Functional Movement Screen (FMS): The 7-Test Battery for Injury Risk Assessment

If you need a standardized and quick way to do an initial sweep of a new client's movement quality, the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) is probably the most widely used tool in fitness and rehabilitation. It's not a diagnosis and doesn't replace a clinical assessment, but it gives you a very useful map of where to start working.

What's great about the FMS is that it combines mobility, stability, and motor control into "global" movement patterns, much closer to what that person will actually do in the gym than an isolated analytical test.

What does this test measure?

The FMS is a battery of 7 fundamental movement patterns, each scored from 0 to 3 points:

1. Deep Squat — a deep squat with arms raised overhead, holding a stick
2. Hurdle Step — stepping over a hurdle, assessing control of the stance and swing leg
3. In-Line Lunge — a lunge in a straight line, assessing trunk stability and ankle/hip mobility in a narrow stance
4. Shoulder Mobility — reaching the hands behind the back (one from above, one from below) to assess combined shoulder mobility
5. Active Straight Leg Raise — actively raising a straight leg while lying supine, assessing hamstring and calf flexibility with trunk control
6. Trunk Stability Push-Up — a push-up-style trunk flexion, assessing the ability to stabilize the spine in the sagittal plane during an upper-body movement
7. Rotary Stability — a quadruped pattern with combined arm and leg extension, assessing stability and control in the transverse plane

The maximum score is 21 points (3 points x 7 tests), although any pain during a test automatically scores 0 on that item, regardless of range of motion.

Equipment needed

• FMS kit (measuring board, stick, hurdle, elastic band) or equivalent improvised equipment
• Enough space to lie down and move freely
• FMS scoring sheet (official or your own)

Test protocol

1. Briefly explain each pattern before performing it, without over-coaching it: the FMS looks for "raw" movement, not a learned one
2. Run through the 7 tests in the standard order (deep squat, hurdle step, in-line lunge, shoulder mobility, active straight leg raise, trunk stability push-up, rotary stability)
3. For bilateral tests (hurdle step, in-line lunge, shoulder mobility, ASLR, rotary stability), perform both sides and record the lower of the two scores
4. Score each test from 0 to 3:

- 3 = performs the full pattern with no compensations - 2 = performs the pattern with minor compensations - 1 = unable to complete the pattern, or does so with significant compensations - 0 = pain appears at any point during the movement

1. Add the scores from the 7 tests to get the total score out of 21

Common mistakes

• Giving technical feedback before scoring, which "cleans up" the movement and hides real limitations
• Not recording the weaker side on bilateral tests (using the average instead of the minimum)
• Ignoring the presence of pain (a 0 due to pain has different implications than a 0 due to lack of mobility/control)
• Treating the FMS as a closed diagnosis instead of a starting point for further investigation

How to interpret the result

Total score	Interpretation
14-21	Solid base of functional movement to train normally
< 14	Associated in the literature with higher injury risk — prioritizing corrective work on the lowest-scoring patterns before progressing loads is recommended
Any item scoring 0 (pain)	Refer for a specific assessment of that area before continuing with the program
Asymmetry between sides on bilateral tests	A focus for corrective work, regardless of the total score

The value of the FMS isn't just in the total number, but in identifying which specific patterns limit movement (ankle mobility, trunk control, rotational stability, etc.) to guide warm-up and programming.

Relationship with other tests

The FMS is a good starting point, but it's worth distinguishing it from other tests it's often confused with:

• Overhead Squat Assessment — shares similarities with the FMS Deep Squat, but is a different evaluation, more focused on analyzing compensations from multiple views
• Ankle mobility test — useful for digging deeper if the Deep Squat or In-Line Lunge come out limited
• Active straight leg raise test — the FMS includes a version of this test (ASLR) as one of its 7 items

Track progress over time

The FMS generates a lot of information (7 scores + side + presence of pain), and tracking it on paper makes it very hard to compare progress over time. In Movalytics you can log the score for each of the 7 patterns, by side, along with the total score out of 21, and clearly see which patterns have improved after your corrective work and which remain each client's weak point.

Frequently asked questions

Does the FMS replace a medical assessment? No. It's a movement screen, not a diagnosis. Any item scoring 0 due to pain should be referred for a specific professional assessment. Do you need certification to perform the FMS? There's an official FMS course and certification that standardizes its application and scoring, recommended if you want to use it professionally, although the basic patterns and criteria are publicly accessible. How often should the FMS be repeated? Every 8-12 weeks is usually reasonable to see real changes after a block of corrective work, unless there are relevant changes (injury, return to training after a long break, etc.) that justify repeating it sooner.