Screening Movement Quality...How Can it Help?

 Summer is pretty much here, except for Sunday nights on HBO when "winter is coming".  That means the gyms are packed and it means that "Joe the desk worker" realizes he only has two months to "get shredded".  So to do this he has to start hitting the gym at least once a day (if not twice)... More then likely this is going to consist of some sort of super sets of bi's and tri's (cause we all know that having jacked biceps is what really matters) or burning out on the pec deck between your leg press sets of 7000 lbs.  But that is neither here nor there, even though Joe's choice of exercises are poor, he probably doesn't know better.  Plus I bet he is signed up at a gym that is LOADED with fancy machines that isolate muscle groups, I always say that those gyms would be awesome if they would melt all the machines and turn them into kettlebells.

The word on exercises being "functional" or not is starting to get out and more people (not quite enough) are stepping away from the old muscle isolation/"pump" philosophy and stepping into the realm of training movement patterns instead.  The issue with jumping into training in any capacity is what if the way you move is faulty?  My question is did Joe have a qualitative movement appraisal done before he started to try and get in shape? Probably not...

I use the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) in my office for a pre-participation screen to see if someone has any underlying issues that could potentially cause injury if they are starting a program that builds capacity.  Gray Cook says it perfectly, "Move well, before you move often".  Nail on the head!  It doesn't matter if you build a beautiful mansion, if it is built on a crappy and unstable foundation it is going to collapse.  Same applies to your body.  If you have any movement asymmetries between left and right, eventually it's going to catch up to you.  It doesn't matter if you are a high school athlete, CrossFit athlete, runner, or you're just looking to drop some weight and get healthy... GET SCREENED!!!
Do you want to be the best at what you do? GET SCREENED!!!
Do you want to improve your performance? GET SCREENED!!! 

The FMS is so spot-on as an evaluation of movement quality.  It consists of 7 movements and a score (0-3) that is determined on the quality and symmetry of each movement of the individual.   We need to spread the word about movement screening.  It is an everyday occurrence that active individuals walk into my office with new pains that started with a new workout regimen.  These people tell me, "I exercise 5 days a week, I don't know why I have pain"... My question to them is, "Did your trainer perform a movement screen on you before you started the program?"  I have not heard a "Yes" so far... Would they be in my office if they would have been screened? Maybe, Maybe not...  Having a good score (14-21) with no asymmetries on the FMS is not insurance that you won't get hurt with your activity, but it does tell you that you have a less chance of sustaining an injury than the person who scores below a 14 and has asymmetries (below a 14 with asymmetries = 50% chance of getting injured and missing 3 weeks or more of activity). I don't know about you, but if someone would have told me in high school (especially my Dad!) that if I perform 7 tests and my total score would tell me if I was at risk for an injury AND point out my weaknesses to help reduce that risk, there is NO question I would have taken advantage of this!

Just because you do not have pain, doesn't mean there isn't an underlying problem. Pain is the last to show and the first to go! Do you think when someone has a heart attack that there was an instantaneous increase of inflammation causing a giant clog in an artery? NO! It was years of poor dieting, not enough exercise, and high inflammation that caused the eventual infarction of an artery. 

Its the same with musculoskeletal pain... Chronic faulty movements will eventually cause the body to breakdown to a state of non-optimal function and eventually cause pain. With pain, the quality of life decreases drastically. And I don't know anyone who voluntarily wants their quality of life to be poor... So how do you keep yourself from developing chronic faulty movement patterns??? 

 GET SCREENED!!!

Cody Dimak, DC, CPT, FMS Movement Expert