Spine
Prone instability test
- What you examine
- Whether a painful lumbar segment benefits from active stabilisation.
- Procedure
- The patient lies with the trunk on the couch and the feet on the floor. Apply PA pressure at the painful level. Then have the legs lifted off the floor and repeat the same pressure.
- Positive when
- Pain with the legs relaxed that clearly diminishes or disappears once the legs are lifted.
- What the test is worth
- Part of the cluster predicting who benefits from stabilisation training. Sensitivity around 0.70, specificity around 0.60; the value lies in combination with the other cluster items.
- Caution
- This is a treatment-predicting test, not a diagnosis. It says something about what works, not about which tissue produces the pain.
- Body region
- Spine