Special tests Flashcards
Cervical spine ROM
flexion: 40
extension: 50
rotation: 50
lateral flexion: 22
Cervical clearing test
-AROM with overpressure in all directions
Alar ligament test
- Purpose: assess integrity of alar ligament
- Position: supine hooklying
- How to perform: Place one hand on the occiput and use the other to palpate the spinous process of C2. Laterally flex or rotate the head to one side, you should feel the spinous process move to the opposite side. If you block C2 you can stress the ligament and should encounter a firm end feel if it is intact.
Bakody’s sign
- Purpose: to assess for cervical radiculopathy at the C4-6 levels
- Position: sitting
- How to perform: Actively or passively place patients hand on top of their head. A decrease in pain is a positive test.
- Unknown accuracy
Cervical distraction test
- Purpose: to assess the contribution of cervical radiculopathy to pt’s symptoms
- Position: Supine hooklying
- Performing the test: Grasp head and gently flex the neck while pulling towards torso
- Sensitivity: 44
- Specificity: 90
Cervical rotation lateral flexion test
- Purpose: To assess the contribution of 1st rib hypomobility to brachial plexus pain
- Position: Sitting
- Perming the test: Rotate the head away from the painful side to end range. While maintaining rotation attempt to laterally flex as far as possible on the tested side. If unable t laterally flex the head the test is considered positive.
Craniocervical flexion test
- Purpose: to assess the ability of utilizing the deep neck flexors
- Position: Supine hooklying
- Performing the test: Place inflated blood pressure cuff under neck, while keeping back of head stable patient performs graded cervical flexion in a graded fashion in 5 increments. Each position is held for 10 seconds with 10 second rest. Patient should be able to achieve 26-30 mmhg.
Deep neck flexor endurance test
- Purpose: to assess the endurance of the deep neck flexors
- Position: supine, hooklying
- Performing the test: Tuc patients chin and lift off table 1 inch hold until compensations seen.
- Normative values: men 38.9 seconds, women 29.4 seconds
Posterior-anterior segmental mobility
- Purpose: assess for segmental motion and the effect on symptoms
- Position: prone
- Performing the test: Apply PA pressure to spinous processes
- Sensitivity: 82
- Specificity: 79
Segmental mobility
- Purpose: to assess the motion at each cervical segment
- Position: supine
- Performing the test: Occipitoatlantal joint: rotate the head to the side 30 degrees then flex and extend just the head. Atlantoaxial joint: maximally flex the head and rotate the head in each direction. C2-C7: Contact articular pillar, flex the spine maximally below the tested segment and side glide in each direction.
Sharp purser test
- Purpose: to assess the integrity of the transverse ligament
- Position: sitting
- Performing test: Patient performs slight cervical nod, PT places one hand on forehead and the other on the spinous process of C2 (arms should be parallel to the ground). Apply force directed posteriorly while stabilizing C2. There should be a firm end feel.
- Sensitivity: 69
- Specificity: 96
Spurlings maneuver
- Purpose: To assess the contributions of cervical radiculopathy to pt’s symptoms.
- Position: sitting
- Performing the test: Laterally flex the head to the unaffected side. Apply compression to head and repeat on affected side. Positive if symptoms are reproduced.
- Sensitivity: 88
- Specificity: 50
Transverse ligament test
- Purpose: to assess the integrity of the transverse ligament and cervical stability.
- Position: supine hooklying
- Performing the test: Place one hand on the occiput with index finger between C2 spinous process and occipital protuberance. Place other hand on the forehead. Lift the head straight up in a vertical plane. Positive test is patient experience feelings of weakness, dizziness, numbness, nystagmus, or an odd feeling in the back of the throat.
Median nerve ULNTT
- Purpose: to assess the contributions of median N to pt symptoms
- Position: supine
- Performing test: Depress shoulder, laterally rotate and ABD the shoulder to 90 degrees. Extend the elbow while forearm is supinated, wrist and fingers extended.
- Sensitivity: 50
- Specificity: 86
Radial nerve ULNTT
- Purpose: to assess contributions of the radial N to pt symptoms
- Position: supine
- Performing test: Depress shoulder, grasp pt’s hand and place arm in 10 degrees of ABD and fully extended elbow. Medially rotate the shoulder, pronate the forearm, and flex the wrist and fingers.
Ulnar nerve ULNTT
- Purpose: to assess contributions of the ulnar N
- Position: supine
- Performing the test: Depress shoulder, flex elbow to 115 degrees with the forearm pronated. Keep patient’s wrist and fingers extended. Laterally rotate the patient’s shoulder to end range and abduct the patient’s shoulder.
