Altered sagittal plane mechanics is associated with Functional Movement Screen deep squat score.
Candice Macmillan, Benita Olivier, Natalie Benjamin-Damons and 2 others
PMID 38855075WHAT IT FOUND
In teenage cricket bowlers, FMS deep squat scores tracked how upright the torso was during movement capture.
Heel position, knee and hip bend, femur angle and dowel overhead did not separate scores, so a low score does not identify a specific joint problem.
Key findings
01Measured femur-to-horizontal angle differed among observer-scored FMS deep squat groups (p = 0.05), with Groups 3 and 2 versus Group 1 significant (p = 0.04 and p = 0.03).
02Group 1's torso was significantly more forward than Groups 3 and 2 (p = 0.02 for each).
03No significant differences existed among groups in heel/ankle position, dowel overhead, peak hip flexion or peak knee flexion.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only 17 injury-free male cricket pace bowlers were analysed, and the groups were very small (6, 6 and 5), so chance findings cannot be ruled out. The sample was a convenience sample from a larger study, and seven data sets were excluded because markers were missing. The study was cross-sectional and did not follow players for injury or test any treatment. Height and BMI differed between groups, and growth stage was not measured, so body size may have influenced squat performance. The observer scored real-time movement without a standardised viewing position, and the analysis only covered sagittal-plane 2D movement, not frontal-plane knee alignment. The paper did not establish whether FMS deep squat scores predict injury risk or performance.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read a low FMS deep squat score as evidence of a specific ankle, knee, hip or dowel problem. The movement capture did not show significant differences in those measures, and the study did not test injury risk or whether changing the movement improves outcomes.