title: Asymmetry during preseason Functional Movement Screen testing is associated with injury during a junior Australian football season.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) is a popular screening tool, however, the postulated relationship between prospective injury and FMS scoring remains sparsely explored in adolescent athletes. The aim of the study was to examine the association between pre-season FMS scores and injuries sustained during one regular season competition in elite adolescent Australian football players.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  237 elite junior Australian football players completed FMS testing during the late pre-season phase and had their weekly playing status monitored during the regular season. The definition of an injury was 'a trauma which caused a player to miss a competitive match'.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median composite FMS score was 14 (mean=13.5±2.3). An apriori analysis revealed that the presence of ≥1 asymmetrical sub-test was associated with a moderate increase in the risk of injury (hazard ratio=2.2 [1.0-4.8]; relative risk=1.9; p=0.047; sensitivity=78.4%; specificity=41.0%). Notably, post-hoc analysis identified that the presence of ≥2 asymmetrical sub-tests was associated with an even greater increase in risk of prospective injury (hazard ratio=3.7 [1.6-8.6]; relative risk=2.8; p=0.003; sensitivity=66.7%; specificity=78.0%). Achieving a composite score of ≤14 did not substantially increase the risk of prospective injury (hazard ratio=1.1 [0.5-2.1]; p=0.834).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Junior Australian football players demonstrating asymmetrical movement during pre-season FMS testing were more likely to sustain an injury during the regular season than players without asymmetry. Findings suggest that the commonly reported composite FMS threshold score of ≤14 was not associated with injury in elite junior AF players.
authors.affiliation: Sport and Exercise Science, School of Science and Health, Western Sydney University, Australia. Electronic address: samuel.chalmers@westernsydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chalmers
authors.affiliation: Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Sansom Institute for Health Research, University of South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Joel T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Fuller
authors.affiliation: Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Sansom Institute for Health Research, University of South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Debenedictis
authors.affiliation: Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Sansom Institute for Health Research, University of South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Townsley
authors.affiliation: Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Sansom Institute for Health Research, University of South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lynagh
authors.affiliation: Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Sansom Institute for Health Research, University of South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Cara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gleeson
authors.affiliation: Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Sansom Institute for Health Research, University of South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zacharia
authors.affiliation: Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Sansom Institute for Health Research, University of South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Stuart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thomson
authors.affiliation: Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Sansom Institute for Health Research, University of South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Magarey
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D056352:Athletes; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005080:Exercise Test; D005538:Football / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D009068:Movement; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013021:South Australia
keywords: Adolescent; Asymmetry; FMS; Football; Screening; Trauma