Determining functional movement screen normative values as a predictor of injury in triathletes

Abstract

Background: Triathlon is a multidisciplinary sport that comprises of swimming, cycling and running. Triathlon events are classified as sprint distance, Olympic distance and Ironman or long course triathlons. Triathlon is considered to be one of the fastest growing sports globally and, despite this, there is insufficient data relating to injuries and injury prevention in the South African context. The Functional Movement Screen™ is a pre-participation screening tool that evaluates fundamental movement patterns to determine potential injury risk and to predict injury. Aim: This study aims to determine the normative values for the FMS™ in triathletes and its ability to identify possible injury risks in triathletes. Methods: The research evaluated the FMSTM score in triathletes in the eThekwini municipal area prior to the commencement of a training session and then tracked the incidence, frequency and distribution of injuries that were sustained during a six-week follow-up period. Two triathlon training groups were approached, and triathletes voluntarily participated provided that they fitted the inclusion criteria. The triathletes were required to fill out an athlete questionnaire which was followed by performing the seven FMS™ tests. In total 24 triathletes between the ages of 18 and 35 were assessed. IBM SPSS version 27 was used in the data analysis to test for statistical significance of the results. Results: The research sample revealed that the normative value for the FMS™ score for triathletes was 14.25 out of 21, with a standard deviation of 2.15. The male triathletes (14.32), on average, had a higher FMS™ score than the female triathletes (14.00). The participants did not report any injuries during the six weeks after completing the FMS™, therefore, this research shows that no association can be made between a low score on the Functional Movement Screen TM and injury susceptibility. There was, however, noted that triathletes who reported current injuries scored lower on the FMS™ (13.25) than triathletes who did not report current injuries (14.45). However, this finding was not statistically significant (p=0.319). Further findings suggested that the most common injuries amongst triathletes were lower extremity muscle strains. Conclusion: The results concur with previous research. However, this study adds insight into injury occurrence and prevention strategies in triathlon. The most common injuries require investigation to develop preventative interventions to reduce injuries in triathletes. Health professionals require education about triathlon-related injuries to improve preventative and curative interventions.