Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA)

Objective

The Selective Functional Movement Assessmnet (SFMA) was developed by the Cook and colleagues, the same group who developed the Functional Movement Systems. The SFMA is meant to be used in a diagnostic capacity for musculoskeletal assessment when pain is present. The SFMA is a clinical model used to assist diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal disorders by identifying dysfunctions in movement patterns

The SFMA is meant to be used by physiotherapists / physical therapists, athletic trainers, chiropractors, and physicians. It uses a series of full-body movements to identify possible movement dysfunctions. The purpose of the SFMA is to assess the quality of the movements; it is not about how many repetitions the person can perform, but rather the quality of the movement pattern. The SFMA helps to expose possible asymmetries and pathological movements patterns, as the root cause of a painful problem. This will in turn, help guide a treatment plan to restore pain-free movement and function.

To understand how to use the tool properly, it is important for the clinician to understand the terms "tightness" and "weakness", within the SFMA framework. The SFMA system understands "tightness" as an issue with tissue extensibility and / or a joint mobility dysfunction. "Weakness", on the other hand, refers to the stability of the joint and it's associated motor control.

The SFMA tool is helpful to be used during the initial physical evaluation of a patient, but the clinician should be aware of the acuteness or irritability of the presenting signs and symptoms. The SFMA may not be practical for use during an acute episode.

Scoring

SFMA Scoring

• Active cervical flexion
• Active cervical extension
• Cervical rotation
• Upper extremity pattern 1 (MRE)
• Upper extremity pattern 2 (LRF)
• Multi-segmental flexion
• Multi-segmental extension
• Multi-segmental rotation
• Single leg stance
• Overhead deep squat

Scoring sheet

Evidence

Validity

A study by Riebel et al, (2017) evaluated the correlation of the SFMA to the Patient-Specific Functional Scale and other site-specific self-reported outcome measures. Their study found fair to good positive correlations between the self-reported outcomes and the decreases in the number of painful patterns identified for those with shoulder girdle and lumbopelvic complaints (rs = 0.28, 0.52, and 0.41, respectively). They further found no correlational relationships were found between changes in outcome measures and the SFMA criterion score (Level of evidence: 2b). Further research is needed in this area to examine the exact relationship between the SFMA tool and site-specific outcome measures.

Reliability

The SFMA is not as widely researched as the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) tool. Presently, the research demonstrated a poor to good reliability of the SFMA. The intra-and inter-rater reliability of the categorical scoring of the ten fundamental movements of the SFMA was higher in raters with greater experience. A study by Dolbeer et al. (2017) found that SMFA qualified clinicians boasted moderate to better reliability when using the SFMA.

Videos and resources

The SFMA tool is taught to clinicians through structured courses. If you are interested in any of the SMFA courses, please visit their official website. 

The SFMA is part of a collection of Functional Movement Systems, you can also refer to their other tools:

• Functional Movement Screen (FMS)
• Fundamental Capacity Screen (FCS)
• Y-Balance Test (YBT)