Client Assessment, Screening, and Movement Analysis
Client Assessment, Screening, and Movement Analysis
This domain tests the intake-to-action sequence: gather health information, clear for exercise, observe static alignment, then use dynamic screens to confirm what you saw. The exam favors safe screening, consistent landmarks, and referral over diagnosis.
Core rules
- Start with informed consent, PAR-Q+ or health-history review, medication and injury history, goals, and available equipment. Flag chest pain, dizziness, uncontrolled blood pressure, recent surgery, pregnancy complications, or unexplained symptoms for medical clearance.
- Static assessment uses a plumb line and consistent views: anterior, lateral, posterior. Record landmarks such as ASIS, patella, malleoli, acromion, scapulae, and iliac crests rather than saying 'bad posture.'
- Dynamic screens: overhead squat for bilateral symmetry and total-body mobility/stability; single-leg squat for frontal-plane knee and hip control; push-up and pull-up or row for upper-body scapular and trunk control. Observe from front, side, and back.
- Score what you see: depth, knee tracking, foot flattening, arm position, spinal position, and tempo. Then prioritize the finding that appears in more than one screen.
- Screening is not diagnostic. Positive special tests, pain, swelling, numbness, tingling, or joint instability go to a qualified professional.
Worked example
A client's overhead squat shows feet flatten and knees move inward. From the front, the knees converge; from the side, the heels lift. Reasoning: foot flattening suggests ankle and foot control plus calf tightness; knee valgus suggests hip abductor and external-rotator control. The priority is the ankle restriction plus hip control because both appear in the same pattern. A plan might include calf and plantar fascia inhibition, ankle dorsiflexion mobility, gluteus medius activation, and a squat integration with a stable foot. The trap is chasing the knee only.
Traps
- Calling a screen finding a diagnosis.
- Using one view only.
- Forgetting to reassess after the corrective block.