Assessing a smartphone application to measure counter-movement jumps in recreational athletes

Abstract

The use of counter-movement jumps as a measure of neuromuscular performance in athletes has become common in the sport setting. Accurate methods of measuring jump parameters are often expensive, difficult to transport and require expert knowledge. A new smartphone application ( My Jump) claims to be a valid and reliable tool for assessing jump height but is yet to be evaluated by independent researchers. Sixty-one recreational athletes (30 male/31 female, mean ± SD; age: 20 ± 4 years) each performed three counter-movement jumps (totalling 183 jumps) on a force plate following a standardised warm-up. All jumps were recorded using an iPhone 6 s and analysed for jump height (m) and flight time (s) using the My Jump application. Jumps were compared between a force plate and My Jump for validity with inter-scorer reliability also assessed. Results show that My Jump is valid (mean bias = 0.9 cm, r = 0.96) and reliable (typical error of estimate = 1.4 cm) for assessing jump performance in recreational athletes using an iPhone 6 s with a 240 Hz high-speed camera. My Jump is a cost-effective and easy-to-use alternative for measuring vertical jump performance without the need for specialist equipment or expertise.