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From Clinic to Octagon: How NeckCare Made It to UFC PI
The UFC Performance Institute (PI) has integrated NeckCare™, an objective cervical spine assessment system, into its “fit to fight” concussion protocol—marking a major shift in how neck function is evaluated in combat sports.
Written by
Lucy Bee
Marketing Manager @ NeckCare
This move highlights a growing recognition across sports medicine: that the neck plays a critical role in concussion recovery—and must be assessed with the same rigor as cognitive symptoms.
But even before NeckCare made it into one of the most advanced performance labs in the world, it was being used by a community of forward-thinking clinicians who understood this connection. One of them is Jack Fonderwhite, a performance acupuncturist in Hawaii who works with elite-level fighters, including former UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway.
“With the kinds of athletes I treat—fighters, ultramarathoners, triathletes—head trauma is part of the job,” says Jack. “But what we were missing was objective data on how their bodies were functioning after a concussion. We needed more than symptoms—we needed to measure. That’s where NeckCare came in.”
Jack began using NeckCare to track subtle changes in neck function following head trauma—changes that often go undetected by athletes themselves, but can meaningfully affect recovery and return-to-play. Now, the UFC PI, which is always looking for cutting edge ways to treat its athletes, is applying the same approach at a larger scale.
“We were really missing that one component of our concussion return-to-play and our neck return-to-play care,” says Heather Linden, Senior Director of Sports Medicine at the UFC PI. “With NeckCare, we’re able to do a sensorimotor assessment and get some fine details that give us objective findings and great feedback in order to get these athletes back into the octagon as fast as their condition allows.”
Concussion is one of the most pressing issues in sports medicine, with up to 3.8 million cases annually in the United States alone. In Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), as many as 28% of bouts end in knockout due to head trauma. Yet, despite decades of research, the neck remains an under-addressed piece of the concussion equation.
By integrating the NeckCare System, the UFC PI is signaling a shift toward more complete, objective, and responsible return-to-play practices—where the neck is no longer overlooked, but actively measured.
“Our mission at NeckCare is to advance neck rehabilitation through technology and education—and part of that is making what was once invisible or hard to track measurable. Seeing this approach adopted by the UFC Performance Institute, the gold standard in combat athlete care, is a significant step and proof that the conversation around neck health is changing. This is how we raise standards across all sports: by combining objective data with clinical knowledge, supporting providers in delivering the best possible care,” said Orri Gudmundsson, CEO of NeckCare.
And it all started with the providers who saw this need first—and with every athlete assessed, the standard keeps moving forward.
Published on
Written by
Lucy Bee
Marketing Manager @ NeckCare