SFMA flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

SFMA top-tier screen

The first-stage assessment of ten whole-body movement patterns, each scored as functional or dysfunctional and as painful or non-painful, which determines whether breakout testing is indicated.

Regional interdependence

The principle that impairment in one body region can alter movement elsewhere, so a limitation seen at one segment may be driven by a distant segment and must be confirmed by isolation.

Breakout testing purpose

Breakout tests localize the specific joint or segment producing a dysfunctional top-tier pattern; they are performed only when the top-tier score is dysfunctional, not when it is functional.

FN score meaning

Functional Non-painful: the pattern meets all movement criteria and provokes no pain, so no breakout testing is required for that pattern.

FP score meaning

Functional Painful: the pattern meets movement criteria but provokes pain, so the painful finding is flagged and the pattern is not broken out for range limitation.

DN score meaning

Dysfunctional Non-painful: the pattern fails at least one movement criterion without pain, which is the primary indication for breakout testing.

DP score meaning

Dysfunctional Painful: the pattern fails criteria and provokes pain, so breakout testing is deferred or modified until the painful finding is addressed.

Binary criterion scoring

Each movement criterion is scored as met or not met; any unmet criterion converts the pattern from functional to dysfunctional, and pain is scored as a separate dimension.

Multi-segmental flexion breakout

A tiered test separating spinal flexion from hip flexion by holding the spine neutral while flexing the hips, identifying whether the spine or the hip limits the pattern.

Multi-segmental extension breakout

A tiered test separating thoracolumbar extension from hip extension by controlling the spine while extending the hip, identifying the limiting segment for the extension pattern.

Multi-segmental rotation breakout

A tiered test assessing thoracic rotation with the lumbar spine stabilized, then hip rotation, to determine whether the thoracic spine or the hip drives the rotation limitation.

Breakout confirmation rule

A breakout finding is only treated as the driver if it reproduces the limitation seen in the top-tier pattern; incidental tightness that does not change the pattern is not the driver.

Primal pattern mapping

The fundamental movements of squat, bend, lunge, push, pull, twist, and gait, onto which SFMA top-tier patterns map to prioritize which region is assessed first.

Joint-by-joint heuristic

A hypothesis-generating model assigning mobility or stability preferences by region, such as mobile ankle and hip with stable knee and lumbar spine, which must be confirmed by breakout findings.

Mobility versus stability classification

The decision, made before exercise selection, whether a limitation reflects restricted motion requiring mobilization or impaired control requiring stability and motor-control retraining.

Adjacent joint compensation

When a joint that should be mobile becomes restricted, the neighboring joint that should be stable often compensates and becomes the symptomatic site.

Pain versus dysfunction priority

Painful findings take precedence in treatment sequencing, so pain is addressed before range-of-motion or motor-control work is progressed.

Referral red flags

Findings such as progressive neurological deficit, bowel or bladder change, unexplained weight loss, unrelieved night pain, or signs of fracture or infection that require referral rather than exercise.

Mechanical pain indicator

Pain that changes with position or resolves with a corrective movement suggests a mechanical, non-referral presentation rather than a constant or non-mechanical source.

Pain behavior documentation

Recording whether pain was provoked, reproduced, or abolished, and at which specific pattern or breakout it occurred, so that change can be tracked across visits.

4x4 matrix structure

A grid with four columns of mobility, static motor control, dynamic motor control, and functional patterning, and rows keyed to the dysfunctional pattern, whose intersections define exercise categories.

Matrix column progression

Programming advances from mobility to static control to dynamic control to functional patterning, with progression gated by successful performance at the preceding column.

Driver-based exercise selection

Exercise choice is determined by the breakout finding rather than the top-tier pattern alone, so the same dysfunctional pattern can yield different exercises across patients.

Minimum effective dose

Corrective exercise is performed until the pattern changes and then retested, rather than repeated to fatigue, so that the response can be attributed to the intervention.

External focus cueing

Instruction directed at a target or environmental effect rather than a body part, which generally produces better movement outcomes during pattern retraining.

Faded feedback principle

Explicit cueing and tactile feedback are progressively reduced as the patient demonstrates independent control, preventing dependence on the cue for correct movement.

Blocked to random practice

Blocked repetition is used early for skill acquisition, and random or variable practice is introduced later to promote retention and transfer of the movement pattern.

Reverting under load

A corrected pattern that deteriorates when load or speed is added indicates the dynamic motor-control column is incomplete, regardless of unloaded performance quality.

Score change documentation

Recording each top-tier pattern score and its breakout finding at reassessment so that change between visits is attributable to the intervention rather than to cueing variation.

Block-based reassessment

Retesting the top-tier pattern after each corrective block and recording the score change, with revision of the driver hypothesis if the score does not change.

Exercise traceability record

Documenting the selected exercise, its matrix cell of origin, and its dosage, so that a failed corrective block can be traced to selection or to execution.

Impossible score change

A pattern improving from dysfunctional to functional without a corresponding change in the breakout finding suggests scoring or cueing inconsistency and warrants re-examination.