New Assessments To Prevent Injuries Now Available To High School Sports Teams, Other Patients In Atlantic County

NORTHFIELD, N.J., Feb. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Physical therapist Ryan Buccafurni with Fox Outpatient Rehabilitation in Northfield has completed a certification in Functional Movement Systems. The designation is rare among practitioners in this region. Professional sports organizations use FMS to identify athletes at risk of injury and prevent injuries before they occur. FMS is also used to help determine the most beneficial exercises to return athletes to peak performance.

"The FMS designation is considered very desirable among orthopedic physicians and sports medicine physicians," says Buccafurni, who is a doctor of physical therapy. "We've wanted for a long time to be able to offer FMS to athletes and others in Atlantic County."

Buccafurni's work was recently featured on NBC40. View the story, "Holy Spirit athletes receive pro-style injury assessment," here: http://www.nbc40.net/story/20939364/hs-athletes-receive-pro-style-injury-assessment

Buccafurni's goal is to bring FMS to all high school athletes to help reduce injury risk and improve performance. He is now accepting appointments to assess high school teams, rec teams, and pro teams. To arrange an appointment or find out more about the program, call 609-241-6339.

FMS is a ranking and grading system that documents movement patterns that are key to normal function. By screening these patterns, FMS identifies functional limitations and asymmetries, and creates a baseline to mark progress in therapy. FMS quickly identifies dangerous movement patterns, giving the therapist information needed to fix impairments before they become a serious problem.

Sports medicine physician Brian Sokalsky, D.O, who works with area high schools and club rugby teams, is a big proponent of Fox Rehabilitation bringing FMS to high schools. He calls it "an outstanding screening tool that allows us to find critical muscle weaknesses and imbalances that often lead to common injuries in our athletes. This provides the opportunity to correct them early, keeping our athletes on the playing field instead of in the training room."

Fox Rehabilitation is a private practice of full-time physical, occupational, and speech therapists. Fox was built on the novel foundation of Geriatric House Calls™. Diversification has included outpatient clinics, post-acute care, and pediatric centers with in home therapy. Fox employs more than 700 clinicians serving nine states, including New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina and Indiana. For more, see www.foxrehab.org.

SOURCE Fox Rehabilitation