Context: Injuries related to physical activity contribute to rising annual medical costs in the United States. Gradable movement screens (GMS) have been developed to identify the presence of contributing factors associated with injury in order to target dysfunctional movements and mitigate injury risk through corrective exercise and targeted treatment. There is little evidence available to determine how clinicians learn about and use GMS in their practices. Some GMS focus on balance or a jumping and landing component while others employ a non-weighted squat based gradable movement screen (SBGMS). Incorporation of SBGMS has not been widely researched in the field of athletic training. Objective: To discover the current use, popularity of, and exposure to SBGMS by athletic trainers in the university and collegiate setting. Main Outcome Measure: Participants answered a questionnaire concerning their use of squat based gradable movement screens (SBGMS). The primary questions utilized include 1) Are ATs using SBGMS, and if so, how are ATs utilizing SBGMS? 2) How to do ATs learn about SBGMS? 3) What type of impression/attitude will ATs have concerning the use of SBGMS in clinical practice? Results: Chi-Square tests were used to analyze the majority of the data, which is nominal in nature. Scheffe, Mann Whitney U Rank Sum, and ANOVA were used in select analyses. Statistically significant differences exist when comparing participants’ clinical use of SBGMS and the participants’ gender with more males using SBGMS and athletic division with Division 1 athletic trainers reporting more clinical use of SBGMS. Participants with previous instruction of GMS or credentialing of GMS used SBGMS more than participants that did not have previous instruction or credentialing in SBGMS. The majority of participants that have not earned an additional professional credential, other than athletic training, also did not use SBGMS clinically. Additionally, the majority of participants without previous experience at various clinical settings also did not use SBGMS clinically. Mann-Whitney U test was used for Likert style questions related to attitudes regarding clinical use of SBGMS; participants who do use SBGMS clinically show statistically significant differences in positive attitudes regarding SBGMS as compared to participants that do not use SBGMS clinically. Conclusions: Athletic trainers that work at the collegiate and university setting are more like to use SBGMS in their clinical practice if they are male, work at the NCAA Division I level, have previously learned or are credentialed in a specific SBGMS, and have previously earned another professional credential. Positive responses from participants suggest that SBGMS use should be considered by all athletic trainers.
