Relationship between functional movement screening score and history of injury

Background and aim: The Functional Movement Screen (FMS™) is a screening instrument that evaluates selective fundamental movement patterns. The main aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the FMS™ score and history of injury, and attempt to determine which active students are prone to injury.

Methods: One hundred physically active (50 females and 50 males) students, between 18 and 25 years of age, with no recent (<6 weeks) history of musculoskeletal injury were recruited. All participants performed the FMS™ and were scored using the previously established standardized FMS™ criteria. The chi square, independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and POSTHOC Bonferroni tests were used for data analysis with a preset alpha value of p < 0.05.

Results: Of the 100 subjects, 35 suffered an acute lower extremity (ankle = 20, knee = 15) injury in practice or competition. An odds ratio was calculated at 4.70, meaning that an athlete had an approximately 4.7 times greater chance of suffering a lower extremity injury during a regular competitive season if they scored less than 17 on the FMS™. There were statistical differences between the pre-season FMS™ scores of the injured and non-injured groups, the ankle injury, knee injury, and non-injured groups, and also between contact injury, non-contact injury, and non-injured groups.

Discussion and conclusion: This cross-sectional study provides FMS™ reference values for physically active students, which will assist in the interpretation of individual scores when screening athletes for musculoskeletal injury and performance factors. More research is still necessary before implementing the FMS™ into a pre-participation physical examination (PPE) for athletics, but due to the low cost and its simplicity to implement, it should be considered by clinicians and researchers in the future.

Level of evidence: 2B.