Functional Movement Screen®: Comparative study between gender

The screening of functional movement patterns in athletes may contribute to the quality of exercise prescription and sports performance. Functional Movement Screen® (FMS®) has been used by strength and conditioning professionals as it enables to identify movement dysfunction in those at risk, but not currently experiencing signs or symptoms of musculoskeletal injury. However, the specific differences of functional movement patterns between gender remain unclear. Therefore, the aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate and compare functional movement patterns between gender using FMS®. Our results suggest that female subjects have important deficits in tasks involving trunk stability. Moreover, male subjects seem to have relevant handicaps in tasks involving shoulder and leg mobility. Strength and conditioning professionals should be aware that female and male subjects seem to have differences on functional movement patterns, which contributes to the need of an individualized intervention.