Identifying injury risk and implementing preventive measures can assist in reducing injury occurrence and may ultimately improve athletic performance. Improper movement patterns often contribute to musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries. The validity of the Functional Movement Screen (FMS™) as an injury prediction tool for athletes remains unclear. We designed the Basketball-Specific Mobility Test (BMT) to represent the neuromuscular demands of basketball and identify deficiencies that may be indicative of greater MSK injury risk while playing this sport. The aim of this study was to examine the association of FMS™ and BMT scores with injury occurrence in collegiate basketball players. We hypothesized that the BMT would be a better predictor of injury risk than the FMS™, and that scores from both tests would have a higher association with severe MSK injuries than minor, non-MSK injuries. One-hundred nineteen male and female collegiate basketball players from four Upper Midwest universities were assessed pre- (PRE) and post-season (POST) using the FMS™ and BMT. In-season injury records were collected from the schools' athletic trainers and were classified by type and severity. During the season, 56 of 119 players were injured, resulting in 96 total injuries. Injured athletes' PRE FMS™ scores demonstrated negligible effects compared to uninjured athletes' PRE scores (d < 0.20), though some BMT scores showed potentially meaningful effects (d > 0.20). While specificity of the FMS™ and BMT to predict injury was relatively high (FMS™ 85.7-87.6; BMT 42.0-88.0), sensitivity (FMS™ 14.2-22.7; BMT 11.6-39.1), odds ratios (FMS™ 1.00-2.08; BMT 0.47-1.06), and injury prediction capacities (AUC; FMS™ 0.43-0.49; BMT 0.49-0.59) of the tests were low. Although the FMS™ and BMT may be suitable for identifying MSK deficiencies, they do not accurately determine injury risk in collegiate basketball players. Injury risk assessments may be improved by targeting specific injury mechanisms and the conditions in which they occur.

We assessed 10 youth football players (13.4 ± 0.7 y) immediately before and after their season to explore the effects of football participation on selected clinical measures of neurologic function. Postseason postural stability in a closed-eye condition was improved compared to preseason (P = .017). Neurocognitive testing with the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) battery revealed that reaction time was significantly faster at postseason (P = .015). There were no significant preseason versus postseason differences in verbal memory (P = .507), visual memory (P = .750), or visual motor speed (P = .087). Oculomotor performance assessed by the King-Devick test was moderately to significantly improved (P = .047-.115). A 12-week season of youth football did not impair the postural stability, neurocognitive function, or oculomotor performance measures of the players evaluated. Though encouraging, continued and more comprehensive investigations of this at-risk population are warranted.