SFMA in Cricket: What It Is, What It Isn’t, and How We Use It

When cricket hurts, SFMA helps find out why.

Fast bowlers’ backs. Batters’ groins. Keepers’ knees. Cricket is brutal on the body, and the problem isn’t just where it hurts — it’s why. Too often, players chase symptoms, rest for a bit, then break down again.

That’s where the Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) comes in. Put simply, it’s a movement assessment designed for athletes with pain. Instead of guessing, it digs into how you move, breaks patterns down, and shows whether the real issue is mobility, stability, or compensation somewhere else.

When cricket hurts, SFMA helps find out why.

In this blog, we’ll break down what SFMA is, how it works, how it differs from FMS, the top-tier patterns it uses, and — most importantly — how we apply it in cricket to keep players training and playing without repeat breakdowns.

At Cricket Matters, SFMA is part of every Performance Analysis when pain shows up. And if a player comes to us because of pain, it’s the framework we use to spot the real driver and build a roadmap back to pain-free cricket.

FMS vs SFMA — What’s the Difference?

The two systems work hand in hand, but they’re not the same tool.

FMS is for athletes who are pain-free. It’s a simple screen of seven movements, scored out of 21, that shows how cleanly you move and where you might be compensating. Think of it as a fitness MOT — it tells you what’s running smoothly and what might need tuning.

SFMA is for athletes with pain. Instead of numbers, it classifies each movement into four categories:

• Functional, Non-Painful (FN)
• Functional, Painful (FP)
• Dysfunctional, Non-Painful (DN)
• Dysfunctional, Painful (DP)

That classification tells us whether the issue is a mobility problem, a stability problem, or a painful dysfunction that needs attention. In plain English: SFMA is the diagnostic test drive when the warning lights are flashing.

Cricket example: A bowler comes in with back pain. An FMS might show an asymmetry in the squat pattern. Useful, but broad. Run the same bowler through SFMA, and you might discover the lumbar pain is actually being driven by stiff thoracic rotation or poor hip control. That’s the power of SFMA — it doesn’t stop at “you move poorly,” it shows you why.

SFMA is the diagnostic test drive when the warning lights are flashing.

How an SFMA Session Runs

At Cricket Matters, we use SFMA when pain shows up — either because an athlete walks in with a problem, or because their FMS screen flagged something we need to dig deeper into. Where FMS gives us a baseline, SFMA tells us why the body is breaking down.

The session always starts at the top and works down through the body. The “top-tier patterns” cover the big movements: neck mobility, shoulder reach, spine flexion and rotation, single-leg balance, and a deep squat with arms by your side. These aren’t fitness tests — they’re movement checks. The goal is to see whether you can move cleanly, whether you compensate, and whether pain shows up along the way.

Each pattern is scored with a simple system:

• FN – Functional, Non-painful
• FP – Functional, Painful
• DN – Dysfunctional, Non-painful
• DP – Dysfunctional, Painful

Think of it like a traffic light. Green (DN) means you’ve found the weak link that needs fixing. Yellow (FP/DP) means pain is present, so it gets noted but treated later. Red (acute pain) has to be cleared first before anything else.

There are a few ground rules. No warm-ups. No shoes. Simple demonstrations only. The point is to see how you move, not how you perform after loosening up.

And here’s the crucial part: every screen gets re-tested. If we intervene — say, a thoracic mobility drill or hip activation — we check again immediately. That way we know whether the change worked, rather than guessing.

Take a fast bowler with low-back pain. FMS might show a poor deep squat or lunge. SFMA lets us dig deeper and discover the real driver — often stiff thoracic rotation forcing the lumbar spine to compensate. Fix the right link, and the back pain starts to ease. Potentially.

The Top-Tier SFMA Patterns

The SFMA starts with five “top-tier” patterns. These are big-picture movement checks. They don’t measure strength or fitness — they simply reveal whether you can move cleanly, whether compensations show up, and whether pain is present.

