The Relationship Between Functional Movement and Respiratory Muscle Strength

Overview

Functional Movement Screen (FMS) is a battery used for injury prediction, identifying asymmetry and weak connections in basic functional movement patterns. The muscles assessed in FMS are also respiratory muscles. Therefore, FMS scores were thought to be related to respiratory muscle strength. The aim of our study was to examine the relationship between Functional Movement Screen and respiratory muscles strength in professional football players and sedentary individuals.

Predicting and preventing sports injuries is very important for football players to maintain high performance. The measurement methods used to predict the injury probabilities of football players are quite expensive. However, in recent years, the Functional Movement Screen (FMS), used as an injury estimation tool in football players, can be easily applied in the field without the need for expensive equipment. FMS is a biomechanical screening and evaluation method to reveal the limitations and asymmetries on the 7 basic movement patterns, which are the determinants of functional movement quality. FMS test battery aims to evaluate movements that require muscle strength, flexibility, range of motion, coordination, balance and proprioception. In the test; joint range of motion, asymmetry of motion, trunk strength and stabilization, balance, neuromuscular coordination, flexibility and dynamic flexibility properties are determined in a non-invasive, easy and economical way. Spine and core stabilization skills are exhibited in the movements included in the FMS. In the literature, there is no study examining the relationship between respiratory muscle strength and FMS in football players and healthy individuals. However, respiratory mechanics play an important role in posture and spine stabilization have been shown. Many functional activities in sports require trunk stabilization to transfer force symmetrically between the extremities. Impaired postural control, poor balance, lack of proprioception, and poor motor control have been shown to cause pain and disability and interfere with normal movement . Primary or accessory respiratory muscles; diaphragm, intercostal muscles, serratus anterior and posterior, pectorals, abdominal wall muscles also contribute to core and body stabilization. Therefore, it was thought that there may be a relationship between inspiratory and expiratory muscle strength and the quality of movements requiring trunk stabilization, balance and symmetry. In order to reveal this relationship, it is necessary to examine the relationship between FMS scores and respiratory muscle strength of trained/untrained individuals with different body types and movement patterns. Based on these assumptions, this study aimed to examine the FMS scores and respiratory muscles strength to investigate relationship between functional movement quality and respiratory muscles in professional football players and sedentary individuals.