Pain Free Movement Specialist
These courses are developed to assist Professionals with the skill needs and requirements of the Fitness Industry Guidelines to maintain Industry currency for registration. This means as a Health & Fitness Professional you are committed to industry standards and ongoing professional development, improvIng your existing skills and developing new ones.
Pain Free Movement Specialist
Level 1 Online Course
The Pain-Free Movement Specialist Course is designed for fitness professionals who want to transform their clients’ lives by addressing chronic pain through movement.This course teaches an evidence-based approach to assess and correct movement dysfunctions that contribute to pain. You’ll learn how to create personalized, corrective exercise programs that help clients move better, reduce pain, and enhance performance. As a certified Pain-Free Movement Specialist, you’ll not only deepen your understanding of movement mechanics but also make a lasting impact on your clients’ well-being, helping them achieve pain-free, functional movement for life.
This is an online, self-paced course delivered by Anthony Carey
All materials are delivered digitally – through a variety of digital mediums, including written material, webinars, videos of sample exercises, PDF’s including Anthony’s book, The Pain-Free Program: A Proven Method to Relieve Back, Neck, Shoulder and Joint Pain.
Comprehension of the material will be measured via a mandatory competency assessment requiring a minimum of 80% correct responses.
Course Author: Anthony Carey
Course Length: 12 Hours
Course
Overview
This online course is specifically designed for those wishing to work with individuals in pain.The Level 1 has six modules, all of which are:
- the foundation that the Pain-Free Movement Specialist (PFMS) stands on.
- How to help eliminate pain by addressing the body as a whole, and that pain is unique to each individual.
- The only exercise-based program designed specifically using a Biopyschosocial approach
- How pain affects the balance of your clients’ physical biology, social interaction, and psychological state.
- How to coach exercise sequencing in a given session based on the clients biological, psychological and emotional readiness.
- How to progress your clients through changing movement patterns and build on their success.
Modules
Biomechanics & Sensory Motor System
1-2
Module 1: Functional Anatomy & Biomechanics: A Unified View
Traditional anatomy and biomechanics have looked at human movement primarily through an isolated frame of reference. In this module, both Anthony and Kevin describe how understanding’ functional’ anatomy and whole-body biomechanics is essential for the movement and manual practitioner to comprehend, and the profound results this understanding can have with any client, patient or athlete.
Module 2: The Sensory Motor System
In an effort to simplify the understanding of human movement, traditional perspectives take stability and mobility and separate them into two completely independent entities. In actuality, stability and mobility never work in isolation. The nervous system is decidedly sophisticated and to comprehend how stability and mobility work together as an interdependent system, one must appreciate how the body gathers information, interprets it and then produces an appropriate response. This intricate process takes place via the sensory-motor system. In this module, Anthony elaborates on the power of the nervous system and dives deep into the principles behind a body-wide “software” system which is essential for understanding sensory-motor integration.
Modules
Coaching the & Function First Approach
3-4
Module 3: Coaching Necessities
What does a successful corrective intervention look like to the client in pain and how can we understand and appreciate how they’ve defined it? A skilled practitioner recognizes how to promptly develop a working relationship with their clientele to understand and appreciate how pain has negatively impacted an individual’s thoughts, feelings and beliefs regarding their movement. Kevin Murray and international speaker Bobby Cappuccio share their expertise on the two domains of relationship; the intrapersonal affiliation we have with ourselves and the interpersonal relationship we must learn how to develop with our clients.
Module 4: The Function First Approach to the Client & Pain
What is pain? What purpose does it serve? How is it the exact same situation can be painful for one person and not another? Here’s the truth: pain is highly complex. There is no “one size fits all” approach. And working with individuals in chronic pain demands a foundational understanding of the biological, psychological and social factors that influence and contribute to an individual’s pain experience. In this module, Anthony will explain pain from a three-dimensional science-based perspective, moving far beyond the traditional lens of muscles and meridians into a vastly more robust and comprehensive analysis.
Modules
Assessments & Programming
5-6
Module 5: The Function First Approach to Movement Assessments
- Written within each of our clients are particular events and circumstances that influence their quality of movement and overall function. The assessment process in this module is fundamental to uncovering what is behind each individual’s unique movement profile. Because what’s “functional” is always specific to the individual, determining which corrective exercises are best suited for a client’s movement autonomy comes from the information gathered through the movement assessments. Anthony maps the Function First Approach to movement assessments and lays the foundation to understanding and interpreting the results.
Module 6: Corrective Exercise Programming Essentials
- Founded on the premise that true restoration and pain-free living lie in addressing the body as a ‘whole’. When it comes to exercise selection and program design, nothing should be left to chance. There must be an ultimate purpose and clear end in mind when selecting exercises and designing corrective programs. Ascending a client through their exercise program from the cognitive to autonomic phases of motor learning provides an optimal environment for clients to maximize their quality of movement. Being able to justify the biomechanical, neurological, physiological and psychological aspects of programming is what elevates a Pain-Free Movement Specialist into an elite category of movement expertise. Within this module, Anthony will expand on the science, principles and framework behind what makes the Function First Approach to corrective exercise programming so successful.
Completion
Pre-Requisites Certification
The Pain Free Movement Specialist Level 1 Course is registered through the American Council on Exercise (ACE), providing valuable continuing education units (CEUs) for fitness professionals. Since ACE is affiliated with AUSactive, Australian professionals can also obtain continuing education credits (CECs) through this course. To claim your CECs, follow these simple steps:
- Complete the course and receive your certification from ACE.
- Submit your ACE certification to AUSactive for credit recognition.
- AUSactive will verify your course completion and award the appropriate CECs.
This streamlined process ensures that fitness professionals in Australia can enhance their credentials while learning evidence-based practices to improve client outcomes. For more information on CEC’s allocations go to https://ausactive.org.au/members/learning-development/what-is-affiliated-education/
course author
Anthony Carey is a renowned expert in movement science, specializing in pain management and functional movement. With over 25 years of experience, he has worked extensively with clients to help them overcome pain, improve mobility, and achieve better overall movement. As the creator of the Pain Free Movement Specialist course, Anthony combines his deep knowledge of biomechanics, neuroplasticity, and therapeutic exercise to provide effective solutions for pain management. His approach focuses on correcting dysfunctional movement patterns to alleviate pain and improve quality of life, empowering professionals to help individuals achieve lasting pain relief and enhanced performance.