Other/Mixed What happens in an FMS, and what will I gain from it?

[wespom9]

I don't have an opinion on this one way or the other except that anytime someone uses the word "functional" in a general sense my inclination is to stop paying much attention.

A bastardized term, agreed.

Admittedly it makes sense to gauge an individual's base fitness and mobility prior to a program, so in this respect I can see some utility for the novice or on request.

Agreed. What I find the FMS does well (for me) is turns that gauge from subjective to objective.

I have mixed feelings about these movement screens. My first introduction to the FMS was at the NSCA Tactical Strength and Conditioning Conference. The way it was presented there seemed to be a bit ahead of the evidence. It surprised me that they were recommending not allowing individuals to participate in group PT until they reached a certain FMS score. It seemed counterproductive and too much of a stretch.

I too find that there have been many things that have been seen anecdotally but not in a study. That being said, the combination of both has swung my POV in favour of performing the screen when possible.

I am naturally a skeptic and now that there is so much money to be made with the FMS (certifications, equipment) I am a bit cautious. I do believe there is some value to the FMS but how much? I don't really know.

Time will tell I guess. But I like that we are paying much more attention to movement.

Emphasis is mine, and I agree fully. FMS screen or not, it's been a gamechanger for me paying attention to quality over quantity

 

[Shahaf Levin]

A bastardized term, agreed.


Agreed. What I find the FMS does well (for me) is turns that gauge from subjective to objective.



I too find that there have been many things that have been seen anecdotally but not in a study. That being said, the combination of both has swung my POV in favour of performing the screen when possible.



Emphasis is mine, and I agree fully. FMS screen or not, it's been a gamechanger for me paying attention to quality over quantity

I basically just started writing the same post when your poped up...

Just to furthyer support and iterate...

Yeah, funcitonal is a bastardized term... it delyaed me reading Movement by 2-3 months... Core share the same bastardization... A shame for both terms

Time will tell I guess. But I like that we are paying much more attention to movement.

This.

Much more improtant than whos system/screen people use. In his latest post @mprevost listed two more screens - the Movement Competancy Screen and the Prevost Gait Screen. This also what Gray Cook considers FMS greatest achievment in interviews... not the system/screen - the fact that people are paying more attention to movememnt.

 

[mprevost]

Good discussion.

 

[fractal]

To muddy the waters a bit, here is another movement screen system. This one does not require you to buy any equipment and is simple enough that I can't imagine needing a certification:

http://websites.sportstg.com/get_file.cgi?id=1454102

I have mixed feelings about these movement screens. My first introduction to the FMS was at the NSCA Tactical Strength and Conditioning Conference. The way it was presented there seemed to be a bit ahead of the evidence. It surprised me that they were recommending not allowing individuals to participate in group PT until they reached a certain FMS score. It seemed counterproductive and too much of a stretch.

However, I like to do some movement screening and I have found it to be very instructive. When I was doing lots of run gait analysis, I could predict what I was going to see when I watched an athlete run simply by having them do pushups and one legged squats. From those two alone I knew what to look for, and even which side of the body to watch. It helped complete the picture by addressing the "why" when I saw a run gait issue. After watching them run, I often did other movement screening like checking range of motion and stability, depending on what I saw. In other words, watching them run was not enough for me to complete the picture of why they had run gait issues. I found it instructive to do some additional screening.

I am naturally a skeptic and now that there is so much money to be made with the FMS (certifications, equipment) I am a bit cautious. I do believe there is some value to the FMS but how much? I don't really know.

Time will tell I guess. But I like that we are paying much more attention to movement.

I remember seeing this about 6 years ago. I really like it, although I'm surprised the standard for the pushup doesn't include keeping the shoulders at 45 degrees of abduction

 

[mprevost]

I remember seeing this about 6 years ago. I really like it, although I'm surprised the standard for the pushup doesn't include keeping the shoulders at 45 degrees of abduction

I'm more interested in hip control and core strength when I watch pushups. If I see anterior pelvic tilt, it is going to come up again while running and while performing various lifts. I'm not sure that 45 degree abduction works as a screening standard. I agree that it is a better way to do pushups but if someone is not at 45 degrees I am not sure that it is telling us about anything in particular. But I could be wrong about that. Just a thought.

 

[fractal]

I'm more interested in hip control and core strength when I watch pushups. If I see anterior pelvic tilt, it is going to come up again while running and while performing various lifts. I'm not sure that 45 degree abduction works as a screening standard. I agree that it is a better way to do pushups but if someone is not at 45 degrees I am not sure that it is telling us about anything in particular. But I could be wrong about that. Just a thought.

I 100% agree with the hips/APT, but there's also lots of gold to be found with the upper body. I find a higher abduction angle combined with shrugging of the shoulders (which they include as part of the standard) typically patterns shoulder impingement and exposes overuse of the upper traps and other scapular elevators in daily life, which are often predisposing and maintaining factors for shoulder and neck pain.