Possibility of Functional Movement Screening in Physical Education

Abstract

It is very important that pupils have appropriate level of basic movement patterns in order to deal with motor tasks properly. Proper movement patterns can be affected by overweight, obesity, physical inactivity, injury or clinical pathologies. The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) is one of the most popular injury risk and movement proficiency assessment tools. This tool is composed of 7 movement tests that rely on mobility, stability and balance. There are a number of well-designed interventions that enhance motor skills, motor control, stability, and mobility and usually they are prescribed as individualized programs. However, since this problem is widespread it might be more effective if it is addressed within the school setting on a larger scale. FMS is reliable, affordable and practical tool that could be an answer to many functional movement deficiencies that plague our children and youth. Implementing FMS program instead of the traditional dynamic warm-up in preparation for physical education class might be an effective solution for improving movement imbalances in primary school pupils. Furthermore, data collected from a large number of schools may be a base for establishing National database for children and youth functional movement proficiency standards.