SFMA - Selective Functional Movement Assessment

What is SFMA?

The SFMA is a system that helps rehabilitation professionals incorporate a movement pattern baseline into the musculoskeletal examination.  It does not replace impairment measurements or other specialized testing.  It simply creates a more pattern-specific perspective of how each individual patient moves in relationship to their anatomical information and their medical diagnosis.  Obviously, anatomical information means that each patient has specific structural integrity and that must be considered.  They also have a medical diagnosis that involves both indications and contraindications.  However, anatomical information and medical information are not enough information to prescribe functional exercise.

The SFMA helps the clinician identify individual movement pattern deficiencies and the provocation of pain within movement patterns that is unique to each individual.  It is easy to see how three back pain patients can have three different movement profiles, each demonstrating different levels of competency with movement pattern mobility and stability issues.  Likewise,  three different total knee patents can demonstrate three differernt levels of competency with a single leg stance, forward bending, backward bending and rotation so it is important not simply to look at a patient's structure ro medical diagnosis when trying to formulate the best, most effecient and effective path to musculoskeletal treatment and exercise intervention.

The SFMA affords this opportunity but it also creates an opportunity for reappraisal.  This means when we treat a specific area of the body and work on  a specific impairment that we can quickly see if that intervention changed only local movement competency ro actually had an effect on global or whole pattern movement competency.  There is a user-friendly checklist that clinicians can use to check their particular competency when applying this new paradigm in musculoskeletal medicine and rehabilitation.

Dr. Messenger has been certified in SFMA.  This system allows him to provide a more comprehensive exam and treatment that is cutting-edge and tailored to the individual.

Get more information about SFMA @ www.sfma.com

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