Law enforcement officers (LEOs) use protective equipment to ensure safety. However, equipment carriage has been shown to impair movement quality and may increase the risk of musculoskeletal injury. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the influence of equipment load carriage on functional movement as measured by the Functional Movement Screen (FMS). It was hypothesised that FMS scores would be negatively impacted by equipment carriage. A counterbalanced cross-over study was utilised and a convenience sample of 31 males and one female active-duty LEOs were included. Participants completed the FMS under two conditions: with and without equipment. Significant median decreases in the equipment condition were observed for hurdle step, shoulder mobility, and rotary stability (p < .01), and deep squat and dominant limb active straight leg raise (ASLR) (p < .05). The non-dominant limb ASLR and trunk stability push-up were similar between conditions (p > .05). Load carriage appears to impair functional movement among LEOs.Practitioner summary: Equipment carriage interferes with functional movement and neither of the two load carriage systems tested were superior to the other. When choosing between duty belt verses duty belt and outer carrier vest carriage, LEO preference, body type, and acclimation to a given carriage type should be considered.
Keywords: Load carriage; functional movement screen; law enforcement; tactical athlete.