The Interrater reliability of the functional movement screen within an athletic population using untrained raters

Leeder, J; Horsley, I; Herrington, LC

Abstract

The functional
movement screen (FMS) is a commonly used screening
tool designed to identify restrictions to movement patterns and
increased injury risk using 7 predesigned tests. The purpose of
this study was to analyze the inter-rater reliability of scoring of
the FMS using a group of “untrained” subjects. Additionally,
the study also examined if clinical experience level had any
effect on reliability. Twenty fully qualified Physiotherapists
working at the English Institute of Sport, with elite athletes,
volunteered to participate in the study. The group comprised
both level 2 and level 3 physiotherapists based on clinical
experience levels. Five elite athletes, free from injury, were recruited
and videoed completing 6 of the 7 FMS tests using a 3
camera system. The videos were scored by each Physiotherapist
using the standardized scoring sheet, as developed by
Cook et al. Each practitioner marked each athlete completing
the 6 tests. The total scores were calculated for each athlete
(maximum score of 18). The inter-rater reliability of the test was
shown to be high, intraclass coefficient 0.906. An independent
t test showed no significant differences between the level 2
and level 3 practitioners in the total scores (p = 0.502). The
results of the test indicate that the FMS is a reliable screening
tool when used by untrained practitioners in determining faulty
movement patterns and that clinical experience level does not
affect the reliability, therefore it may be a useful tool in the
screening of athletic populations.

Citation

Leeder, J., Horsley, I., & Herrington, L. (2016). The Interrater reliability of the functional movement screen within an athletic population using untrained raters. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 30(9), 2591-2599. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3182a1ff1d

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: Jan 26, 2017
• Journal: Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
• Print ISSN: 1064-8011
• Publisher: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
• Volume: 30
• Issue: 9
• Pages: 2591-2599
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3182a1ff1d
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3182a1ff1d