TECHNICAL PROFICIENCY IN MOVEMENT QUALITY 

“First move well, and then move often” – Cook, Gray (2011)

The FMS - Functional Movement Screen is a ranking and scoring system consisting of seven tests and a final score, which evaluates movement patterns requiring a balance between mobility and stability. It was developed in 1995 in the USA by American physiotherapist Gray Cook and physical trainer Lee Burton and has become the most widely used Functional Movement Assessment in the world.

This is a quick and easy seven-step assessment designed for athletes and active people of all ages that will determine functional limitations, asymmetries, and faulty movement patterns that may determine the potential risk of injury.

This functional screening aims to detect muscular imbalances and individualize preventive exercises to decrease the incidence of injury. The body will compensate if the imbalance is not identified, causing inefficient movements. This type of inefficiency can cause a decrease in performance and increase the mechanisms to develop an injury.

Currently, training centers of the major North American sports leagues (NFL and NBA), as well as national teams and soccer teams from all over the world, have this evaluation method in their planning.

Therefore, FMS offers effective tools to identify and improve poor or compensatory patterns that may compromise the body and its healthy movement, promoting corrective exercise strategies based on the final test score, which facilitates the development of specific programs for the evaluated individual to gain mobility and stability.

BENEFITS OF FMS

• Individualized corrective exercise programs;
• Determines the starting point for corrective and functional exercises;
• Customized training;
• Identifies and resolves changes in movement pattern, mobility, and stability;
• Eliminates pain and body problems in a lasting way;
• Reference to observe the evolution and prevention of injuries;
• Improves strength and physical conditioning.