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Abstract

The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) is a tool used to identify any imbalances, asymmetries or deficits that may affect movement quality. Movement quality may have an impact on athletic performance but research does not yet specify. Corrective exercise is an approach that addresses the weak links of foundational patterns found in the FMS. Corrective exercises target multiple joints and muscles rather than isolation movements to provide a more functional approach. Hand grip strength (HGS) is commonly used to help gauge athletic performance and possibly predict injury. Softball, especially at the division 1 (D1) level requires a significant level of strength, stability, mobility and HGS. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine changes in Functional Movement Screen (FMS), hand grip strength, and pelvic tilt alignment (PTA) following a 4-week late pre-season individualized corrective exercise program in Division I softball players. METHODS: Eight female Division I softball student-athletes (19.9 ± 1.0 y; 76.6 ± 8.5 kg; 174.0 ± 5.8 cm) voluntarily completed the standard seven-movement FMS protocol, bilateral hand-grip dynamometry (elbow flexed, EF: elbow extended/arm downward, EE-D; elbow extended//shoulder flexed 180 O , EE-SF) and PTA tests. Each athlete was assigned corrective exercises selected from FMS results using the FMS corrective algorithm, which prioritizes mobility, followed by motor control, and then functional patterning. Athletes were instructed to perform prescribed corrective exercises as a warm-up before resistance training (3 d·wk⁻¹) and once nightly for 4-weeks. Progressions for each exercise were provided after two weeks. The program was unsupervised, and adherence was not monitored, but athletes were provided a familiarization session prior to intervention implementation. Paired t-tests were used to analyze pre- and post-intervention changes in each of the dependent variables. Analyses were performed using SPSS version 30 (IBM Corp) with significance set at p> 0.05. RESULTS: No significant changes were observed in total FMS score (p >0.05) following the intervention. Statistically significant improvements were observed in the EE-SF left hand-grip scores, and the left PTA only [t(7) = -4.67, p = 0.002, d = -1.5 and t(7) = 2.97, p = 0.025, d = 0.98, respectively]. CONCLUSIONS: A professionally-guided, 4-week corrective program was associated with improvement in softball player’s hand-grip scores and a reduction in left PTA, but was not associated with significant changes in FMS scores in most athletes' targeted FMS patterns, but changes in total FMS score and other measures were not statistically significant. Results are limited by the small sample, the absence of a control group, unmonitored adherence, and pain or injury in two athletes at retest. Standardized measurement protocols and adherence tracking are recommended in future work.

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