The Effect of a 20-Week Corrective Exercise Programme on Functional Movement Patterns in Youth Elite Male Soccer Players

CONTEXT: Poor functional movement patterns negatively affect the ability to perform fundamental movements with precision and efficiency, increasing injury risk in athletes. OBJECTIVES: To examine the effect of a 20-week corrective exercise programme during the competitive season on functional movement patterns in youth elite male soccer players. DESIGN: Cohort Study. SETTING: Team facilities. PARTICIPANTS: 65 youth elite male soccer players (age 15.89 ± 0.53 years; weight 67.42 ± 6.78 kg; stature 175.20 ± 6.34 cm). Two of four teams were randomly selected to take part in the corrective programme. Thus, the players were placed into two groups: corrective exercise programme (CEP) and control group (CON). INTERVENTION: Corrective exercise programme. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Functional movement screen (FMS) was used to assess the presence of dysfunctional, asymmetrical and painful movements in the players before and after the intervention period. In addition to considering the FMS total score (FMStotal), we separated the screen into 3 parts: FMSmove, FMSflex and FMSstab. A repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the training programme on FMS scores. The chi-square (χ2) test was performed to determine whether there were significant changes in the frequencies of asymmetric and dysfunctional movements after 20 weeks. RESULTS: No athlete experienced severe injuries during the intervention period. There was a significant group by time interaction (P < 0.01) for FMStotal, FMSmove and FMSstab, in which only the CEP increased their scores after the intervention period (P < 0.05). A χ2 analysis showed a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in asymmetric and dysfunctional movements at the follow-up in CEP, while these changes were not observed in CON. CONCLUSIONS: Youth elite soccer players demonstrate a high prevalence of asymmetric movements during FMS testing, but their functional movement patterns can be improved during the competitive season following a specific corrective exercise programme.