Game Changers - Function

In the first three Game Changer postings we focused on national trends that are driving the US health agenda today and that will continue to do so well into the future – an aging population that requires more health care, a growing inability of the nation to pay for that healthcare, and an obesity epidemic that harms health and further increases cost.


Game Changer number 4 is about “Function” or more specifically Applied Functional Science* (AFS). AFS represents a common element that influences the first three game changers.


Function is defined as, “the action for which a person is particularly fitted or employed”. Function is, “the actions for which a person exists”. Function is about normal and specific contributions to the ability to survive and thrive in one’s own life and in the lives of others.


Function is about the “ings” of life – the foundations of walking, sitting, bending, lifting, pushing, etc., and the integration with working in the garden, playing a round of golf, feeding the family, picking-up the grandchildren, and going on vacation. It is the ings that put joy in living. The ings are about functioning. AFS is about the science of functioning – the language of life.


Life is in the doing. Doing is Function. Function is performing successfully in all of life’s demands – work, rest, play, and pleasure. Function is about personal independence, competitive opportunity, and life’s rewards.


Medicine is oriented toward organic disease. The term “Functional symptom” is used by medicine to describe symptoms that have no visible organic basis, suggesting a nonorganic cause, the most common of which is mechanical malfunction – the unique domain of AFS. Interestingly most physicians, therapists, and chiropractors are not trained in AFS.


There are three important aspects to understanding Function:


1. Function represents a sequence of relationships in which one thing depends upon another – think complex biomechanical chain reactions within the body and between the body and its environment.


2. Function pertains to actions and activities that when applied, perform as expected to accomplish the intended purpose – think individualized testing and training under authentic conditions.


3. Function refers forward from the object or process, along some chain of causation to the goal and success – think scientific method and efficacy.


Today’s US health crisis is driven largely by lifestyles and aging. Experts agree that the lack of exercise poses a greater health risk than obesity or smoking. Physical impairment is the primary antecedent to institutional care. The loss of Functional independence is a major driver of healthcare costs and continues to escalate with demographics. The healthcare community, payers, and public has yet to fully understand AFS and differentiate it from traditional intervention, rehabilitation, and fitness training services.


It is a costly oversight – one whose cost is measured both in dollars and in quality of life.


Function utilizes structured, individualized testing and exercise as its primary modality. Generic exercise has no more efficacy than generic surgery. The success of surgery is dependent upon the accuracy of the diagnosis, the appropriateness of the surgical procedure, and the skill of the surgeon. And so it is with Functional Exercise.


To gain some context, consider the three most common complaints that people have when seeking primary health services:


1. I can’t do... what I need/want to do. It’s an ing thing.
2. It hurts when... I do this or that. Another ing thing.
3. I’m afraid that... I won’t be able to do. Again, an ing thing.


People seek professional help when there is something that limits their ings, their doings. It’s all about functioning. In fact, neuro-muscular-skeletal conditions are second only to upper respiratory conditions for those seeking treatment at primary care health centers. Oh and there’s a serious shortage of primary care physicians in the US... hmmm, sounds like an opportunity.


AFS deals with the science, principles, and strategies of biomechanical movement and performance. AFS lies at the intersection of biomechanics, physical medicine and rehabilitation, chiropractic, personal and athletic training, and human performance. Its application encompasses injury prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, fitness, training, and wellness.


As the three primary colors are to all of art, as seven notes are to all of music, and as five amino acids are the building blocks of all life, as 10 numbers are to all of mathematics, as 27 letters are to all of English literature and science, so AFS is to all of human movement. AFS is the Rosetta Stone of function. AFS is the language of movement and the foundation of functional fluency.


AFS holds important implications for aging baby-boomers wishing to remain independent, for workers needing to be productive, for athletes striving to excel in competition, for national health struggling financially, for those overweight striving for better health.


Over the past two decades the term functional has entered the mainstream of sports, rehabilitation, athletic and personal training, and human performance. It seems everything is functional this or functional that. It’s become a hollow fade. It’s one thing to talk the talk but another to walk the walk.
Unfortunately the term functional has become a marketing buzz-word with little substance outside of AFS. Like other marketing terms such as sale, special, limited time offer, and life time guarantee; the promise, potential, and potency of functional has been diminished through misunderstanding, misuse, abuse, and yes, ignorance and exploitation.


In contrast to the “fads” of function are the “facts” of function. The fact is that the systematic and faithful implementation of functional principles produces the high value results that are needed to provide the stable, scalable, and sustainable solutions that are demanded by the challenges associated with seniors, national healthcare expense, and obesity.


There is a tremendous public service and professional business opportunity in function. It has the power to transform lives, practices, and professions. It is this fourth trend that counters the previously discussed three trends.


AFS principles are truths that cut through the trends. AFS is a true Game Changer. Those who are AFS leaders rather than followers possess a unique competitive advantage that is not easily diminished.


*Note: Applied Functional Science (AFS) is taught to health professionals by the Gray Institute through its GIFT distance learning mentoring program and its Chain Reaction Seminar Series.


In the next post I’ll share my “crystal ball” predictions of what impact the four Game Changer trends will have on the practices of therapists and trainers....


Bob


(c) Copyright 2009
Performance Builders