Relationship between core stability, functional movement, and performance

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between core stability, functional movement, and performance. Twenty-eight healthy individuals (age = 24.4 ± 3.9 yr, height = 168.8 ± 12.5 cm, mass = 70.2 ± 14.9 kg) performed several tests in 3 categories: core stability (flexion [FLEX], extension [EXT], right and left lateral [LATr/LATl]), functional movement screen (FMS) (deep squat [DS], trunk-stability push-up [PU], right and left hurdle step [HSr/HSl], in-line lunge [ILLr/ILLl], shoulder mobility [SMr/SMl], active straight leg raise [ASLRr/ASLRl], and rotary stability [RSr/RSl]), and performance tests (backward medicine ball throw [BOMB], T-run [TR], and single leg squat [SLS]). Statistical significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. There were significant correlations between SLS and FLEX (r = 0.500), LATr (r = 0.495), and LATl (r = 0.498). The TR correlated significantly with both LATr (r = 0.383) and LATl (r = 0.448). Of the FMS, BOMB was significantly correlated with HSr (r = 0.415), SMr (r = 0.388), PU (r = 0.407), and RSr (r = 0.391). The TR was significantly related with HSr (r = 0.518), ILLl (r = 0.462) and SMr (r = 0.392). The SLS only correlated significantly with SMr (r = 0.446). There were no significant correlations between core stability and FMS. Moderate to weak correlations identified suggest core stability and FMS are not strong predictors of performance. In addition, existent assessments do not satisfactorily confirm the importance of core stability on functional movement. Despite the emphasis fitness professionals have placed on functional movement and core training for increased performance, our results suggest otherwise. Although training for core and functional movement are important to include in a fitness program, especially for injury prevention, they should not be the primary emphasis of any training program.