The posture of high-level wrestlers affects their functional movement patterns: An observational study.

Although there are reports in the recent literature demonstrating the epidemiology of injuries in the wrestler population, no study could be found which has investigated the effect of posture on the functional movement patterns in wrestlers. This study was planned to investigate the effect of posture on the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) scores in wrestlers. The study included 68 male (30 greco-roman and 38 freestyle) wrestlers. Spine posture and flexibility were measured via Spinal Mouse (SM). The New York Posture Rating (NYPR) and FMS Test Kits were used to evaluate overall body posture and functional movement patterns, respectively. Significant weak correlations were found between the FMS sub-parameters, SM sub-parameters and NYPR total score (ρ = −0.265–0.297; P < 0.05). There was a significant weak to moderate relationship between FMS and SM spine-check sub-parameters (ρ = −0.262–0.372; P < 0.05). A significant weak to moderate correlation was found between NYPR sub-parameters for abdominal, chest, foot, shoulder and head postures and all FMS sub-parameters excluding rotation stability (ρ = 0.329–0.504; P < 0.05). There was no relationship between FMS, SM and NYPR total scores. Postural deviations in wrestlers especially in the columna vertebralis may disrupt the biomechanical alignment of the upper and lower extremities, causing the joints to fail to perform arthrokinematic and osteokinematic movements at the appropriate angles, increasing the risk of injury to the wrestlers. The results of this study, in which the general body postures of wrestlers were evaluated and monitored, showed that the effects of posture on functional movements patterns help to predict the risk of injury and can play a protective role in wrestlers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]