The Human Performance Center at the Orthopaedic Institute helps athletes better understand how they perform and what can be done to prevent injury, work around injuries, and optimize efficiency in sports. The goal is to safely maximize their function and performance and to achieve their personal goals.
The center's team of health professionals has a wide range of expertise in sports medicine and applies technology used in professional sports, such as biomechanical and physiological tools, to evaluate athletes, including those with injuries and chronic conditions such as arthritis. Depending on the need, the center can provide a comprehensive evaluation or a specific recommendation for training and activity.
The center's email address is allenav@orthosurg.ucsf.edu.
Please call the number below to make an appointment.
Human Performance Center
1500 Owens St.
San Francisco, CA 94158
Phone: (415) 514–6077
Fax: (415) 885–3862
Hours: Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Last updated February 1, 2012
A parking lot is available adjacent to the Orthopaedic Institute.
Parking fees are:
Patients with disabled placards or license plates pay $3 for the first hour and $5 for up to 24 hours.
Parking fees are paid in advance at one of three kiosks. The kiosks accept cash (coins and bills up to $10) and credit cards (Visa and MasterCard).
Parking garages are available nearby at higher hourly rates.
The center offers sophisticated performance testing — typically used by professionals — to help athletes at all levels, from recreational to elite. Specialized tests are available for individual sports such as soccer. The center has a 10-camera, biomechanical system that can analyze a dancer's jump, a tennis player's swing or a runner's gait. Individuals wear "markers" that allow movement to be measured in 3-D.
A special floor, with built in "force plates," can calculate the force generated when an athlete jumps or a dancer leaps. A Pilates full length mirror and dance equipment are available to help athletes improve technique.
A detailed biomechanical assessment can take up to two hours. Staff will explain each test or evaluation to be performed and will ask athletes to bring appropriate clothing or equipment, such as a golf club or ballet shoes.
Athletes can be evaluated with what's called a metabolic "cart," computerized equipment that includes a carbon dioxide meter to measure oxygen consumption and energy expenditure, called VO2 max testing. Cardiovascular and respiratory function can be tested at rest and during exercise on a running treadmill or a state-of-the-art, pro-level cycling ergometer. A lactate blood test can be performed to measure an athlete's fatigue threshold.
Information from these tests can provide useful numbers to measure an athlete's state of fitness and to make recommendations for further training and performance goals.
ABC-TV's Good Morning America featured athletic trainer Joe Smith at the UCSF Human Performance Center to test the accuracy of calorie counters.
Athletes can return for future testing to measure gains made from training. For those who undergo surgery for sports injuries, the assessments can be done to measure function and recovery before and after surgery or throughout every stage of training.
