University Offers Training for Level 2 Functional Movement System Certification

A four-day workshop in May will offer participants the knowledge necessary to gain advanced certification in Functional Movement Screening and Selective Functional Movement Assessment.

The University of Arkansas graduate athletic training education program has scheduled Level 2 workshops May 17-20 at the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Building on the Fayetteville campus as a follow-up to Level 1 workshops offered a year ago.

Physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, physical therapists, athletic trainers, strength and conditioning coaches, coaches and students are invited to return to campus to take their skills to the next level. Physicians’ Specialty Hospital will present the second annual Razor Fitness Spring Sports Medicine Workshop in cooperation with the athletic training education program. Participants who completed the Level 1 courses elsewhere are also welcome.

“We are grateful to have the assistance of Physicians’ Specialty Hospital in bringing this next level of expertise to professionals who take care of athletes, including those in high school, college and on professional teams,” said Jeff Bonacci, program coordinator of the athletic training education. “Not only do these courses allow the health-care professional to identify and rehabilitate the injured physically active person's physical movement, they also address preventive measures in non-injured people by assessing lack of movement that could be a precursor to injury. This system is truly the cutting edge of techniques to isolate and correct foundational human movement.”

Functional Movement Screening is a ranking and grading system that documents movement patterns that are key to normal function. By screening these patterns, the health and exercise professional can readily identify functional limitations and asymmetries. These are issues that can reduce the effects of functional training and physical conditioning and distort body awareness.

The Functional Movement Screen Score that is generated is used to target problems and track progress. This scoring system is directly linked to the most beneficial corrective exercises to restore mechanically sound movement patterns.

The four-day workshop will consist of lectures and several hands-on laboratory sessions. Brett Jones of Pittsburgh will present the Functional Movement Screening portion, while Phil Pilsky of Evansville University will present the Selective Functional Movement Assessment portion. They both are certified instructors under the direction of Gray Cook, who developed the system.

Registration includes 26 continuing education units for each course. More information and online registration are available at http://www.functionalmovement.com under Seminars & Events.