The Functional Movement Screen, usually called the FMS, provides a standardized look at seven fundamental movement patterns.
For a training client, it can establish a repeatable baseline, highlight right-to-left differences and help a coach choose which patterns deserve closer attention before loading or progressing exercise.
The useful result is not a perfect score. It is a clearer programming decision that can be tested against movement, training tolerance and performance over time.
Who is the FMS designed for?
The FMS is primarily intended for people who are not currently experiencing pain during the screen and who want a standardized review of fundamental movement before or during a training program.
It may be useful when you are:
- beginning a strength or fitness program
- returning to structured training after time away
- changing sports or training demands
- looking for a repeatable movement baseline
- reviewing movement options before exercise selection
- monitoring whether a specific pattern changes over time
If a test causes pain, the priority changes. Pain is not treated as a low-quality movement score that should be pushed through. It indicates that the screen is no longer the right tool for answering the complete question and that an appropriate clinical or medical assessment may be needed.
What are the seven FMS tests?
At Lee Strength, the tests are conducted in the order shown on the FMS Level 1 score sheet:
- Deep squat
- Hurdle step
- Inline lunge
- Shoulder mobility
- Active straight-leg raise
- Trunk stability push-up
- Rotary stability
Marketing images supplied by Functional Movement Systems for authorized practitioner use.
The shoulder mobility, trunk stability push-up and rotary stability tests also include pain-clearing procedures within the official screen.
The sequence moves through symmetrical, asymmetrical, mobility and motor-control demands. The objective is not to demonstrate perfect athletic technique. It is to collect standardized observations that can help guide the next decision.
How is the FMS scored?
Each movement receives a score from zero to three using standardized criteria. Tests performed on both sides retain the lower side as the final score for that pattern. The seven final scores can be added to a maximum composite score of 21.
The most useful information is often more specific than the total:
- Was pain present?
- Was there a meaningful side-to-side difference?
- Which pattern was limited?
- Did the result match the person's training history and goals?
- Would a different exercise variation allow productive training?
- Does the pattern change when it is retested?
A composite score compresses several different movements into one number. Two people can receive the same total for very different reasons and should not automatically receive the same program.
Can the FMS predict injury?
Not reliably enough to use it that way for an individual.
Some studies have found associations between lower composite scores and later injury in selected populations. Other reviews have found weak, conflicting or very low-certainty evidence. One systematic review concluded that the association between composite scores and later injury did not support using the FMS as an injury-prediction test.
This means a score at or below a particular cutoff should not be presented as proof that someone is "high risk." A higher score does not guarantee safety, and a lower score does not mean an injury is inevitable.
Injury risk is influenced by many factors that a seven-test screen cannot capture by itself, including:
- recent and previous injuries
- training volume and rapid workload changes
- sport exposure
- sleep and recovery
- strength and conditioning
- fatigue
- age and health history
- contact and unpredictable events
The FMS can describe performance on the screen. It should not be asked to predict everything that may happen afterward.
Is the FMS reliable?
Research generally suggests that trained raters can score the FMS with acceptable consistency. Experience, standardized instructions and clear viewing positions matter.
Reliability does not prove diagnostic validity. A test can be scored consistently without proving why a movement looks the way it does or whether that result predicts an injury.
That is why FMS findings should lead to better questions rather than a dramatic label.
Can an FMS score improve?
Yes. Exercise interventions can improve FMS scores in many groups.
That finding needs context. Improving performance on a screen shows that the person became better at the tested patterns. It does not automatically prove improved sport performance, reduced pain or lower injury risk.
The larger goal should remain connected to the person:
- Can you train more consistently?
- Can you tolerate the required range of motion?
- Are you becoming stronger?
- Are asymmetries relevant to your sport or task?
- Is the program moving you toward your actual goal?
The screen is feedback. It is not the outcome that matters most.
How the FMS may guide training
An FMS result may influence:
- exercise selection
- starting range of motion
- unilateral versus bilateral work
- warm-up priorities
- the need for additional assessment
- which movement should be retested
- whether pain changes the pathway
For example, a limited pattern does not always need to be "corrected" before training can begin. A suitable exercise variation may allow productive training while mobility, control or familiarity with the pattern develops.
The decision should consider your goals, training history, comfort and response to loading.
Can a limited pattern still be clinically useful?
Yes.
A limitation or asymmetry may reflect mobility, control, familiarity, body proportions, previous injury, apprehension or the testing conditions. The screen cannot identify the mechanism by itself.
The finding can still guide a measured experiment:
- Choose a relevant movement or training goal.
- Select a safe exercise variation or mobility or control strategy.
- Reassess the same pattern.
- Determine whether the change transfers to training and lasts.
If the pattern and the person's training tolerance improve, the strategy may be worth keeping. The response supports an individual programming decision. It does not prove that the original screen identified an injury mechanism.
What I do with the result instead of chasing a perfect score
The FMS becomes useful when it changes programming.
A limited squat pattern does not automatically mean the person must stop squatting. It may lead to a different starting depth, stance, load or squat variation while the pattern is monitored.
A side-to-side difference does not automatically require symmetry before training. It may justify additional unilateral work, a closer look at sport demands or simply continued observation.
A limited shoulder pattern does not identify one tight muscle. It may influence pressing or pulling selection while pain, history and training goals are considered.
The practical sequence is:
- Identify the pattern that matters.
- List plausible contributors without choosing one prematurely.
- Select a safe programming change.
- Retest the pattern.
- Confirm that the change improves actual training rather than only the screen.
The screen should reduce guesswork. It should not turn normal variation into a catalogue of defects.
When the FMS is not enough
The FMS is not a substitute for:
- medical diagnosis
- assessment of an acute injury
- neurological examination
- rehabilitation planning outside the assessor's professional scope
- sport-specific performance testing
- strength, power or conditioning assessment
New or worsening weakness, persistent numbness, significant trauma, chest pain, severe headache, unexplained systemic symptoms or other concerning changes require the appropriate healthcare pathway.
How the FMS fits at Lee Strength
At Lee Strength, movement screening is used to support decisions, not sell corrective exercises or label a person as broken.
I have completed FMS Level 1 and Level 2 certification training. This training supports standardized administration and interpretation of the screen. It does not turn the FMS into a medical diagnosis or an individual injury-prediction test.
Depending on the goal, the next step may involve:
- strength and performance coaching
- exercise rehabilitation within my qualifications
- Registered Massage Therapy when pain or soft-tissue and joint concerns require an RMT assessment
- referral for medical, physiotherapy or other professional assessment
The most useful result is not a perfect score. It is a clearer and safer plan.