Cervical Spine (Neck)

Assesses flexion, extension, and rotation of the neck. This shows whether the cervical spine can move fully and symmetrically without pain.

Upper Extremity (Shoulders)

Two patterns are tested: medial rotation with extension, and lateral rotation with flexion. Together, they show whether the shoulders have full mobility and control through combined motions.

Multi-Segmental Movements (Spine)

Checks flexion, extension, and rotation of the spine as a whole. These patterns reveal whether the trunk can move smoothly in large ranges or whether restrictions or compensations occur.

Single-Leg Stance

Assesses balance and control when standing on one leg. This test shows whether the body can maintain upright posture without wobbling, shifting, or losing alignment.

Arms-Down Deep Squat

Evaluates total-body mobility and coordination. With arms at the sides, you squat as low as possible — this reveals how well the ankles, knees, hips, and spine work together.

SFMA Breakouts — Finding the True Cause

The power of SFMA is in the “breakouts.” Once a top-tier pattern shows a problem, we don’t stop there — we break the movement down piece by piece to find out why.

The process is simple but systematic:

• Active vs. passive: Can you move it yourself, and does it change when we move it for you?
• Isolate body parts: Take out the ankles, then the hips, then the spine, until the weak link shows up.
• Mobility vs. stability: If range is limited both actively and passively, it’s a mobility dysfunction (MD) — a joint, soft tissue, or mobility issue. If range is fine passively but breaks down when you move it actively, it’s a stability/motor control dysfunction (SMCD) — a control or coordination problem.

In cricket, this is where the system really earns its value:

• A fast bowler with low-back pain might look like a lumbar issue, but the breakout shows passive hip internal rotation is limited — the hips are stiff, and the back is compensating.
• A batter with groin pain might have good passive hip rotation, but when asked to rotate actively under load, the pattern fails — pointing to a stability/control problem, not a pure mobility issue.

The key message: pain is often just the symptom. SFMA helps us find the true driver, whether it’s stiffness, weakness, or poor coordination — so we don’t waste time treating the wrong thing.

Key SFMA Concepts That Matter in Cricket

Three principles underpin how we use SFMA:

1. Regional interdependence — pain often comes from somewhere else.
2. Mobility before control — earn range, then stabilise it.
3. Rebuild in sequence — restore patterns the way the body first learned them.

In practice, this means a sore shoulder may actually be a thoracic spine issue. Low-back pain in bowlers often comes from tight hips. That’s regional interdependence — one joint failing because another isn’t pulling its weight.

Mobility always comes first. You can’t stabilise what you can’t move. Bowlers who lack hip or thoracic rotation simply load their lumbar spine harder, and it’s no surprise stress fractures follow.

And when pain strips away clean movement, we rebuild step by step: breathe, roll, crawl, stand. It looks simple, but it’s how the nervous system relearns control.

Why does this matter in cricket? Because the game is brutally repetitive. Bowlers repeat the same action hundreds of times. Batters rotate through hips and groins all season. Keepers squat for hours. Poor movement doesn’t just look awkward — it breaks down under load. Compensation always collects a price.

Who Should Take an SFMA Test?

The SFMA was never built for one narrow group. Since its creation, it’s been used across elite sport, the military, firefighters, and everyday athletes — anyone who needs to move and perform despite pain.

Unlike the FMS, which screens pain-free athletes, SFMA is specifically for players already dealing with discomfort.

In cricket, that means three main groups benefit most:

• Juniors (around 14+)
  We generally begin screening from this age. Below that, younger players often don’t have the motor control or body awareness to complete every pattern cleanly, so simpler movement screens are better. From mid-teens onwards, SFMA helps spot red flags early — before workload and repetition create chronic problems.
• Senior players
  As the years add up, mobility declines and compensations creep in. An SFMA highlights where movement is breaking down, guiding targeted maintenance that keeps experienced players durable and extending careers.
• Return-to-play after injury
  Essential. Clearing pain is not the same as being ready to play. The SFMA shows whether you can move well enough — not just pain-free — to handle bowling, batting, and fielding demands again.

