Relationship of functional movement screening with balance and flexibility in adult nonathletes—an observational study

Abstract Background The functional movement screening (FMS), Flamingo balance, Y balance, and sit and reach tests are the screening tools for fundamental movement patterns, balance, and flexibility, respectively; the latter three tests are components of quantifying fitness levels. Functional movement screening is used to measure the quality of movement, and it is an injury risk predictor. There are several studies done to find the correlation between functional movement screening and fitness parameters in athletes but has not been studied much in non-athlete population. The aim of this study is to determine the correlation between functional movement screening with static and dynamic balance and flexibility in healthy adult nonathletes, and to find gender differences, if any. Method A total of 65 healthy nonathletes in the age group 18 to 27 years were included in the study based on the selection criteria. The functional movement screening, Y-balance test, Flamingo balance test, and sit and reach test were done for all participants. Results Pearson’s correlation was used to analyze the collected data. The results indicated a poor correlation between FMS and fitness parameters. These are FMS and Y-balance test left and right side ( r = 0.216, 0.144, p = 0.084, 0.251), FMS with Flamingo balance test left and right side ( r = 0.071, 0.197 p = 0.575, 0.115), and FMS with sit and reach test ( r = 0.006, p = 0.961). Conclusion The results showed that functional movement screening and balance (Flamingo and Y balance) and sit and reach cannot be used interchangeably as they do not have any strong correlation. The results of the study also indicate that using only one of the tools cannot predict injury risk in healthy individuals. They have to be used in conjunction with each other.