Using the FMS to Manage Injury Risk in the Workforce

By Bryce Milsom, Clinical Director, Evolve Physiotherapy

In this article: How the Functional Movement Screen was used to assess and reduce injury risk across 19,000 first responders in New South Wales, and what this means for workplace injury prevention in New Zealand.

Workplace injuries are expensive, preventable and frequently underestimated. Research compiled by EHS Today found that workplace injuries causing employees to miss six or more days of work cost United States companies over $62 billion annually, with total costs across all injuries and illnesses exceeding $250 billion. Perhaps most striking is that one third of those injuries were repetitive or overuse in nature, not accidents, but the predictable result of bodies that were not adequately prepared for the demands placed on them.

Occupational health and safety frameworks increasingly recognise movement screening as a proactive tool for reducing preventable injury in the workforce. At Evolve Physiotherapy, we believe the same principle applies here in New Zealand. The tools exist to identify who is at risk before injury occurs. The question is whether organisations are willing to use them.

The NSW Police Force case study

One of the most compelling real-world applications of the Functional Movement Screen comes from the New South Wales Police Force in Australia, where Sergeant Mick Stierli implemented a comprehensive physical training programme built around FMS screening for 19,000 officers spread across a geographic area larger than the state of Texas.

Stierli’s motivation was straightforward: “In the police force we have daily checklists. We check our vehicles, our weapons, but we never checked our people. I think our people are our most important assets.”

What the data showed

Research presented by Michael Contreras of the Orange County Fire Authority at the 2013 Functional Movement Summit examined FMS scores across 112 firefighters. The findings were clear: 47% of firefighters with lower FMS scores accounted for 72% of all injuries. The data pointed directly to a relationship between movement quality and injury risk.

This pattern is consistent across tactical workforces. A 2005 study published in Anesthesia and Analgesia found that musculoskeletal injuries in the military often accounted for more injuries than actual combat. For firefighters specifically, musculoskeletal injuries have been identified as a leading cause of compensation claims, exceeding even burns (Karter, Molis and Association, 2011).

Movement screening as a proactive tool

The FMS does not simply identify who is injured. It identifies who is likely to become injured by evaluating movement quality across seven fundamental patterns. Those with poor scores, indicating weaknesses in core stability, mobility or movement control, are statistically more likely to sustain injury under load.

Importantly, the benefits extend beyond physical health. A 2013 study co-authored by Stierli found that a return to work conditioning programme also improved the attitude and mental wellbeing of personnel within the organisation.

Injury prevention programmes for New Zealand workplaces

The financial and human cost of preventable workplace injuries is just as real in New Zealand as it is in the United States or Australia. ACC data consistently shows musculoskeletal injuries as among the most common and costly workplace claims.

Structured injury prevention programmes built around objective movement screening offer organisations a practical way to reduce that cost. The Functional Movement Screen provides a reliable fitness for work assessment that establishes a clear movement baseline for each individual, identifies those at highest risk and guides targeted intervention before injury occurs.

At Evolve Physiotherapy, FMS screening is available for both individual patients and workplace groups. If you are interested in how movement screening could support your team or organisation, or would like to discuss our functional assessment and rehabilitation packages, get in touch with our Howick clinic or book an appointment online.