Assessment of the impact of injuries on basic movement patterns in amateur swimmers

Introduction
Swimming is a sport that often involves various injuries, which can cause pain that can last for a lifetime. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of past injuries on basic movement patterns in amateur swimmers.

Material and methods
Sixty amateur swimmers (32 women and 28 men) completed the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) test and a questionnaire on past injuries. The mean age of the respondents was 37 years (SD = 12.7), body weight 72 kg (SD = 13.7) and body height 175 cm (SD = 10). All subjects were adults, practicing amateur swimming for at least two hours a week. Any participant with injuries that had occurred in the previous four weeks was excluded from the study.

Results
Among the respondents, 62% reported suffering injury: 78% being a traumatic injury, 35% an overload injury and 14% both types. The FMS test indicated an increased risk of injury in 20% of respondents, based on a result lower than or equal to 14 points. The mean score in the FMS test was 16 points. Additionally, 5% reported pain in the lumbar spine in the trunk stability push up test. All other tests were passed by all study participants. No significant difference in global FMS score was found between injured and non-injured swimmers.

Conclusions
The FMS score obtained by amateur swimmers does not appear to be influenced by previously experienced injuries. Most of the respondents had suffered injuries in their lives, and these were mainly traumatic injuries.