Qualitative evaluation of FMS movement patterns in the course of femoroacetabular impingement in people practising recreational long-distance running

Purpose: The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of a conservative therapeutic intervention on functional changes in the motor system assessed qualitatively with FMS motion patterns in people with femoroacetabular impingement practising long-distance recreational running.

Methods: The study involved 44 men, regularly practising recreational long-distance running. Two runs of tests were conducted in the Laboratory of Biokinetics of the AWF in Cracow. The first measurements were carried out in January 2020, and the second ones – after a 6-month therapeutic intervention in July 2020. A qualitative assessment of movement patterns was made using five tests of the Functional Movement Screen (FMS).

Results: The highest statistically significant gains in FMS scores were obtained in the total of the FMS score (FMST) and in the active straight-leg raise, FMS5. The greatest improvement was noted in the experimental group in the measurement for the affected lower limb. After the intervention, the results obtained in the tests of deep squat (FMS1) and in-line lunge (FMS3) improved significantly only in the experimental group and were approaching the values observed in the control group.

Conclusions: Observations made in this work, documented by the results of the conducted analyses, allow for practical use of the proposed proprietary, 6-month rehabilitation protocol and of a comprehensive, objective protocol for functional changes monitoring by means of qualitative assessment of FMS movement patterns in the conservative treatment of people with femoroacetabular impingement.