Bottom line: if you’re a cricketer dealing with pain, SFMA gives the roadmap. It’s not about age — it’s about need.

What Conditions Does SFMA Help With?

The SFMA isn’t about slapping a medical label on an injury — it’s about finding the functional cause behind the pain. Where a scan or X-ray shows the structure, the SFMA shows the function. It answers the “why” behind the breakdown: is it mobility loss, poor stability, or a compensation hiding somewhere else?

In cricket, that makes it invaluable for recurring problems:

• Low back pain in fast bowlers → often linked to stiff hips or limited thoracic rotation.
• Chronic groin/adductor pain in batters → may be more about stability under load than pure mobility loss.
• Shoulder overload in throwers and bowlers → cuff irritation that traces back to poor scapular control or thoracic stiffness.
• Knee pain in keepers and all-rounders → patellar or quad tendon pain aggravated by restricted ankle mobility or weak hips.

What SFMA gives isn’t a diagnosis in the medical sense — it’s a functional diagnosis. A clear map of whether the problem is mobility, stability, or motor control. That clarity guides smarter treatment, sharper training, and ultimately a safer return to play.

How Long Does an SFMA Assessment Take?

An SFMA isn’t a quick box-tick — it’s a deep dive into how you move when pain is in the picture. A full assessment typically runs 45–90 minutes, depending on how many breakouts are needed.

• Initial session: Always starts with the top-tier patterns. If pain or dysfunction shows up, we drill deeper with breakouts until the real driver is clear. You leave with a plan, not just a score.
• Follow-ups and re-tests: Much shorter. These are used to check whether the intervention worked, retest the pattern, and adjust the plan.

Think of the first assessment as the map, and the re-tests as checkpoints along the way — making sure you’re not just out of pain, but back to moving the way cricket demands.

How We Use SFMA in Cricket at Cricket Matters

At Cricket Matters, we never guess — we assess. That’s why SFMA always runs alongside FMS. If a player moves without pain, we begin with the FMS to establish their baseline. If pain shows up, SFMA kicks in to uncover what’s really driving it.

The system’s strength lies in its consistency. Every coach and therapist here is trained in both FMS and SFMA. That means no mixed messages, no wasted weeks, and no confusion about what’s causing the problem. Everyone speaks the same language and works off the same roadmap.

Here’s how it plays out:

• A bowler comes in with low-back pain.
• SFMA flags thoracic stiffness as the root driver.
• FMS shows poor squat mobility, confirming limited movement patterns elsewhere.
• The strength coach designs a load plan.
• The physio restores thoracic mobility.
• The skills coach adjusts the bowling action to reduce strain.

That’s the value of a system. SFMA isn’t just a test — it’s the framework that links physio, strength, and skill coaching into one plan. And in cricket, that’s how you stop chasing symptoms and start building results that last.

The players who last aren’t the ones who push through — they’re the ones who rebuild and adjust.

Final Word: SFMA Assess, Don’t Guess

The Selective Functional Movement Assessment isn’t magic. It won’t add runs to your total or pace to your bowling overnight. What it does is more valuable: it gives us a framework to uncover what’s really driving pain.

When pain is present, technique changes. Bowlers collapse at the crease. Batters keep falling over to the offside. Keepers can’t stay low. These compensations keep you on the field in the short term but load the wrong tissues in the long run. That’s why the same problems keep coming back.

The players who last aren’t the ones who “push through.” They’re the ones who screen, rebuild, and adjust. They spot the weak link, fix it, and get back to moving the way they should.

If you’ve got a niggle that won’t shift, or pain that keeps creeping into your game, SFMA could be the missing link.

Book a Performance Analysis or an Injury Assessment with one of our therapists at Cricket Matters, and let’s find out what’s really going on.

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