What Is a Movement Assessment and Why Does It Matter?
Moving Well Before Moving More
You can be strong, flexible, and cardiovascularly fit — and still move poorly. Dysfunctional movement patterns are surprisingly common, even among experienced athletes. They develop gradually through old injuries, repetitive work postures, training imbalances, or simply years of compensating around a limitation you never noticed.
A movement assessment identifies these hidden patterns before they cause pain or injury.
What Happens During a Movement Assessment
At Apex Performance & Health in Mississauga, our kinesiologists use a structured evaluation that typically takes 45-60 minutes.
1. Health and Activity History
We start by understanding your training background, injury history, work demands, and goals. A competitive powerlifter and an office worker who jogs on weekends have very different movement demands — the assessment reflects that.
2. Functional Movement Screening
This involves standardized movement patterns that reveal how your body coordinates basic tasks:
- Overhead squat — tests ankle, hip, and thoracic mobility plus core stability
- Single-leg balance — reveals side-to-side asymmetries in hip strength and ankle control
- Hurdle step — evaluates hip flexor and gluteal function during single-leg stance
- Shoulder mobility — checks for rotator cuff restrictions
- Active straight leg raise — assesses hamstring length and pelvic stability
Each pattern is scored and compared against established norms for your age and activity level.
3. Sport-Specific Testing
For athletes, we add tests relevant to their sport. A runner might get a gait analysis. A golfer gets rotational power assessment. A basketball player gets vertical jump and landing mechanics evaluation.
4. Results and Program Design
The assessment produces a clear picture of your strengths and limitations. Your kinesiologist then designs a corrective exercise program that targets your specific deficits — not generic exercises from a template.
Who Should Get a Movement Assessment?
- Athletes preparing for a season — identify and correct weaknesses before training intensity increases
- Anyone with recurring injuries — the same muscle keeps getting strained because something upstream or downstream is not doing its job
- Desk workers with chronic pain — poor posture creates predictable compensation patterns
- People returning from injury — ensure your body has rebuilt proper movement patterns, not just strength
- Fitness enthusiasts hitting plateaus — movement dysfunction limits force production
The Difference It Makes
A patient who came to Apex with chronic hamstring strains discovered through movement assessment that her glutes were not activating properly during running. The hamstrings were overworking to compensate. Six weeks of targeted glute activation exercises eliminated the recurring strains — no direct hamstring treatment needed.
This is the value of looking at the whole movement system rather than just the painful spot.
Get Assessed
Book a movement assessment at Apex Performance & Health. Call (905) 481-4972 or visit apexperformancehealth.janeapp.com to schedule with our kinesiologist.