Quick Take
Recurring injuries often aren’t caused by bad luck or a single injury. They’re the result of hidden movement patterns. A movement screening identifies mobility restrictions, muscle imbalances, stability deficits, and compensation patterns that can lead to ongoing pain and repeated injuries. By understanding how your body moves as a whole, you can improve performance, reduce your risk of future injuries, and recover with greater confidence.
Questions We’ll Answer
If you’ve ever wondered:
- Why do I keep getting injured?
- Why does the same injury keep coming back?
- What is a movement screening?
- How do I know if I’m moving properly?
- Can poor movement cause pain even if nothing is injured?
- How can I prevent future sports injuries?
- Is a movement screening worth it if I’m not currently in pain?
This article explains how movement screening identifies hidden movement dysfunctions before they become bigger problems and how correcting those patterns can help you move better, perform better, and stay injury-free.
If you’ve asked yourself any of these questions, you’re in the right place. Let’s start with a story that illustrates why the answer isn’t always as straightforward as it seems.
Marcus has been playing recreational hockey in Winnipeg for fifteen years. He’s not a professional athlete, just a guy who loves the game and skates two nights a week. Over the past couple of seasons though, something’s been off. His left knee aches after games. His lower back tightens up on long shifts. He’s rolled the same ankle twice in six months.
He went to his doctor. Nothing broken. No serious damage. “Just take it easy for a bit,” he was told.
But Marcus doesn’t want to take it easy. He wants to understand why his body keeps letting him down and what he can actually do about it.
If any part of that sounds familiar, a movement screening might be exactly what you’ve been missing.
The problem with “nothing is wrong”
A standard medical checkup tells you whether something is broken or injured. What it doesn’t tell you is how your body is actually moving, or whether the way you move is quietly setting you up for the next problem.
Most recurring injuries aren’t bad luck. They’re patterns. A hip that doesn’t rotate properly forces the knee to compensate. A tight shoulder changes how you carry your whole upper body. Small imbalances between your left and right side build up over thousands of repetitions until something gives.
That’s exactly what a movement screening is designed to find.
What actually happens during a screening?
When Marcus came in to see us, we didn’t just ask him where it hurt. We watched him move. Squatting, stepping, reaching, rotating. Everyday patterns that reveal a lot about how the body is functioning as a whole.
We were looking for things like:
- Asymmetries: was one side moving differently than the other?
- Restricted joints: where was his body stiff or limited?
- Compensations: was he unconsciously working around a weakness?
- Stability gaps: were the right muscles firing at the right time?
For Marcus, we found limited hip mobility on his left side and a stability gap in his right glute, a combination that was quietly overloading his knee and ankle every time he pushed off on the ice. Nothing was “wrong” in isolation. But together, the pattern told his clear, unique story.
What happens after?
We walked Marcus through exactly what we found, in plain language, not physio-speak. Then we put together a short, targeted exercise plan he could do at home in about fifteen minutes a day.
Six weeks later, he was back on the ice feeling stronger than he had in years. Not because we fixed an injury, but because we found the pattern behind it.
Ready to Move Better?
If you’ve been dealing with nagging injuries that keep coming back, or you just feel like your body isn’t moving the way it should, a movement screening is a great place to start. No referral needed. Just book a physiotherapy assessment online or give us a call at any of our five Elite Sports Injury Winnipeg locations. We’d love to help you find your pattern.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do I keep getting injured?
Recurring injuries are often caused by movement patterns that place repeated stress on the same tissues. Weakness, stiffness, poor mobility, or compensation elsewhere in the body can increase your risk of getting injured again.
What is a movement screening?
A movement screening is a comprehensive assessment that evaluates how your body moves during common movements such as squatting, stepping, reaching, balancing, and rotating. It helps identify movement dysfunctions that may contribute to pain or injury.
Can poor movement cause pain even if nothing is injured?
Yes. Many people experience pain because their body has adapted around weakness, stiffness, or poor movement mechanics. Over time, these compensations overload certain muscles and joints, eventually leading to discomfort or injury.
Who should have a movement screening?
Movement screenings are valuable for athletes, runners, active adults, recreational sports participants, and anyone experiencing recurring injuries, lingering pain, or limitations in movement.
Can a movement screening help prevent injuries?
While no assessment can guarantee injury prevention, identifying and correcting movement dysfunctions can reduce unnecessary stress on the body and lower your risk of recurring injuries.
Do I need to be injured to benefit from a movement screening?
Not at all. Many people use movement screening proactively to improve performance, identify weaknesses, and reduce the likelihood of future injuries before symptoms develop.
What happens after a movement screening?
Your physiotherapist will explain your results in clear, easy-to-understand language and develop a personalized plan to improve mobility, strength, stability, and movement quality based on your individual needs.
Related Reading
- Where Is My Pain Coming From? — Learn why the area that hurts isn’t always the source of the problem.
- Why Does Pain Come Back After Physiotherapy? — Understand why symptoms can return and how to achieve lasting recovery.
- ACL Recovery: What to Really Expect — Learn why rebuilding movement quality is just as important as healing after an ACL injury.