Client Assessment and Movement Screening
Screen the whole chain, not the symptom
Assessment in CES is a sequence, and questions test both the order and the interpretation.
- Health risk appraisal - PAR-Q, medical history, medications, prior injury. Any "yes" on the PAR-Q calls for medical clearance before you screen movement.
- Static postural assessment - anterior, lateral, and posterior views against a plumb line. Look for foot flattening or external rotation, knee valgus or varus, anterior or posterior pelvic tilt, excessive lordosis or kyphosis, rounded shoulders, forward head.
- Dynamic assessment - overhead squat, single-leg squat, pushing and pulling assessments, plus flexibility and range-of-motion testing.
- Manual strength and special tests as indicated.
Traps: static posture alone is not diagnostic - a deviation seen standing may vanish under load, and vice versa. Questions often ask you to name the underactive muscle in a pattern, and candidates name the tight one. In lower-crossed syndrome the hip flexors and erector spinae are overactive while gluteus maximus, hamstrings, and abdominals are underactive. In upper-crossed syndrome the pectorals and upper trapezius/levator scapulae are overactive while the deep cervical flexors, lower trapezius, and serratus anterior are underactive.
Rule of thumb: screen up and screen down. Whatever the site of pain, examine the joint above and below - the foot and the hip explain most knee complaints.
Worked example: during an overhead squat the arms fall forward and the heels lift. Arms falling forward points to overactive latissimus dorsi and pectorals with underactive scapular stabilizers; heel lift suggests limited ankle dorsiflexion - so the plan addresses calf and soleus work alongside the upper-body work.