What Is A Functional Assessment?

"Implementing functional assessments can lead to breakthroughs with clients who have struggled to find solutions to aches, pains, and strength plateaus.”

Are you ready to unlock the true potential of your health and fitness career? Then let's talk about how functional assessments can unleash your full potential.

At the Exercise Therapy Association, functional assessments are the foundation of our system because they hold the key to getting the best results possible.

But what exactly is a functional assessment?

The short answer… It's a tool that provides you with the most powerful information in the most efficient way.

Function, in simple terms, means that your body operates properly and effectively. It means you can activate your muscles in the correct pattern when you need them to, providing stability and strength under stress, force, or load.

When your body lacks function, it can lead to compensation patterns in movement and muscle recruitment, which can result in severe consequences such as wear and tear, pain, and even injury. That's why assessing for function is essential for any health and fitness professional.

At Exercise Therapy, we've found that compromised function is often a result of being out of proper postural alignment.  When you are not in the prime anatomical position, it can change the length-tension relationships in your muscles, impact neural conductivity, and even put your joints in vulnerable positions.

It’s essential to understand, assessing for function does not mean you're assessing for strength. It's about muscular recruitment, not strength of a muscle. A 300 pound powerlifter who bench presses a house will still fail functional assessments if they are not in prime anatomical position.

However, functional assessments can reveal if some underlying muscles are not doing their job, and if you correct the underlying compensation pattern, you might find they will quickly be able to blast through their plateau and achieve new personal best strength records.  Functional assessments can help strong people become stronger!

Why should you make functional assessments a critical part of your system?

For starters, the top professionals in the industry are already using them. And let's face it, success leaves clues.

Additionally, functional assessments are fast and reliable, helping you get to the underlying root cause of your clients' concerns. They also serve as a feedback loop that gives you success indicators within minutes. This instills the confidence that you're on the right track to help you achieve peak performance.

Implementing functional assessments can lead to breakthroughs with clients who have struggled to find solutions to aches, pains, and strength plateaus. It’s been one of the biggest keys for us and our students, helping countless people get back to prime anatomical position, become pain-free, and achieve their goals when other methods have failed.

So, are you ready to take your skills and services to the next level?

Then learning to assess for function is a must. Unlock the true potential of your career by making functional assessments a critical part of your professional toolkit.

Commit to being the best you can be. Let's transform lives together!