Purpose of anterior drawer at knee test?
To detect anterior instability and ACL laxity
How to perform anterior drawer test at knee?
- Athlete lying supine with knee flexed to 90 degrees and foot on the bed
- Sit on the foot to stabilise
- Both hands are placed around the tibia with thumbs over the anterior joint line
- The tibia is drawn forwards and a comparison made of the degree of translation compared to the other knee
Positive result for anterior drawer test at knee?
Increased anterior translation of tibia and loss of ligamentous integrity (look for difference in end feel)
Purpose of posterior drawer test at knee?
To detect posterior instability and PCL laxity
How to perform posterior drawer test at knee?
- Athlete lying supine with knee flexed to 90 degrees and foot on the bed
- Sit on the foot to stabilise
- Both hands are placed around the tibia with thumbs over the anterior joint line
- The tibia is pushed backwards and a comparison made of the degree of translation compared to the other knee
Positive result for positive drawer test at knee?
Increased posterior translation of tibia and loss of ligamentous integrity (look for difference in end feel)
What is Lachmann’s test for?
To detect anterior instability and ACL laxity
How to perform Lachmann’s test?
- Athlete supine
- Knee slightly bent with yours underneath
- One hand holds above knee - Other pulls forwards on the tibia to assess anterior translation of the tibia relative to the femur
Positive result for Lachmann’s test?
Increased anterior translation of tibia relative to other leg with a change in end-feel
What is the posterior sag test for?
To detect posterior instability and PCL laxity
How to perform posterior sag test?
Knee in table top position. Look to see if tibial tuberosity sags towards the floor compared to the other leg
Purpose of apprehension test aka patella apprehension test?
To test for a previous dislocation. Can also be a good clearing test for someone who dislocated a while ago
How to perform apprehension test?
- Ask if they’ve ever dislocated their patella before to their knowledge
- Supine with one knee bent and towel underneath
- Thumbs on medial border of patella. Gently push laterally
Positive result for apprehension test?
Pain and/ or apprehension in anticipation of patella subluxation and usually attempts to contract the quadriceps to try to prevent further patella displacement
Purpose of MCL stress test?
To detect pain and/or laxity of the MCL
How to perform MCL stress test?
- Supine with knee slightly bent
- One hand above knee and one by ankle
- Apply a valgus (inward/ knock knee) gradual pressure
- Repeat the test with knee in full extension
Positive result for MCL stress test?
Reproduction of medial knee pain
Increased valgus movement & laxity
Purpose of LCL stress test?
To detect pain and/or laxity of the LCL
How to perform LCL stress test?
- Supine with leg straight
- One hand above knee and one by ankle
- Apply a varus (outward/ bowlegged) gradual pressure
Positive result for LCL stress test?
Reproduction of lateral knee pain
Increased varus movement & laxity
Purpose of Thessaly test?
To elicit pain and/or apprehension resulting from medial or lateral meniscal injury
How do you perform the Thessaly test?
- Athlete standing on the affected leg holding lightly onto the therapists hands
- Knee slightly bent with fixed foot and tibia
- Rotation into internal & external rotation repeated several times
- Cue them to try and turn at the knee rather than at the hip
Positive result for Thessaly test?
Pain, locking or apprehension
