Effects of Fatigue on Functional Movement Efficiency in Physically Active Adults

Abstract

Functional movement tests to identify faulty movement patterns and compensations have become common place in sports medicine and sport performance; however, this testing is often performed in a rested state, despite athletes being often injured when in a state of neuromuscular fatigue. Therefore, the purpose of our study was to examine the effects of neuromuscular fatigue on a functional movement test in health, physically active adults. Twenty-five adults volunteered for the study (age 5 23.3 6 2.7 years, height 5 168.2 6 9.0 cm, body mass 5 72.2 6 12.5 kg). Subjects completed a prefatigue movement test, an aerobic exercise physically fatiguing protocol, and a postfatigue movement test. Scores were calculated according to compensations present during the tests. Prefatigue (45.1 6 5.4) to postfatigue (39.9 6 5.7) overall scores were significantly worse after the fatiguing protocol (p , 0.001, effect size [ES] 5 0.9). Prefatigue to postfatigue scores for the 1-Leg Squat, Shoulder, and Cervical subtests were also significantly decreased (p 5 0.005, ES 5 0.7; p 5 0.002, ES 5 0.5; p 5 0.016, ES 5 0.7, respectively). Neuromuscular fatigue affected the functional movement test, demonstrated by a decrease in movement scores, in healthy adults. Clinicians may use the functional movement test to identify potential compensations while their patients are physically fatigued. Then clinicians can implement an injury prevention program to reduce the possible risk of injury.