Purpose: The present study aims to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of functional training based on functional impairments on the scores of 9+ tests in active men.
Methods: The current research design was a randomized field trial. For this purpose, 30 active men with movement impairments whose 9+ test scores measured with the functional movement screening (FMS) kit were less than 14 were selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Then 9+ tests were measured and randomly divided into two equal experimental (15 people) and control (15 people) groups. The experimental group performed functional exercises based on functional defects for 8 weeks (3 sessions per week, and each session lasting 40 minutes). During this period, the control group continued their normal activities. After 8 weeks of functional exercises, a 9+ test was taken from the subjects as a pre-test. Paired t-test was used to evaluate the results within the group and an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to evaluate the results between groups at a significance level of 0.05 in SPSS software, version 22.
Results: The results of the paired t-test showed that in all 9+ tests, except the shoulder mobility test (P<0.05), a significant difference was observed in the post-test compared to the pre-test only in the experimental group (P<0.05). Also, the results of the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) showed a significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05) in all variables, except the shoulder mobility test (P=0.22). So that the scores of all variables in the experimental group improved compared to the control group
Conclusion: Based on the obtained results, we conclude that performing 8 weeks of functional exercises can probably lead to improving functional movement patterns and improving the movement impairments of active men. These athletes and coaches can use these exercises to reduce movement impairments.