What Is The Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA)?
The Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) is a comprehensive assessment used to classify movement patterns, identify regions for further local biomechanical examination, and ultimately, direct manual therapy and therapeutic exercise interventions.
How Does It Work?
The SFMA is a system that helps rehabilitation professionals incorporate a movement baseline into their musculoskeletal examination. It does not replace impairment measurements or other specialized testing, but rather is utilized in conjunction with them. It simply creates a more pattern-specific perspective of how each individual patient moves in relationship to their anatomical information and their medical diagnosis.
What Makes It Different?
In short, the SFMA provides a complete differential diagnosis. The SFMA allows the clinician to identify both movement dysfunction and pain specific to the individual they are assessing by categorizing them as either mobility or stability problems. It is often determined that the cause of pain is not the source of pain – a concept known as regional interdependence. Seemingly unrelated impairments in a remote anatomical region may contribute to or be associated with the patient’s primary complaint.