The Safe Functional Motion test is reliable for assessment of functional movements in individuals at risk for osteoporotic fracture

The Safe Functional Motion (SFM) test is a performance-based tool developed to assess functional movements in individuals at risk for osteoporotic fracture. The purpose of this study was to determine the test–retest and inter-rater reliability of the scores on the short form of the SFM test (SFM-SF). A secondary objective was to evaluate the construct convergent validity of the balance domain. Community-dwelling adults with low bone mass (n = 36) completed the SFM-SF on two occasions. During one visit, SFM-SF performance was scored by two testers and additional tests of balance (Timed Up and Go (TUG), Berg Balance Scale (BERG), and Community Balance and Mobility Scale (CBMS)) were completed. Test–retest and inter-rater reliability of the SFM-SF score is excellent (intraclass correlation coefficient ≥ 0.90), and the balance domain score demonstrates acceptable associations with established clinical measures of balance (Spearman’s rho = −0.69, 0.76, and 0.83 for TUG, BERG, and CBMS, respectively). SFM-SF provides reliable measures of functional movements in community-dwelling individuals at risk for osteoporotic fracture.