Performance of high school male athletes on the Functional Movement Screen™

Objectives: (1) Describe the performance of the Functional Movement Screen (TM) (FMS (TM)) by reporting the proportion of adolescents with a score of <14 and the frequency of asymmetries in a cross-sectional sample; (2) explore associations between FMS (TM) to age and body mass, and explore the construct validity of the FMS (TM) against common postural stability measures; (3) examine the inter-rater and test-retest reliability of the FMS (TM) in adolescents. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Field-setting. Participants: 94 male high-school athletes. Main outcome measure: The FMS (TM), Y-Balance Test (YBT) and Balance Error Scoring System (BESS). Results: The median FMS (TM) composite score was 16 (9-21), 33% of participants scored below the suggested injury risk cutoff composite score of <= 14, and 62.8% had at least one asymmetry. No relationship was observed between the FMS (TM) to common static/dynamic balance tests. The inter-rater reliability of the FMS (TM) composite score suggested good reliability (ICC = 0.88, CI 95%:0.77, 0.94) and test-retest reliability for FMS (TM) composite scores was good with ICC = 0.83 (CI 95%:0.56, 0.95). Conclusions: FMS (TM) results should be interpreted cautiously with attention to the asymmetries identified during the screen, regardless of composite score. The lack of relationship between the FMS (TM) and other balance measures supports the notion that multiple screening tests should be used in order to provide a comprehensive picture of the adolescent athlete. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.