Page 111 - Safe Wrestling

Motor Learning, Feedback and Movement Screening

When and How to Perform Movement Screening
From the perspective of training organisation, it is advisable to perform
movement screening periodically, particularly during the following peri-
ods:
1. at the beginning of the preparation period, as a baseline assess-
ment and as a foundation for the individualisation of preventive
programmes (Cook et al., 2014),
2. following a prolonged break, for example after injury or an off-
season period (Cook et al., 2014; Read et al., 2016), and
3. in athletes with recurrent injuries or chronic pain affecting the same
anatomical region, such as repeated knee, shoulder, or low-back
pain (Physiopedia contributors, 2023).
In practice, it is advisable to structure screening as a time-efficient and
goal-oriented test battery (e.g., 20–30 minutes), followed by systematic
analysis of the results and integration of the key findings into the training
process. In accordance with contemporary recommendations for pre-
ventive programming, corrective components derived from screening
are more effective when integrated into regular warm-up routines and
supplementary training content (for example, as part of a standardised
warm-up protocol), rather than being implemented separately and only
occasionally (Padua et al., 2018; Paravlic et al., 2024).
Overall, movement screening in combat sports should not be viewed
as a stand-alone decision-making tool that determines whether an ath-
lete may train or compete, but rather as diagnostic support for planning
and adjusting the training process (Asgari et al., 2021; Bahr, 2016). Its
practical value is greatest when linked to:
1. injury and training-load data (epidemiological monitoring and work-
load monitoring) (Eckart et al., 2025),
2. biomechanical understanding of the typical loading demands with-
in a given combat sport (Bodden et al., 2015), and
3. the coach’s practical understanding of the technical and tactical de-
mands specific to the discipline (Kempe et al., 2023).
In this way, movement-screening procedures become part of a broad-
er evidence-based preventive system, rather than merely a formal proce-
dure conducted once per year without meaningful influence on the train-
ing process.

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