- Straight leg raise
The Straight leg raise also, called
Lasègue's sign or Lasègue test, is a test done during the physical examination to determine whether a patient withlow back pain has an underlying herniated disk.Technique
With the patient lying down on his/her back on a table/or exam floor, the examiner lifts the patient's leg while the knee is straight.
A variation is to lift the leg while the patient is sitting.cite journal |author=Waddell G, McCulloch JA, Kummel E, Venner RM |title=Nonorganic physical signs in low-back pain |journal=Spine |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=117–25 |year=1980 |pmid=6446157 |doi=] However, this reduces the sensitivity of the test.cite journal |author=Rabin A, Gerszten PC, Karausky P, Bunker CH, Potter DM, Welch WC |title=The sensitivity of the seated straight-leg raise test compared with the supine straight-leg raise test in patients presenting with magnetic resonance imaging evidence of lumbar nerve root compression |journal=Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation |volume=88 |issue=7 |pages=840–3 |year=2007 |pmid=17601462 |doi=10.1016/j.apmr.2007.04.016]
Interpretation
"The straight leg raise test is positive if pain in the sciatic distribution is reproduced between 30° and 70° passive flexion of the straight leg." cite journal |author=Speed C |title=Low back pain |journal=BMJ |volume=328 |issue=7448 |pages=1119–21 |year=2004 |pmid=15130982 |doi=10.1136/bmj.328.7448.1119]
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