SFMA stands for Selective Functional Movement Assessment, which is a movement diagnostic system for individuals who are in pain. A SFMA certified clinician is trained to assess an individual for stability, and/or motor control dysfunction as well as mobility dysfunction.

The goal of SFMA is to find the cause of pain, not just the source, by systematically breaking down movement patterns in a structured, repeatable assessment.

Let’s say you wake up one morning to shooting left arm pain. The immediate course of action is to head to the hospital to check out your heart, not your arm. Despite the pain being located in the arm, it is a symptom of an underlying issue elsewhere in the body. Similarly, SFMA focuses on an analysis of movement in order to find the real cause behind pain, not just the source. This concept is called regional interdependence- how seemingly unrelated problems are driving dysfunctional movement or even pain. 

By having a structured assessment through which we can break down movement patterns, this allows us to build an individualized plan of care to fix motor control, stability, or mobility dysfunctions. After 2-4 weeks of treatment, we return to repeat the SFMA as a way to objectively observe improvement to adjust treatment as necessary. If you are in pain and interested in having a SFMA screening, don’t hesitate to reach out today!