The Effect of 12 Weeks of Wrestling+ Warm-Up Program on Functional Movement Screen Scores in Cadet Wrestlers

Background. Wrestling is one of the most popular sports in the world. United World Wrestling have developed “Wrestling+” injury prevention program similar to the FIFA 11+. Objectives. the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of 12 weeks of “Wrestling+” warm-up program on Functional Movement Screen scores in cadet wrestlers. Methods. The study population included all cadet wrestlers of Rasht city where 24 freestyle wrestlers were selected by the convenience sampling, and further divided into intervention (n=12) and control (n=12) groups. The intervention group performed “Wrestling+” warm-up program for 12 weeks and three times a week while the control group performed routine warm-up during the period of research. Functional Movement Screen tests including Deep Squat (DS), Hurdle Step (HS), In-Line Lunge (ILL), Shoulder Mobility (SM), Active Straight Leg Raise (ASLR), Trunk Stability Push Up (PU), and Rotary Stability (RS) were used in pre- and post-program. Results. There was a significant increase in the total Functional Movement Screen, DS, HS, ILL, PU scores, while there were no significant differences in SM, ASLR, and RS scores in intervention group. Also, there was a %66.7 decrease in the number of wrestlers at high risk in Functional Movement Screen tests in the intervention group. There was no significant difference in any of the variables in the control group (p≥0.05). Conclusion. The results of this study suggested that the “Wrestling+” warm-up program can improve the fundamental movement patterns and finally it may prevent the potential injuries.