title: Injury prediction in veteran football players using the Functional Movement Screen™.
abstract: The Functional Movement Screen™ (FMS™) is aimed at assessing fundamental movements and is often used to identify players' injury risk. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the FMS™ can be used to predict injuries in veteran footballers (aged > 32 years). Eighteen veteran football teams (n = 238) were recruited and prospectively followed for 9 months. The players (44 ± 7 years; 178 ± 7 cm, 84 ± 11 kg) performed the FMS™ at the start of the study period. Players' exposure hours and injuries were recorded. The difference of FMS™ overall score between injured and uninjured players was not significant (11.7 ± 2.9 vs 12.2 ± 2.8 points; Mann-Whitney U-test P = 0.17). Players scoring <10 (score < 1 standard deviation [SD]) below the mean) had a significantly higher injury incidence (z-statistics P < 0.05) compared to an intermediate reference group (mean ± 1 SD; scores of 10-14). No lower injury incidence for players with scores of >14 (score > 1 SD above the mean) was found. Further analyses of potential risk factors suggest higher age, lower body mass and a longer football career to be risk factors for injuries. The findings of this study suggest that the suitability of the FMS™ for injury prediction in veteran footballers is limited.
authors.affiliation: a Institute of Sports and Preventive Medicine , Saarland University , Saarbrücken , Germany.|b Department of Sport , Exercise and Health, University of Basel , Basel , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hammes
authors.affiliation: a Institute of Sports and Preventive Medicine , Saarland University , Saarbrücken , Germany.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aus der Fünten
authors.affiliation: c FIFA-Medical Assessment and Research Centre (F-MARC), Schulthess Clinic , Zurich , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bizzini
authors.affiliation: a Institute of Sports and Preventive Medicine , Saarland University , Saarbrücken , Germany.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Meyer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012916:Soccer / Q000293:injuries* / Q000502:physiology
keywords: FMS; Soccer; assessment; prevention; recreational football; risk factor; senior