You are in great shape. You train hard. And you feel invincible! But even the top elite athletes get injured. Why is this? As most people train or workout we do the exercises or activities that we feel will benefit us the most given our sport or goal that we are trying to achieve. If you are a running you are likely working your legs the most, getting those quads strong, hamstrings loose, and glutes powerful. But we often get tunnel vision when it comes to our training regimes and do not look at our bodies as a whole functional unit. This is when injuries can occur and where a complete functional movement screen (FMS) can help to identify those areas your body is weak or restricted, putting you at risk for an injury down the road.  If you are able to identify and address these limitations early on, it can lead to improved performance and decrease your chances of an injury substantially.

What is a Functional Movement Screen?

A Functional Movement Screen is a patented assessment system that has been used by trainers, coaches, and physical therapists for years to evaluate the injury risk in elite and collegiate athletes. It is a tool and assessment that focuses on key functional movements that will address issues in mobility, stability, and combined movements to give us a look at how your body functions as a whole. On the FMS website they describe their system as:

“FMS is the screening tool used to identify limitations or asymmetries in seven fundamental movement patterns that are key to functional movement quality in individuals with no current pain complaint or known musculoskeletal injury.

These movement patterns are designed to provide observable performance of basic loco motor, manipulative and stabilizing movements by placing an individual in extreme positions where weaknesses and imbalances become noticeable if appropriate mobility and motor control is not utilized."

What movements does the FMS look at?

The assessment looks at 7 key movements that look at both mobility and stability of the body in a functional way that directly corresponds to everyday and athletic movement patterns. See the picture below for the 7 tests.

For a more in-depth look at the test and movements performed during an FMS test you can click on this link or copy and paste it into your browser: http://www.advanced-fitness-concepts.com/fms.pdf

How do I get assessed using the FMS?

This is typically a screening tool that until now only select trainers and therapists are have been using, and has not been widely used to assess the public. But at Synergy Manual Physical Therapy we have recently brought in and trained our therapists to be able to perform and properly assess individuals using the FMS system at our North office. So to kick off this new service that we will be providing to the Colorado Springs community we will be offering the assessment for FREE at our North office (see below for details). This is a one-time offer that is open to everyone in the community and is beneficial for all age groups and activity levels.