Functional Movement Screen background, purpose, and scoring philosophy
What the FMS is and why it exists
The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) is a seven-pattern screening tool created by Gray Cook and Lee Burton. It is not a fitness test, a diagnostic exam, or a performance benchmark. Its purpose is to identify limitations and asymmetries in fundamental movement patterns that may affect training, injury risk, and movement quality. The screen uses a dowel and a 2x6 board to standardize positions and reveal compensations.
Core scoring rules
- Seven patterns: Deep Squat, Hurdle Step, Inline Lunge, Shoulder Mobility, Active Straight-Leg Raise, Trunk Stability Push-Up, Rotary Stability.
- Three clearing tests: shoulder impingement, spinal extension, spinal flexion.
- Each pattern is scored 0-3: 0 = pain, 1 = unable to perform, 2 = performs with compensation, 3 = performs correctly without compensation.
- Maximum total is 21.
- A score of 0 always overrides a higher movement score and requires medical referral or clearance.
- The screen is ordinal and criterion-referenced; it is not intended to measure strength, endurance, or power.
Worked example
A candidate scores 2 on the Deep Squat, 2 on the Hurdle Step, 3 on the Inline Lunge, 3 on Shoulder Mobility, 2 on Active Straight-Leg Raise, 3 on Trunk Stability Push-Up, and 2 on Rotary Stability. No pain is reported. The total is 17. The interpretation is not 'above average' or 'below average' because the FMS has no normative pass/fail cutoff. The useful findings are the 2s and any left-right differences, which guide exercise selection.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating the FMS as a diagnostic tool or an injury prediction system.
- Calling a score of 2 'good' or 'normal' instead of a compensation.
- Forgetting that pain is always 0, not 1.
- Mixing up the seven patterns with the three clearing tests.
- Assuming the total score is the only meaningful output.