| Special Test |
Tests for... |
Positive (+) Test |
| Babinski | upper motor nerve lesion | great toe extends, others splay (performed on plantar surface) |
| Oppenheim | upper motor nerve lesion | great toe extends, others splay (performed on anterior tibia) |
| Straight Leg Raise | sciatic nerve irritation/spasm; disc herniation | sciatica - pain at 50-70 degrees; disc herniation - pain at 30 degrees |
| Well Straight Leg Raise | larger disc lesion/herniation; sciatica | pain is felt on involved side when univolved leg is raised |
| Hoover | malingering | no downward pressure of heel is felt when opposite leg is lifted |
| Kernig | nerve root, meningeal/dural irritation | pain disappears with knee FLEX |
| Brudzinski | nerve root, miningeal/dural irritation | pain felt in the back or leg with neck FLEX |
| Bowstring (Cram) | compression or tension of the sciatic nerve | athelte reports pain with compression in the popliteal fossa |
| Slump | nerve root tension | pain is elicited |
| Stork Stance | spondylolisthesis; pars fracture | back pain around affected vertebral level |
| Valsalva Maneuver | Sciatica or disc herniation | pain in back along the sciatic nerve distribution |
| Beevor's Sign | thoracic nerve inhibition (T5-T12) | umbilicus moves up, down or to one side |
