FMS

Injury-Proofing Your Body With The Functional Movement Screen 

During the 2007 NFL season, the Atlanta Falcons suffered seven devastating season-ending injuries. In 2008, the team had a complete turn-around, suffering only one minor injury in the post-season. What changed? Their new athletic performance director, Jeff Fish, shifted the team’s training focus from raw power and size to functional strength and stability by instituting the Functional Movement Screen.

The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) is an evidence-based exercise philosophy developed by Gray Cook, one of the world’s most respected injury-prevention specialists. According to Cook, the primary cause of athletic injuries is neither weakness nor tightness, but rather muscle imbalance.  Raw strength does not equal functional strength, and ignoring whole-body stability in favour of isolated muscle mass and power is a recipe for disaster.

Exercising muscles in isolation will change their shape and size, but it’s not likely to make your body any safer from injury. Working basic body movements, however, will strengthen muscles and make movement safer, whether it’s doing gymnastics or lifting a laundry basket.

Want proof that Cook knows what he’s talking about? During the 2007 NFL season, after Cook introduced the concept to the Bears and Colts during the off-season, both teams utilized the FMS to successfully keep their athletes healthy and both went on to make appearances in the Super Bowl. Athletes throughout the NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA, as well as Special Ops military personnel, now spend millions annually for trainers specializing in FMS to keep themselves injury-free.

So what is the Functional Movement Screen? It’s a set of seven fundamental movement patterns that can be evaluated to identify movement limitations and left/right muscle asymmetries. It’s a trouble-detection system to prevent injuries before they happen.

The tests are:

1. Deep Squat (Lower Body): Used to assess symmetrical and functional mobility of the hips, knees, and ankles.
2. Hurdle Step (Lower Body): Gauges stability and functional mobility of the hips, knees, and ankles.
3. In-Line Lunge (Lower Body): Used to assess torso, shoulder, hip and ankle stability and mobility, quadriceps flexibility, and knee stability.
4. Shoulder Mobility (Upper Body): Assesses shoulder range of motion as well as shoulder blade mobility.
5. Straight Leg Raiser (Lower Body): Gauges functional hamstring and calf flexibility while maintaining a stable pelvis.
6. Trunk Stability Push-Up (Upper/Lower Body
   ): Used to assess symmetrical core stability.
7. Rotary Stability (Upper/Lower Body): Assesses core stability in combination with upper and lower body mobility.

These tests place the individual in extreme positions where weaknesses and right/left imbalances become easily noticeable if appropriate stability and muscle balance is not present.  It also provides a clear baseline to mark progress and measure performance during an exercise program.

Lindsay Way, Coach, Mobility & Recovery

breakingmuscle.com/fitness/injury-proofing-your-body-with-the-functional-movement-screen