Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) Reliability and Proposal of Its Use in Sports.

INTRODUCTION

The Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) is a functional movement assessment method to observe movement restrictions in individuals with known musculoskeletal disorders, although it has also been used to evaluate healthy athletes of different sports.

AIM

The present paper aimed to evaluate the applicability of SFMA in a clinical setting and to verify whether a student can correctly perform it.

METHODS

An introductory and explanatory email was sent to the subjects, containing the instructions needed to produce a video with SFMA evaluation movements. SFMA methodology was then used to analyze the received videos. The results between interobserver and intraobserver agreement were compared to the literature, considered the gold standard methods.

RESULTS

Twenty-eight subjects (17.71 ± 1.96 years aged) were rated. The functional non-painful scenario (FN) has been assigned more frequently by all raters. The student's intra-rater reliability proved to be moderate (Kappa coefficient 0.49). Results for inter-rater reliability showed that the reliability degree between the senior physiotherapist and student before and after their educational path is good (Kappa coefficient 0.60 and 0.62, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study showed SFMA intra-rater reliability to be moderate, while inter-rater reliability can be considered good. These characteristics make it a valuable tool for sport's needs, even when used by students.