The concept of functional exercise has had a strong influence on many rehabilitative and training approaches utilized in sports medicine clinics and athletic environments in recent years. A function-based exercise program consists of a series of exercises in which a patient is placed in positions that imitate daily and/or athletic activities while moving in three-dimensional patterns. Our goal at Saint Vincent Sports Medicine is to re-establish patient function and improve quality of daily living by implementing functional exercise as an element of our prevention, performance, treatment initiative.

Following the guidelines below with a functional exercise program will optimize injury rehabilitation:

• Perform the exercises everyday. If you are also participating in formal physical therapy, your home exercise program should be performed on days when you do not have physical therapy.

• Exercises should be performed in a pain-free range of motion. If pain is experienced during a specific exercise, alter the exercise by decreasing the motion range or discontinue the specific exercise.

• Focus on maintaining tightness of your abdominal muscles for correct exercise technique.

• Maintain correct posture during exercise performance.

See the photos and instructions below on how to perform functional exercises.

Core Frontal
Core Sagittal
Core Transverse