Functional Movement Screening (FMS)

Functional Movement Screening (FMS) is a tool used by physical therapists and other healthcare professionals to assess an individual's movement patterns, identify imbalances, limitations, and asymmetries, and predict potential injury risk. It involves a series of tests and movements that evaluate fundamental movement patterns such as squatting, lunging, bending, twisting, and reaching. These screenings help to identify any dysfunctions or asymmetries in movement that could lead to injury during physical activity or sports.

FMS typically involves a standardized set of tests, each scored on a scale from 0 to 3, with 0 indicating pain during the movement, 1 indicating inability to perform the movement, 2 indicating the movement can be performed but with compensations or asymmetries, and three indicating the movement can be performed correctly without any compensations.

Foothills physical therapists use the results of FMS to design personalized exercise programs to correct movement deficiencies, improve mobility, stability, and overall functional movement patterns, and reduce the risk of injury. FMS is often used in sports medicine, rehabilitation, and performance enhancement settings.