SFMA study guide
SFMA · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) is a clinical reasoning model for people who already examine and treat movement. It is built for physical therapists, chiropractors, athletic trainers, physicians, and similar licensed or certified professionals who need to decide whether a painful movement pattern is a tissue problem or a movement problem, and what to do first. The SFMA study guide has 8 sections and about 3,410 words.
01SFMA Philosophy, Rationale, and the Clinical Reasoning Model
The SFMA (Selective Functional Movement Assessment) is a movement-based clinical reasoning model for people who already have a complaint. It is not a screen, not a diagnosis, and not a test battery you score and file.
450 words, about 2 min02Top-Tier Movement Patterns and Scoring (FN, DN, FP, DP)
Every SFMA decision starts with ten top-tier patterns, each scored pass/fail against explicit criteria plus a pain flag, with several scored per side. Scoring looks simple and is where most candidates leak marks, because the four scores are branch points in a decision tree, not grades of severity.
459 words, about 2 min03Breakouts and Multi-Segmental Extension/Flexion
Breakouts are the second half of the SFMA and the part that turns a score into a treatment target. A breakout is a smaller, more isolated test performed only when a top-tier pattern is dysfunctional and non-painful, to identify which region and which tissue is limiting.
420 words, about 2 min04Primal Pattern and Joint-by-Joint Assessment Logic
The top tier looks like a list; it is actually a sample of the primal patterns plus the joint-by-joint map underneath them. The exam tests whether you can connect a named pattern to the primal movement it represents and to the mobility/stability expectations of the joints involved, because that is how you predict where a restriction will show up before you breakout.
426 words, about 2 min05Dysfunction Versus Pain Discrimination and Referral Criteria
SFMA separates two questions that clinicians blur: is the pattern dysfunctional, and is it painful? The first tells you what to train; the second tells you whether you may train at all.
439 words, about 2 min06Corrective Exercise Strategy and 4x4 Matrix Programming
Once a limiting factor is found, the question becomes what to prescribe, in what order, and how much. The SFMA answer is a matrix, not a menu.
403 words, about 2 min07Movement Pattern Retraining and Motor Control Principles
Corrective exercise only becomes retraining when the nervous system is asked to produce the pattern cleanly. The exam tests principles of motor learning applied to the failing pattern: specificity, dose, cueing, progression and the discipline to stop at the first compensation.
381 words, about 2 min08Documentation, Reassessment, and Outcome Tracking
The SFMA produces a defensible clinical record only if the scores, the reasoning and the retest are written down in a way another clinician could repeat. The exam tests whether you document the decision trail, not just the treatment, and whether your reassessment plan can actually show change.
432 words, about 2 min