Last Updated Jan 2013
I’ve been asked this a few times in the past few weeks, so instead of answering it over and over again, I thought I'd write an article about it. What would you suggest taking first, or both, the The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) or the The Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA)?
Let's start with the order I took the courses in. I took the FMS level 1 first. Five months later, I took the SFMA level 1. After taking the FMS, I was left with, now what? It certainly was easy enough to implement, but I had to buy extra physical therapy equipment to grade someone. The FMS testing kit is not expensive, but it is an added cost for those on a budget. Since it is merely a screen, and not an assessment, the information you get as a novice to the entire FM System is not as much as you get from the SFMA.
The SFMA is for clinicians, which typically includes physical therapists, certified athletic trainer, and doctor of sports medicine. If you're a clinician who wants to streamline your evaluation, by all means, SFMA is highly recommended.
It will help you look at the body from head to toe in a very systematic way. You will find motion dysfunction and motor control issues where you may have not thought to look. Last summer, I wrote this case which is a great example of using the SFMA.
Keep in mind that the SFMA is a method of assessment, but you still need tools in your bag to treat what you find, whether it's a "joint or tissue" dysfunction or motor control issues. Many of the questions coming from our particular class had to do with "what would you do if...?" That is beyond the scope of a two day course on functional movement assessment. However, since it is an assessment, and not a screen, it does lead you to conclusions like posterior chain tissue extensibility or motor control issue with rolling patterns. These mechanical diagnoses lead you to treatment and it works well as a reliable system of classification according to some unpublished research by Dr. Voight, one of the system's founders.
The FMS is a series of movements taught to anyone, instead of only clinicians, mostly in the fitness industry, but clinicians should learn it as well. Gray Cook uses it around discharge planning, at least discharge from care, but they may stay on for performance training or to further work on motor control issues. Someone may have all special tests negative, full range of motion and strength, and still not be cleared on the FMS. The goal of the FMS is not to get a perfect score, but to get symmetrical 2's in the least and at least one 3 (perfect score). The research they are going on is in looking at normative movement across the lifespan and seeing very little variation in individuals without significant neuro or ortho issues. It also suggests that individuals with injuries had movement asymmetry; with the FMS, you are looking at teasing out asymmetry.
It also helps with communication/referral for those in the fitness industry who are using it to screen their clients. I think as clinicians, we are missing out on a big potential referral source if you are not communicating regularly with your patients after they leave, or with the local fitness centers that they may be attending, or you could refer to.
So going back to the question, I would say for clinicians, selective functional movement assessment first, and functional movement screen second. Both have their uses, but for the ortho/sports patients who are not in your physical therapy practice solely for performance, the SFMA is the way to go.
Click here for more information on Dr. Erson Religioso III.