Vertebral artery test
- Purpose: to assess contributions of vertebral artery occlusion to the vertebral artery
- Position: sitting
- Performing the test: patient rotates head opposite to tested side maximally and holds 10 seconds then returns to neutral for 10 seconds. Patient extends head for 10 seconds then neutral for 10 seconds. Patient extends and rotates head for 10 seconds. Positive test with 5 D’s.
- Sensitivity: 0
- Specificity: 67-90%
The 5 D’s
- dizziness
- diplopia
- dysarthria
- dysphagia
- drop attacks
6 nausea and vomiting - sensory changes
- nystagmus
Canadian C-spine rules
- 65+ or dangerous mechanism or paresthesias in extremities
- any low risk factor that allows safe assessment of AROM
- active 45 degrees of rotation bilaterally in neck
Cervical manipulation for neck pain
- symptoms duration <38 days
- positive expectation that manipulation will help
- side to side difference in cervical rotation ROM of 10 degrees or greater
- pain with PA spring testing of the middle cervical spine
Cervical myelopathy symptoms
- Ataxic gait
- (+) hoffman’s
- (+) babinski
- (+) inverted supinator sign
- age >45 years
Cluster for cervical radiculopathy
- cervical rotation <60 degrees affected side
- (+) distraction test
- (+) spurlings test
- (+) ULNT- median
Cluster for patients with neck pain that will benefit from T-spine manipulation
-symptoms <30 days
-no symptoms distal to the shoulder
-looking up does not aggravate symptoms
-FABQ physical activity score <12
-diminished upper thoracic spine kyphosis
cervical extension ROM <30 degrees
Mechanical traction for neck pain
- patient reported peripheralization with lower cervical spine (C4-7) mobility testing
- (+) bakody’s sign
- age 55+
- ULNT A
- cervical distraction test
Adam’s forward bend test
- Purpose: to identify individuals with scoliosis
- Position: standing
- Performing the test: Pt bends forward as far as possible. Look for one side of the rib cage to be higher than the other next tot eh vertebral column. Rib hump forms on side of the convexity.
- Sensitivity: 92
- Specificity: 60
Passive neck flexion test
- Purpose: to assess the contribution of neural tension to the patient’s symptoms
- Position: supine
- Performing the test: patient actively performs upper cervical nod. Examiner passively flexes the lower cervical spine.
Thoracic compression test
- Purpose: to identify the effect of vertebral compression to symptoms
- Position: sitting
- Performing the test: apply an inferiorly directed pressure through the shoulders. Positive response is an indication of pain.
Thoracic distraction test
- Purpose: to identify the impact decompression has on the patient
- Position: long sitting
- Performing the test: Patient’s arms are crossed. While kneeling or standing grab under axillary areas to grasp the patient’s forearms. Lean back and dig hip into the patient’s low back.
Thoracic foraminal closure test
- Purpose: assess impact of decreased intervertebral foramin
- Position: sitting
- Performing the test: laterally flex the spine to the unaffected side. Apply an axial compression through both shoulders.
Active sit up test
- Purpose: to assess the strength of the trunk and hip flexors
- Position: hooklying
- Performing the test: stabilize the feet of the patient and with arms forward pt performs a sit up and holds position for 5 seconds.
Alternate Gillet Test
- Purpose: To assess SI motion restrictions
- Position: standing
- Performing the test: palpate the PSIS on one side and S2 with the other hand, the patient then flexes the opposite hip past 90 degrees. Should movement of the PSIS occur in the superior direction the test is positive, no movement is negative.
Crossed Straight Leg Raise Test
- Purpose: to test for the presence of a disc herniation
- Position: supine
- Performing the test: passively flex patient’s uninvolved hip while maintaining the knee in full extension. Positive when there is sympton reproduction in the involved limb at 40 degrees of hip flexion.
- Sensitivity:29
- Specificity: 88
Extensor Endurance Test
- Purpose: to assess the strength and endurance of the lumbar extensors
- Position: prone with the upper body and abdomen off the edge of the table
- Performing the test: arms crossed across the chest, stabilize legs and extend back to maintain a level torso as long as possible, no more than 5 minutes.
FABER
- Purpose: To assess the SI joint or hip joint for being source of pain.
- Position: supine
- Flexion, ABD, ER
- Sensitivity: 71
- Specificity: 1.0
Fortin’s Sign
- Purpose: to assess for SI dysfunction
- Position: sitting or standing
- Performing the test: Have patient use one finger to localize their pain. Positive test is when the patient twice identifies the painful region as within 1 cm of inferomedial to the PSIS.
Gaenslen
- Purpose: assess for SI pain
- Position: supine
- Performing test: Non tested leg is in extension, tested leg is in full flexion, apply an extension force on tested limb, may drop leg off EOB for greater force.
