Functional Movement Screening Explained
What a functional movement screen is, why physios use one, and what each test reveals about your real-world mobility, stability, and injury risk.
The short answer
A functional movement screen is a short, standardized set of full-body tests designed to expose where your body is restricted, unstable, or compensating — before that weak link turns into pain or injury.
Why physios use it
Pain rarely starts where it hurts. A stiff ankle can wreck a squat, a sleepy glute can overload a low back, and a tight thoracic spine can stress a shoulder. A screen finds the source, not just the symptom.
What SmartyMove screens
Deep squat, hip hinge, active straight-leg raise, shoulder mobility, and in-line lunge. Each one targets a specific joint and motor pattern.
What you do with the results
SmartyMove clusters your failures into at most two root causes (Ankle, Hip, Core, or Scapular) and builds a 14-day program around them — so you train the limiter, not a generic mobility routine.