The initial clinical assessment is fundamental for the management of musculoskeletal pathologies. Its aim is to identify the patient’s clinical signs and impairments, and to manage appropriately therapy and prognosis. Many clinical tests have been designed to identify musculoskeletal pathologies. Evidence from the literature suggests that assessing the function of the tissues involved is more informative than administering exclusively pain provocation tests.
The aim of this article is to underline the role of functional assessment in musculoskeletal practice.