Functional Movement Patterns and Perceived Mobility in Collegiate Lacrosse Athletes

Context: The stress on the body from sport participation may play a role in an athlete’s ability to function throughout a season. The primary objective of this study was to examine the effects of a non-traditional lacrosse fall season on functional movement patterns for both males and females. Our second objective was to observe how collegiate lacrosse athletes perceived mobility. Methods: Fifty males (age=19.38+1.24 years, height=182.63+6.16 cm, mass=82.37+8.46 kg) and 22 females (age=19.68+1.17 years, height=165.10+6.88 cm, mass=64.09+8.72 kg) who participated on National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III lacrosse teams volunteered to participate. Independent variable was time (pre, post). Main outcome measures included Functional Movement Screen (FMS, reliability=0.60-0.96) scores and perceived FMS scores. We measured perceived mobility postseason using FMS movements by having participants grade themselves on each FMS movement. Data was analyzed using a chi-square analysis for each sex separately. Results: Time significantly increased FMS scores from preseason (mean=15.27+2.25) to postseason (mean=16.05+1.50; F1,21=4.46, P=0.05, ƞ2=0.175) for females but not males (preseason mean=15.60+1.86, postseason mean=15.64+1.71; F1,49=0.03, P=0.87, ƞ2=0.001, 1-β=0.05). Significant differences in male measured score and perceived mobility scores were found in all movements except for right shoulder mobility (P=0.82) and right active straight leg raise (P=0.05). Conclusions: Mobility may change over an 8-week lacrosse season. With functional movement changes, alterations in the kinetic chain may occur resulting in joint hypomobility, hypermobility and compensatory patterns. Sports medicine professionals should also be aware of overestimating self-reported mobility. Keywords: Functional Movement Screen, injury prevention, motor contro