Movement Chapter 8: SFMA Assessment Breakout Descriptions and Flowcharts

This is a chapter 8 summary of the book “Movement” by Gray Cook. What to Look For The SFMA breakouts are utilized to determine if one’s movement deficiencies have a mobility or stability origin. There are further possibilities in each of these categories. It Could Be a Mobility Problem There are two subsets of mobility problems that include tissue extensibility dysfunction (TED) and joint mobility dysfunction (JMD). From here, we can break it down even further in each subset. Here are some potential TEDs Active/passive muscle insufficiency Limited neurodynamics (they said neural tension; come on Gray!) Fascial tension Muscle shortening Hypertrophy Trigger points Scarring/fibrosis And here are some potential JMDs Osteoarthritis/arthrosis Single-joint muscle spasm/guarding Fusion Subluxation Adhesive capsulitis Dislocation It could be a Stability Problem These issues are also known as stability or motor control dysfunction (SMCD). Most conventional therapies would treat these complaints by strengthening the stabilizers, but this is problematic. When something works reflexively, how can we train something volitionally and expect changes? To train these muscles we must focus on proprioceptive and timing-based training. There are several examples of SMCD problems. Motor control dysfunction. High threshold strategy. Local muscle dysfunction/asymmetry. Mechanical breathing dysfunction. Prime mover or global muscle compensation behavior or asymmetry. Poor static stability, alignment, postural control, asymmetry, and structural integrity. Poor dynamic stability, alignment, postural control, asymmetry, and structural integrity. Relatedness Mobility and stability can influence one another. If I were to lose mobility at one segment, motor control can be distorted at nearby segments.

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Movement Chapter 5: Functional Movement Systems and Movement Patterns

This is a chapter 5 summary of the book “Movement” by Gray Cook. In this chapter, Gray outlines the interconnectedness of the tests and outlines all of the different breakouts. The movements will be demonstrated in later chapters. FMS There are seven movements with different clearing examinations. 1)      Deep squat 2)      Hurdle step 3)      Inline lunge 4)      Shoulder mobility 5)      Active straight leg raise (ASLR) 6)      Trunk stability pushup 7)      Rotary stability. The first three movements are often called the big 3, as they are functional movements that check core stability in three essential foot positions. The remaining four are considered fundamental movement patterns.  Often these patterns are attacked before the first three. These screens can also be broken up into those that check symmetry and asymmetry: Symmetrical patterns Deep Squat Trunk stability pushup. Asymmetrical patterns Hurdle step Inline lunge Shoulder mobility ASLR Rotary stability. The way we work the FMS is by first attacking asymmetrical patterns before straight patterns, and primitive patterns before functional patterns. The FMS is scored on a four point ordinal scale with the following scoring criteria: 3 – Complete pattern 2 – Complete pattern with compensations/deviations 1 – Incomplete pattern 0 – Painful pattern. There are also three clearing tests that are either positive or negative for pain. 1)      Impingement clearing test (shoulder mobility) 2)      Prone pressup (trunk mobility) 3)      Posterior rocking (rotary stability) The FMS works by creating several filters to catch for compensations and problems. 1)      Pain – Signal to a problem. 2)     

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