficiencies throughout the body, and includes: 

  1. Movement analysis

  2. Joint-by-joint orthopedic assessment

  3. Manual muscle testing for strength 

  4. Breathing pattern analysis

In John’s case, after performing the manual assessment, the team conducted the Kinotek movement assessment to gather objective data needed to create a plan of care.

The Kinotek assessment uncovered limited mobility in John’s hips and lumbopelvic rotation.

Plan of Care:

Based on the Kinotek report documenting limited mobility in John’s hips and lumbopelvic rotation, the focus was on releasing the associated muscle tightness and strengthening his gluteus medius. 

Table Work: First, the team identified that John’s issue stemmed from muscle tightness and not joint restriction, which pointed to manual therapy to release the tightness. 

Strength: A program was designed to target individualized strength and activation to improve hip and core stability to allow for smooth and pain-free motion required for both John’s work and sports. Specifics:

  • Tone management and muscle lengthening to hip flexors (i.e. PAILS/RAILS hip extension, MET, self TPR)

  • Core activation throughout dynamic movements, with emphasis on rotary movements (i.e. Supine windshield wipers, side plank with cable row, bear position with kettlebell pull throughs, standing resisted chop)

  • Closed chain glute activation, with emphasis on rotary movements and weight acceptance (i.e. hip airplanes, bridge with marching, lunge variations, RDLs with internal rotation)

  • Balance training with emphasis on core and hip stability (i.e. kettlebell halos, medicine ball throws from SS or SL, SL RDL)

Duration: 1 x week for three months, plus at home exercises

Results

After three months following the plan of care, a follow up Kinotek movement assessment was performed to compare his results from the first evaluation. John improved in every key area that was targeted.

Kinotek Follow-up Assessment

John’s Feedback on His Progress: 

  • Within 2 weeks his back pain at work was gone. 

  • Within 3-4 weeks his back pain and hip tightness during golf was gone. 

  • Within 2 months his power and strength developed to driving 300 yards on the golf course.

The carefully targeted care plan enabled John to spend two weeks on his dream vacation playing golf in Scotland for two weeks—PAIN FREE!

Practitioner Observations:

Kyle Valery, President, Stretch Affect

“I brought in Kinotek because we are a results-based facility, and I needed an objective measurement to determine success or failure. 

Being able to explicitly show someone a slow-motion video and their range of motion has allowed us to clearly explain an individual’s limitations and be able to deliver an effective intervention for improved outcomes. 

Kinotek has increased client engagement in their at home programming and has helped expedite results and achieve better behavior modification. It allows us to truly determine someone's movement health score which provides the base of all our strength and performance programming.”

Chelsea Clark DPT, Stretch Affect

“Kinotek is a great tool to complement our manual assessment that provides our clients with objective data to visually see the areas of deficiencies and how much they can improve if they are consistent with the plan of care. 

Being able to provide detailed data our communication with a client is clear and undeniable. This ability has proved to be invaluable in client adherence to their at-home work. 

We also use Kinotek as a preventative tool for clients who may not realize some problematic areas that will help fend off future injury.”


A Word on The Stretch Affect Difference

At Stretch Affect, our mission is to awaken the potential of individuals through the power of physical literacy and movement health to create freedom and quality of life.

Through hands-on manual therapy and corrective exercises, our physical therapists relieve pain, increase flexibility, and improve performance, turning goals into reality for years to come.

What can you achieve with Kinotek?

Kinotek is advanced technology that objectively measures dynamic movement health in seconds. Our visual scored report increases patient engagement and buy-in. See for yourself.