By Dr. Andrew (Drew) Digney – aka “Dr. Dig”
Chief Clinical Officer & Co-Founder, Yāna Motion Lab
Follow the Dr. Dig Blog series for more insights on motion health, injury prevention, and performance optimization.
A Doctor’s Dream, Realized – Why Motion Health Matters
A lot can happen in a decade. I still remember the first time I walked by a couple of guys experimenting with a markerless motion capture setup. That chance encounter lit a spark—and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. As I went about my work as a physician, I saw more and more opportunities where this kind of technology could make a profound difference.
My name is Dr. Drew Digney, though around here you’ll get to know me as Dr. Dig. I’m a proud co-founder of Yāna Motion Lab, and this is the first of many blogs where I’ll be sharing my insights on the intersection of movement, medicine, and modern technology.
Over my 30-year medical career—as a family doctor, an ER physician, and a healthcare leader at local, regional, and provincial levels—I’ve seen medicine change in many ways. But one frustrating constant has been the lack of objective tools to accurately measure human movement.
We can measure nearly every organ system with precision—heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen levels, lab values. But when it comes to movement, we’ve relied far too long on subjective observation and rough estimates. And yet, movement is one of the clearest indicators of pain, recovery, health, and quality of life.
One of my mantras has always been:
"You can’t manage what you can’t measure."
Ask anyone who knows me—I’m a numbers guy. I’ve always believed we owe it to our patients, our athletes, and ourselves to find better tools to measure what matters.
That’s why I helped start Yāna Motion Lab nearly ten years ago—on a mission to make objective musculoskeletal assessments a reality. It’s been a long journey, but we’ve arrived.
A Preventable Problem: Why Injuries Happen
As an emergency physician, I’ve treated countless injuries: twisted ankles, torn ligaments, broken bones, sprains, and strains. Some from sports. Some from daily life. But here’s what I know: most injuries didn’t need to happen.
They’re often the result of poor mechanics, muscle imbalances, limited flexibility, or the infamous “too much, too soon” syndrome. Whether it’s a desk jockey trying to play soccer on the weekend or a seasoned athlete with a small technique flaw, the root cause is often preventable.
Example: The Classic Sprained Ankle
Let’s take one example: the classic sprained ankle. One of the most common injuries I see in the ER. In many cases, the real culprit is faulty movement—maybe it’s weak ankle stabilizers, maybe it’s a stride issue. But the end result is the same: pain, time off work or sport, and a recovery process that could’ve been avoided.
I’ve long wished for a way to objectively evaluate movement, just like we do with every other body system.
What’s Next
That wish is now reality. In the next blog, I’ll introduce the technology that’s making this dream come true—and how it can help you move better, stay injury-free, and optimize your performance for life.
Stay tuned.
– Dr. Dig