How We Use Functional Movement Training To Get Incredible Results
Call Now For A $19 New Patient Exam, Consultation, And Treatment Special
Functional Movement Training (FMT)
Functional Movement Training (FMT) is the system of therapy and muscular activation we use as part of our Quadrant of Care.
What Is Functional Movement Training?
When we say “Functional Movement Training”, we are talking about a set of principles and concepts that drive proper muscular motor patterns. It’s an entire suite of tools that our trainers use to help patients get results, and includes both active training, specific stretching, myofascial release techniques, and other techniques that our trainers use to address a patient’s specific challenges and goals. The key word is “functional”, in that everything you do in this program is designed to help you function better outside this program.
In the FMT Quadrant, we utilize this specific exercise philosophy to help our patients get extraordinary results by focusing on movement patterns.
What Does FMT Help?
The story of pain looks like this:
- The body, through injury or poor habit, develops poor movement patterns.These poor movement patterns are dysfunctional – meaning, the body is being utilized in a way that the muscle or joint should not be utilized. The pattern is unsustainable, and will result in pain and/or injury.
- The body is forced to compensate; this compensation creates additional dysfunction.
- The cycle continues until proper movement patterns are retrained and established.
And that is exactly when we use FMT – when we need to retrain proper movement patterns, create core stability, and help patients get back to moving without pain or discomfort!
Is There Any Science To Back Up FMT?
The science behind Functional Movement Training demonstrates the ability to prevent injury, increase flexibility, and produce results that are desirable to a patient.
In this study, it was found that there is good reason to believe that Myofascial Release produces benefits to patients.
This study showed how Myofascial Release helped dramatically in both pain and disability.
Next, is Functional Movement concepts applied to a system of exercise. This study on baseball players demonstrated a significant improvement of both strength and flexibility in a relatively short period of time.
This study encourages all Physical Therapists to incorporate more Functional Movement screening methods into their practice – and measure success to those screening results (which is exactly what we do).
Finally, this study links functional movement test scoring with injury predictability. And this study shares the connection between functional movement scores and injuries.
And of course, we have our unofficial studies (our experiences with patients) who confirm how well Functional Movement Training works for them, and helps them get their lives back!
Functional Movement Training is one of the most effective tools we have for not only correcting pain (by correcting movement), but also avoiding future injury by putting in place good habits and motor patterns that will serve anyone doing anything involving movement.
What Does An FMT Program Look Like?
Our Functional Movement Training Program is designed to work in three phases:
PHASE 1 – PAIN RELIEF. Normally, a patient starts FMT with a certain amount of pain. It could be in their back, knee, shoulder, neck, hips, or elsewhere. In Phase 1, we want to address the underlying issues that may be causing the pain, with a focus on improving mobility and stability.
PHASE 2 – PROPER MOVEMENT. In this phase, we want to learn how to move correctly, with the right muscles firing and providing stability to the movement. They body has to know how to move properly before we load it with resistance. This is the big secret of injury – LOADING DYSFUNCTION. If you load a dysfunctional movement pattern, injury is a certainty, it’s just a matter of time. Go to a gym and watch the form of the people working out. You’ll see compensating movement patterns all around you, and they will all be loaded with resistance (weights). Those are all injuries that WILL happen, it’s just a matter of time.
PHASE 3 – LOADED MOVEMENT. At this point, we have our muscles working properly, moving well, and firing as they should. We are at a place where we can move, and move properly. In this phase we strengthen those movements by loading them. This is simply adding resistance. Proper movement does not need tremendous loading to produce tremendous results. At this point, the sky is the limit with how far someone wants to go!
TAKEAWAY: Functional Movement Training (FMT) is an incredible part of our Quadrant of Care, and has helped many regain healthy movement and achieve their goals.
Our offer to you: If you’d like to come in, see one of our doctors to discuss Functional Movement Training, or how Chiropractic Care or Functional Medicine might support your body, then you can do so by calling now to claim our $19 new patient special. Simply select the location you want to visit, give us a call, and we’ll look forward to meeting you!
