Inside Info: The Value of a Functional Movement Screen

Your body’s engineering is a marvel. For every movement you make, a complex system of mechanisms — muscles, tendons, ligaments and more — works in complete harmony to make it happen.

But if a movement feels difficult or looks off, it may be worth exploring why.

So, how can you learn more about the way your body moves? An analysis called the Functional Movement Screen™ (FMS) can help identify patterns worth a closer look.

We asked certified sports performance scientist Todd Lewarchick, DPT, to explain.

What is a functional movement screen?

The Functional Movement Screen is a standardized seven-part assessment that looks at how you perform fundamental motions. It provides a snapshot of:

• Balance
• Coordination
• Flexibility
• Stability

The goal is to identify movement limitations or side-to-side differences in your body. The screen itself does not diagnose a cause. Instead, it offers information that can be used to pinpoint possible reasons.

“The screen uses simple movement patterns to see how competently you perform fundamental tasks,” says Dr. Lewarchick. “If something looks limited or different from side to side, that raises useful questions about why.”

By investigating and answering those questions, you may be able to make corrections that eventually boost performance and reduce potential injury risk.

The 7 FMS tests

During an FMS, you’ll be asked to perform seven movement patterns targeting different areas of your body. Together, they provide information about your mobility and stability.

The full series of tests takes about 15 minutes to complete. The seven FMS tests are as follows:

1. Deep squat: Lower yourself into a squat while holding a dowel or stick overhead. The pattern looks at coordinated movement through your hips, knees, ankles, trunk and shoulders.
2. Hurdle step: Step over a hurdle set to a standardized height while holding a dowel across your shoulders. This pattern looks at balance and control while standing on one leg.
3. Inline lunge: Perform a lunge with your feet aligned on a narrow line while holding a dowel vertically along your spine. The task challenges balance and coordinated control.
4. Shoulder mobility: Make a fist with each hand, and then try to bring them together behind your back from above and below your shoulders. This test gauges shoulder flexibility and range of motion.
5. Active straight leg raise: While lying on your back, lift one straight leg while keeping the other on the floor. This looks at active leg mobility while maintaining control of your pelvis.
6. Trunk stability push-up: Think of this movement as a traditional push-up with a twist. You start lying face-down on the floor and then push up. Powering up from that position challenges your trunk stability.
7. Rotary stability: Start in a tabletop position with your hands and knees on the floor. Bring the same-side hand and ankle together until they meet near your midsection, then extend them straight out. This tests core stability with upper- and lower-body movement.

How scoring works

Each test is scored 0 to 3 based on your ability to do the task. Here’s what earns you each score.

• 3: You perform the movement according to the established scoring criteria, without making compensation.
• 2: You complete the movement but show compensation or need to make a modification. “You can perform the task, but the patterns show us something worth exploring,” clarifies Dr. Lewarchick.
• 1: You’re unable to complete the movement as instructed.
• 0: The movement brings you pain. “It doesn’t matter how well you do on the test if it hurts you doing it,” says Dr. Lewarchick. “That’s a red flag.”

With seven tests, a max total score is 21.

“The total score can be useful as a starting point, but I pay close attention to individual movement patterns, side-to-side differences and pain,” he adds.

Benefits of a functional movement screen

Movement is behavioral. Over time, we develop familiar ways of moving, sometimes adapting to limited mobility, strength, past injury or the demands of daily life. Not every adaptation is a problem, but some are worth understanding.

Dr. Lewarchick equates it to how water finds the path of least resistance: “If one ankle is stiff, you’re going to move in a different way that asks more of the other side,” he says. “Your body adjusts.”

Once a screen highlights a movement limitation or difference, a trained professional can decide whether more assessment or a change in exercise is helpful. The findings can help:

• Target your training: You can’t fix a problem unless you know about it. An FMS can show where to focus training to address inefficiencies within your body. “Then, we can work on building the capacity to meet the demands of life or sport,” says Dr. Lewarchick.
• Reduce injury risk factors: Inefficient movement patterns can put added stress on your body that increases injury risk. Addressing and correcting issues identified by a screen can help lower that risk.
• Support injury rehab: As you’re returning to activity, an FMS can spotlight hidden issues that might have contributed to the injury. “It can highlight movement patterns to revisit during recovery,” says Dr. Lewarchick.

Bottom line? Think of FMS as an informational-gathering tool to better understand how your body moves. What you learn can help you take action to protect your body, correct movements and develop your training.

“This screening creates awareness and gives us a starting point for asking better questions,” says Dr. Lewarchick. “Then, we can match the next steps to the person, their goals and the demands they want to meet.”