🏋️ Functional Movement: The Key to Moving Better, Faster, and Stronger

What is Functional Movement

Functional movement refers to natural, efficient, and multi-joint patterns we use in everyday life and sport — like squatting, lunging, reaching, and rotating. These movements require a balance of mobility, stability, and motor control. In essence, they are the “basic grammar” of human movement: before you run fast or lift heavy, you need to move well.

At its core, functional movement is about neuromuscular integration — how the brain and body coordinate sensory input, motor planning, and execution. When these patterns are efficient, movement feels smooth and strong. When dysfunctional, they often contribute to injury risk, pain, and poor performance (Cook et al., 2014).

Where Did the Term Functional Movement Come From

The phrase “functional movement” emerged in rehabilitation and performance circles in the 1990s. It was a response to overly isolated training approaches that didn’t transfer well to sport or daily life. Physical therapist Gray Cook popularised the concept by asking: “Are we building fitness on top of dysfunction?”

His creation of the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) — a seven-test system to assess movement quality — was pivotal. It shifted the conversation from simply measuring strength or endurance to evaluating how people move. This tool rapidly gained traction in professional sport, the military, and physical therapy.

A Brief History of the Development of Functional Movement

Although Cook and colleagues formalised the FMS in 1998, the roots of functional training go back further. Physical therapists in the 1960s–80s often used movement-based rehabilitation, focusing on restoring natural patterns before adding isolated strength.

When coaches saw how these ideas improved recovery, they began applying them to athletes. The FMS became one of the first systems to standardise movement screening in performance contexts (Cook et al., 2006). Studies have since validated its use in athletic, clinical, and military populations (Lininger et al., 2018).

Why is Functional Movement Important to Athletes and Everyday People

For athletes, functional movement improves performance by enhancing movement economy and reducing injury risk. Kiesel et al. (2007) found that NFL players with FMS scores under 14 were 11 times more likely to suffer serious injury in a season. In the military, corrective programmes based on FMS improved both functional scores and reduced injuries among cadets (Basar et al., 2019).

For everyday people, functional movement determines whether you can lift groceries without back pain or move freely as you age. Restrictions in the hips, thoracic spine, or core stability are strongly associated with low back pain and falls risk in the general population (Darby et al., 2021).

In short: functional movement is not just for elite athletes. It’s the foundation for pain-free, efficient living.

How to Screen Functional Movement

The Functional Movement Screen (FMS)

The FMS consists of seven tests:

1. Deep squat
   

2. Hurdle step
   

3. In-line lunge
   

4. Shoulder mobility
   

5. Active straight-leg raise
   

6. Trunk stability push-up
   

7. Rotary stability
   

Each movement is scored 0–3 based on performance quality, pain, and compensation. The total score out of 21 helps coaches and clinicians identify dysfunction before progressing training.

While the FMS has critics — particularly regarding its predictive value for injury — most experts agree it is an excellent movement-awareness tool. Newer assessments such as the Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) and the Y-Balance Test are often used alongside it.

Athletic Pursuit Mobility Screen

In practice, many coaches adapt screening tools. For example, the following mobility checks are highly informative:

• Lats: tight if <180° overhead
  

• Hamstrings: tight if <80°
  

• Thoracic spine: limited if <45° rotation
  

• Shoulder internal rotation: limited if <45°
  

• Shoulder external rotation: limited if <45°
  

• Hip flexors: tight if <180°
  

• Quadriceps: tight if <90°
  

• Hip internal rotation: limited if <45°
  

• Hip external rotation: normal if >45°
  

Combined with observing basic movement patterns — squat, hinge, push, pull — this provides a clear picture of functional capacity.

How to Improve Functional Movement

Improvement starts with identifying weak links: mobility, stability, or motor control.

• Mobility: Target stiff joints and fascia (ankles, hips, thoracic spine) with foam rolling, loaded stretching, and dynamic drills. Tissue adapts via mechanotransduction, meaning stress remodels fibres to improve range of motion (Webb, 2016).
  

• Stability: Train core, hips, and scapular stabilisers. Single-leg and unilateral drills enhance proprioception and reflexive firing, teaching the body to protect joints under load (Cornell, 2016).
  

• Motor control: Use slow tempo, pauses, and precise repetition to retrain the brain’s motor pathways. This harnesses neuroplasticity, ensuring strength carries over into smooth, safe movement.

Think of it like fixing a car’s alignment before driving at speed.

Example of a Functional Movement Training Programme

Day 1 – Limited lats, hamstrings, and thoracic spine

• Foam roll: lats – 1–2 min per side
  

• Single-arm lat pull-down (eccentric focus)
  

• B-stance dumbbell RDL (eccentric focus)
  

• Wall A-stance isometric
  

• Foam roll overhead extension
  

• Table-top thoracic rotation with cable pull
  

• Side-lying “open book” stretch
  

Day 2 – Limited shoulder rotation

• Dumbbell external rotation (bench supported)
  

• Cuban rotations
  

• Cable internal rotation (bench supported)
  

• Dumbbell face pulls
  

Day 3 – Limited hip internal rotation and hip flexors

• Banded hip distraction
  

• Copenhagen plank
  

• GHD single-leg hang
  

• Kettlebell hip flexor isometric
  

Corrective exercise programmes like these have been shown to significantly improve FMS scores and reduce injury risk in both athletes and military populations (Kraus et al., 2014; Basar et al., 2019).

Final Takeaway

Functional movement is not just a training buzzword. It is the foundation of human performance, health, and injury prevention. Whether you’re an athlete chasing performance gains or an everyday person wanting to move without pain, functional movement is the key to moving better, faster, and stronger.

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References

• Cook, G., Burton, L., & Hoogenboom, B. (2006). Functional movement screening. North Am J Sports Phys Ther.

• Cook, G., Burton, L., Hoogenboom, B., & Voight, M. (2014). Functional movement screening: assessment of function. Int J Sports Phys Ther.

• Kiesel, K., Plisky, P., & Voight, M. (2007). Injury prediction with preseason FMS. J Strength Cond Res.

• Lininger, M. R., Warren, M., & Chimera, N. J. (2018). FMS perspectives. Open Access J Sports Med.

• Basar, M. J., Stanek, J. M., & Dodd, D. D. (2019). Corrective exercises in cadets. J Sport Rehabil.

• Kraus, K., Schütz, E., & Taylor, W. R. (2014). Efficacy of the FMS: review. J Strength Cond Res.

• Darby, L. A., Keylock, T., & Keil, N. J. (2021). FMS in high school athletes. Int J Exerc Sci.

• Webb, A. (2016). Functional movement development. J Aust Strength Cond.

• Cornell, D. J. (2016). Corrective exercise training in firefighters. Wisconsin University Thesis.