Item-level and Composite-level Interrater Reliability of Functional Movement Screen™ Scores Following Condensed Training in Novice Raters.
Brent A Harper, Stephen M Glass
PMID 34386280WHAT IT FOUND
A two-hour training session helped novice raters score four FMS tests reliably, but not three others.
The total composite score was reliable, but individual item scores varied widely depending on the specific movement test.
Key findings
01Novice raters achieved acceptable agreement on Shoulder Mobility, Active Straight Leg Raise, Deep Squat, and Trunk Stability Push Up, but not on Hurdle Step, Rotary Stability, or Inline Lunge.
02The composite score showed excellent reliability on both testing days, despite the variability in individual item scores.
03Novice raters systematically disagreed with the expert rater on Deep Squat and Inline Lunge, assigning different scores despite the brief training.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only 16 subjects were tested, which is a very small sample. The subjects were healthy graduate students, so results may not apply to injured or older populations. Raters scored simultaneously, which may have influenced their judgments due to vantage points or peer pressure. The novice raters were physical therapy students, not fully licensed clinicians, so their baseline skill level may differ from other therapists.
Declared interests
The authors report no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that a two-hour FMS certification course guarantees reliable scoring for all seven movement tests. This study found that three specific tests (Hurdle Step, Rotary Stability, and Inline Lunge) had poor or uninterpretable agreement among novices, meaning individual scores for these movements may be unreliable even after standard training.