Philip Stotter, Sports Science Consultant, joins us to talk about using V1 Sports video and ground pressure analysis technology to conduct a Functional Movement Screen.
Every preseason and into the season, the online debate starts about the efficacy and validity of testing and screening athletes and more specifically which screens or tests are actually useful. Let’s focus on the Functional Movement Screen (FMS). The FMS was developed to help coaches and health care professionals screen individuals for performance abilities, risk of injury, and dysfunctional or performance-limiting movement patterns. FMS research from the last twenty years indicates its extreme limitations for screening, because of the subjective approach to collecting accurate data and scoring. These attempts to connect specific performance flaws with screening are not an easy task regardless of education and experience. The question then becomes how can a coach utilize these screens and make them practical in the trenches.
“By adding V1 Sports technology like video and ground pressure to quantify that video, I and all coaches are now armed with a non-biased evaluation tool that can measure what a coach cannot see without it.” – Matt Krause, Director of PBSCCS
Why Your Movement Screen Doesn’t Work Well?
Chances are if you’re using a movement screen, you’ve been disappointed with its limits and found the scoring to be very biased based on the way it is scored. I believe that movement screens only have value if tested correctly and with the right technology. Improving a coach’s ability to conduct a screen starts with video recording.
Here are five key reasons why a coach or medical professional should video screening sessions:
1. Writing a score down is not the same as recording the screen. Recording the screen with video allows you to analyze it later. When only one set of eyes evaluates the motion, repeatability becomes a problem. Inter- and intra-reliability can be an issue for some screens that have poor
criteria and objective measurement scoring.
2. Video allows the athlete to see themselves. Biofeedback is phenomenal as it allows an athlete to make sure there are no issues with familiarization with the screen or interpretation of the instructions.
Photo: FMS Deep Squat Screen: Utilizing V1 Pro Studio software and the V1 Pressure Mat, a coach can
accurately measure the range of motion and weight distribution during the Deep Squat screen.
3. Using video enhances speed or workflow because athletes only participate in the screening process, not the scoring period.
4. Digital measurement tools automate the process and let us collect much more information almost instantly. Investing time up front to learn how to use digital tools like the V1 Sports Pressure Mat pays off in the long run because the pressure technology takes video to another level by quantifying the video and what it captures.
5. Collaborating and communicating with others is difficult to do with large teams or colleges, and video allows everyone to be on the same page. Video provides a sharing tool to help with communication between athlete and coach.
Photo: FMS Hurdle Step Screen: The V1 Sports Pressure Mat allows a coach to objectively measure the athlete’s stability by measuring the movement of the little white dot, the athlete’s center of pressure.
Most coaches find it hard to add screening or testing into their programs and few give enough attention to athletic conditioning. These coaches don’t want to stop preparing for games on the field or on the course, they want to practice the X’s and O’s. My message to them is to find the time as testing your athletes will pay big dividends to the performance and longevity of their athletes.
Photo: FMS Trunk Stability Pushup Screen: The V1 Sports Pressure Mat measure the athlete’s strength on both the right and left sides as well as the amount and speed of force the athlete can produce during the movement.
Why I Use Movement Screens with My Athletes?
I always do movement screens via exercise progression because I need to know what an athlete can do correctly at any specific time. Screening anything, even if the movements are not perfectly connected to injury risk or performance, is a learning experience for both me as the coach and the athlete.
“If a photo is worth a thousand words, video combined with pressure
is priceless” – Philip Stotter
When a coach screens, subtleties about how the athlete receives instruction, their focus and effort with a task, and how they learn outside of the course or field are very useful. A great way that can make the screening process very time efficient and useful for coaches is to add video and ground pressure analysis technology. As I said, I highly recommend screening, but only when attached to the proper technologies to capture it.
To learn more about using the V1 Pressure Mat and V1 Pro to screen your athletes, contact us at [email protected].
Did you catch our recent webinar with Philip Stotter and Matt Krause? See the V1 Pressure Mat live and in action!
