Below are some of the major points taken from the Pod Cast, Click on the link at the bottom to hear the entire Pod Cast.

• Discussing, defending, teaching, and working with the Functional Movement Screen since 1996.
• The high school physical is not enough to prevent injuries.
• The FMS is a proactive approach to reduce the risk of injury.
• There are numerous medical assessments available, but limited movement assessments, if any.
• Musculoskeletal examinations are designed as a diagnostic process when we already know something is wrong.
• A screening does not intend to yield a diagnosis.  Instead, a screening is intended to clear an individual for a task.
• Whether the body is called upon to move generally or specifically, a screening is needed.
• The original intention of the FMS was to demonstrate that pain was not provoked by simple movement patterns.
• Because when pain is provoked by a movement, there is an underlying cause, or “disconnect.”
• Our professional responsibility is to separate the group that has pain with movement from the group that does not have pain with movement.
• You will also find:
• Individuals who move well-- meaning they have a good mind-body connection and a good command over fundamental movement patterns (like squatting, stepping, lunging, appreciable shoulder mobility and trunk control in all three planes).
• Individuals (without pain) who do not move well-- meaning they are dysfunctional in certain patterns, have poor stability in certain planes
• Your body is a result of what you’re made of, but also what you do with it.
• You can change your physical form by the way you function.
• Appreciate the interactivity of both structure and function.
• When first identifying dysfunctional (as opposed to functional) movement patterns, it was discovered that many of them would change very quickly (in as little as one session).
• So when structure and/or strength were previously blamed for the dysfunction, but those things do not change in one session.
• Thus, we must be observing movement patterning, neurological factors, motor control, weakness caused by muscle inhibition, and/or poor activation.
• People try to develop stiffness as stability when this concept is wrong.
• Stiffness is the body’s way of creating stability when you have not earned it.
• Tissues thicken and muscle tone increases to protect the joints, not in a positive manner but in a less functional and debilitating manner.
• Establish good mobility first, and then lay on good stability.
• If your stability training hurts your mobility, then it was not trained authentically.
• Instability (and hypermobility or dysfunction) is moving outside of your normal range of motion.
• On a table, in a synthetic environment, someone can demonstrate adequate ankle, knee and hip range of motion, but they may not be able to put it all together to perform a squat.  They could also demonstrate adequate symmetrical strength through manual muscle testing, but still not be able to perform a squat.
• Function cannot be assumed through range of motion and strength alone.
• It is possible and reproducible to have someone on a table who can have appreciable range of motion throughout all joints in both legs and be cleared for no strength deficiencies in the legs-- but they cannot perform a functional pattern, like a deep squat below parallel.
• Started looking at the risk factors to injury-- the best predictor for a future injury is a previous injury, along with major limitations and imbalances (or asymmetries).
• Biological organisms migrate towards preferred patterns (patterns of behavior).
• First, screen for pain in the FMS.  Then, screen for any major limitations and/or asymmetries-- as these are predictive of risk of injury.
• These limitations and asymmetries are biomarkers-- physical representations that mean more than just what they seem to be (example: grip strength).
• Do not practice or train a biomarker.  Instead, periodically check them.
• Most individuals in a performance training, coaching, sports medicine, strength/conditioning, or rehabilitation setting have two criticisms for the FMS-- 1.) too basic, too general, or 2.) not specific enough.
• Fitness has declined in the presence of superior science.
• Sometimes the level of confidence exceeds the level of effectiveness.
• Deliberate practice-- setting yourself up for honest appraisal and objective feedback every time you invest yourself in an endeavor.
• Neurological problems take precedence to any musculoskeletal problems.
• 1 in 100 individuals will have a diminished reflex (indicating a neurological problem).
• The FMS does not yield a diagnosis or attempt to show who the best performer is.
• Any endeavor that improves the parameters of fitness but also conversely increases your risk by creating inflexibilities, movement problems, poor stability, and asymmetries-- not recommended.
• When screening movement, you are measuring the quality of movement which gives you a durability appraisal (not a performance appraisal).
• The FMS not only suggests exercises, but it also suggests the deletion of other exercises.
• Grip strength is an indicator of shoulder stability, core control, and overall postural alignment.
• When postural alignment becomes faulty, the first thing to diminish is your grip.
• Possibly due to bad biomechanics or the system is smart enough to inhibit your grip, not allowing you to lift as much when your mechanics falter and your alignment is gone.
• Both children and elderly individuals are appropriate for the FMS.
• The FMS has a three-point scoring system (rating and ranking):
• 3-- complete movement as it was defined (the movement is defined so you can have reliable appraisal and capture a certain degree of competency with the movement pattern).
• 2-- complete movement as it was defined with compensation.
• 1-- inability to complete movement.
• 0-- pain.
• The intent of the movement screen is to enhance the way we practice, increase our effectiveness, reduce our mistakes, and help us manage risk.
• A person’s risk is not decreased in the absence of pain after a previous injury.
• When a joint losses range of motion, other joints will compensate so that the first joint does not faulty function.
• The FMS has intended redundancy because we do not want anything to go unchecked.
• “Talent is Overrated”… “Why We Make Mistakes”… “Blunder”

Dial back your confidence and scrutinize your effectiveness-- to make yourself better

• FMS Overview.m4a [Play]

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