Functional movement screen comparison between the preparative period and competitive period in high school baseball players

Background/Objective: Although the functional movement screen (FMS) has been widely applied for screening athletes, no previous study has used FMS scores to examine the association between distinct training seasons in high school baseball players. The aims of this study were to ascertain the functional movement screen (FMS) scores differences between the preparative period (PPP) and the competitive period (CPP) among high school baseball players and further determine whether FMS can be used as a tool to predict injuries during two major periods. Methods: Fifty-five male high school baseball players (age 15.3 ± 1.7 years; height 1.7 ± 0.8 m; weight 64.6 ± 11.5 kg) volunteered. Athletic injuries were reported through a self-report questionnaire. Players performed the FMS during the PPP and the CPP. A receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve to calculate a cutoff total composite score ≤ 14 for the relationship between the FMS score and injury. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and an area under the curve (AUC) were calculated. Results: FMS individual task score and total composite score were significantly lower in the CPP than in the PPP. However, a cutoff total composite score ≤14 for risk of injury, determined through a ROC curve, represented a low sensitivity of 58%, NPV of 66%, an AUC of 69%, specificity of 79%, and PPV of 71%. Conclusion: Although the low sensitivity and NPV and AUC scores indicated that the FMS does not accurately predict the risk of injury, the FMS individual task and total composite scores differed significantly between the PPP and CPP. Therefore, FMS could be used as a tool to identify physical deficiencies between distinct training seasons; however, utilizing the FMS as a screening tool for injury prediction in particular during the CPP in this population would not be recommended. Keywords: Functional movement screen, Assessment, Athlete