Pre-Participation Screening: The Use of Fundamental Movements as an Assessment of Function – Part 1

To prepare an athlete for the wide variety of activities needed to participate in their sport, the analysis of fundamental movements should be incorporated into pre-participation screening in order to determine who possesses, or lacks, the ability to perform certain essential movements. In a series of two articles, the background and rationale for the analysis of fundamental movement will be provided. In addition, one such evaluation tool that attempts to assess the fundamental movement patterns performed by an individual, the Functional Movement Screen (FMS™), will be described. Three of the seven fundamental movement patterns that comprise the FMS™ are described in detail in Part I: deep squat, hurdle step, and in-line lunge. Part II of this series, which will be published in the August issue of NAJSPT, will provide a brief review of the analysis of fundamental movements, as well a detailed description of the four additional patterns that complement those presented in Part I (to complete the total of seven fundamental movement patterns which comprise the FMS™): shoulder mobility, active straight leg raise, trunk stability push-up, and rotary stability. The intent of this two part series is to introduce the concept of the evaluation of fundamental movements, whether it is the FMS™ system or a different system devised by another clinician. Such a functional assessment should be incorporated into pre-participation screening in order to determine whether the athlete has the essential movements needed to participate in sports activities with a decreased risk of injury.