The association between the functional movement screen outcome and the incidence of musculoskeletal injuries: A systematic review with meta-analysis.

Objective: To systematically review the literature investigating the association between the Functional Movement Screening (FMS™) score and musculoskeletal injuries in physical exercise based on relative risk (RR).

Methods: A systematic literature search was carried out in July 2018 in MEDLINE, LILACS, SCOPUS, SPORTDiscus, CINAHL and Web of Science databases. Reference lists were explored to find studies that examined the association between FMS™ and injuries. The following data were extracted from the studies: the participants' profile, sample size, classification of musculoskeletal injuries, follow-up time and RR. Participants with FMS™ score <13-14 were considered as "high risk" depending on used cut-off. The Mantel-Haenszel Test with random-effect model and the RR measure was performed. The Begg Test was used to analyze the publication bias.

Results: A total of 1658 studies were retrieved from the databases and 20 were selected. A meta-analysis of 964 injuries in 2227 high-risk participants and 1719 injuries in 5756 low-risk participants showed that individuals at "high risk" by FMS™ had a RR = 1.51 (95%CI = 1.35-1.69) of developing injuries.

Conclusions: Individuals classified as "high risk" by FMS™ are 51% more likely to be affected by injury than those classified as having low risk, but the level of evidence is very low.