Michael Dempsey is one of the Kilkenny Hurling teams trainers and plays a huge role in strength and conditioning training for the Kilkenny team.
FMS is a screening tool, which we have used with the Kilkenny Senior Hurling Team for several years, and is an important component of our injury prevention program. A major application of training for player preparation it to help guard against injury, and ultimately reduce the frequency and severity of injuries sustained by players. This approach helps to keep our players in training and in games thus improving our chances of success. We also have a duty of welfare to our players to keep them healthy. Medical bills may also be reduced as a consequence of this approach.
Injuries are unfortunately an occupational hazard in our games. The statistics from the National Injury Database give us staggering numbers to remind us of this. On average, this season, 2 out of every 3 players on your team will get injured. Over a third of your team will have more than one injury this season and up to a quarter of all injuries will have been suffered before. Of these injuries, the vast majority will occur to the lower limb. Therefore any strategy, which helps to reduce the risk of injury, is very beneficial.
Benefits OF FMS
- FMS may help to identify movement dysfunctions before they cause an injury.
- The FMS may be able to identify that something is wrong before the injury gets even worse. If pain is experienced doing any of the tests, the player needs to be checked out by a certified physiotherapist.
- The FMS is easy to administer and is repeatable.
- Re-testing can help you identify improvements you have made.
- FMS not only identifies dysfunctional movement but may also help you to correct them as well, through an exercise program based on your scores in the FMS.
The movements that make up the function movement screen look simple but require good flexibility and control. A player who is unable to perform a movement correctly, shows a major limitation within one of the movement patterns, or demonstrates an obvious difference between the function of the left and right side of the body has uncovered a significant piece of information that may be the key to reducing the risk of injury, improving overall playing performance, and developing a training or rehabilitation program that helps the player advance to a higher level of training.
I would like to commend the students from CBS Kilkenny involved in this study and their screening of players and prescribing of corrective exercises. This process is an essential part of Long Term Player Development for our GAA youth and adults.
This has obvious benefits for injury reduction, improved sporting performance and player welfare.
In addition by encouraging and educating our players to take responsibility for sporting health and general health, it will reap many benefits for our games and for individual players.
Inactive lifestyles and obesity are now a major concern in our youth population. FMS and other interventions can only have a positive effect on our GAA players.
WELL DONE TO ALL CONCERNED.
Michael Dempsey
Strength and Conditioning Coach.
Kilkenny Senior Hurling Team.