- Sensitivity: 71
- Specificity: 26
Gower’s Sign
- Purpose: to assess the contribution of proximal LE muscle weakness to pt’s symptoms
- Position: squatting
- Performing the test: Have pt attempt to stand up right, positive test a patient has to walk hands up the thighs to achieve erect position
Lumbar Quadrant Test
- Purpose: to determine if the lumbar spine is the source of pt’s pain
- Position: sitting
- Performing the test: pt’s arms are folded across his/her chest and examiner places the lumbar spine in hyperextension along with combined ipsilateral lateral flexion and rotation to end range.
Posterior Shear Test (POSH)
- Purpose: to assess for pain originating in the SI joint
- Position: supine
- Performing the test: Examiner stands on tested side, stabilize sacrum and push through femur.
- Sensitivity: 80
- Specificity: 100
Posteroanterior Mobility
- Purpose: to test for segmental mobility
- Position: prone
- Performing the test: apply PA pressure to the spine
- Two variables: lumbar flexion >53 and lack of hypomobility. One variable: sensitivity: 82, specificity: 22. Two variables: sensitivity: 29, specificity: 98.
Prone Knee Bend
- Purpose: to determine if neural tension is contributing to symptoms
- Position: Prone
- Performing test: passively flex pt’s knee to end range and hold for 45 seconds. Positive if there is pain in unilateral lumbar area, buttock, or posterior thigh.
Prone instability test
- Purpose: test for the likelihood of a pt responding well to stabilization program
- Position: prone with legs fully off the plinth resting on floor
- Performing the test: Find painful spot in spine with pt’s feet on the ground, pt lifts legs off the ground and re-assess pain with a PA pressure. Positive if pain lessens when feet are off the ground.
- Sensitivity: 72
- Specificity: 58
Resisted ABD test
- Purpose: assess SI or hip joint for source of pain
- Position: Supine
- Performing test: patient’s tested leg is extended and abducted to about 30 degrees and examiner resisted abduction. Production of LBP is a positive test and is indicative of pain stemming from SI joint.
- Sensitivity: 87
- Specificity: 100
Sacral thrust
- Purpose: to determine if SI is source of pain
- Position: prone
- Performing test: apply PA force to sacrum (base, apex, and each side of the sacrum medial to PSIS), then apply cephalad pressure to same.
- Sensitivity: 63
- Specificity: 75
Seated Forward Flexion Test
- Purpose: to assess for decreased motion at one of the SI joints
- Position: sitting
- Performing the test: examiner has a hand on each PSIS and patient bends forward while examiner compares the movement of each PSIS.
- Sensitivity: 9
- Specificity: 93
SIJ Compression/Distraction test
- Purpose: to assess SI contributions to pt’s pain
- Position: supine
- Performing the test: examiner pushes outwards on ASIS’s then presses inwards
- Compression: Sensitivity: 69, Specificity: 69
- Distraction: Sensitivity: 60, Specificity: 81
Slump Test
- Purpose: to assess whether a herniated disc, neural tension, or altered neurodynamics are contributing to the patient’s symptoms
- Position: sitting
- Performing the test: pt is seated upright with hands held together behind pt’s back, pt slumps and flexes head, leg is extended and foot dorsiflexed.
- Sensitivity: 84
- Specificity: 83
Sphinx test
- Purpose: to assess for sacral torsion
- Position: prone
- Performing test: palpate sacral sulcus and inferior angle of the sacrum on each side when pt is in prone. Assess sacral sulci and inferior angles for symmetry, have pt perform PPOE and if landmarks become more symmetrical they have forward torsion, if more asymmetrical they have backward torsion.
Spine Rotators and Multifidus Test
- Purpose: to determine the ability to recruit and utilize the muscles while under going movements of the extremities
- Position: q-ped
- Performing the test: pelvis is placed in a neutral position and is maintained through various positions. 5/5 if can perform contralateral UE/LE lift, 4/5 unilateral leg lift, 3/5 unilateral UE lift, 2/5 able to lift arm or leg off table, 1/5 unable to lift arm off table.
Squish test
- Purpose: to assess the mobility of the SI joint
- Position: Supine
- Performing the test: Push inward on bilateral ASIS’s at a 45 degree angle
Straight leg raise
- Purpose: to asses for the presence of a disc herniation
- Position: supine
- Performing the test: examiner will passively flex the patient’s hip while maintaining the knee in full extension. Positive if pain is reproduced at 40 degrees of hip flexion.
- Sensitivity: 91
- Specificity: 26
Supine to Long Sit test
- Purpose: to assess the contribution of the SI joint to an apparent leg length discrepancy
- Position: supine
- Performing the test: palpate inferior to medial malleoli in supine then have patient sit upright. If there is a posterior innominate the leg that appeared shorter will lengthen with sit up. If there is an anterior innominate the leg that appeared longer will shorten with the sit up.
- Sensitivity: 44
- Specificity: 64
Lumbar AROM
- flexion: 60
- extension: 35
- lateral flexion: 25-30