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Straight Leg Raise
Equipment:
Precautions:
- Subjects with recent or chronic back pain, recent injury, or surgery to the hips, knees or ankles should be excluded from this test.
Testing Procedure:
The subject lies supine on the floor while the tester places the inclinometer over the distal tibia embracing the distal leg with the thumb of the same hand and use the free hand over the opposite knee to keep it straight. The tester lifts the leg by the ankle and raises it towards the trunk. The other leg remains straight without the back of the knee losing contact with the floor.
Subjectively apply a moderate force so that leg is on stretch. Using the inclinometer measure the angle that the raised limb has travelled. Scores above 100 degrees are considered excellent. Also assess the ratio between each leg to determine if any muscle imbalance is apparent. Ratios between 0.90 and 1.10 are considered within normal ranges and not significant.
