Spine
Spurling test
- What you examine
- Cervical radiculopathy.
- Procedure
- Bring the neck into extension with lateral flexion and rotation towards the affected side and apply axial compression.
- Positive when
- Radiating pain in the arm in a dermatomal pattern.
- What the test is worth
- Specificity around 0.93 and sensitivity around 0.50: positive makes radiculopathy likely, negative does not rule it out.
- Caution
- Do not perform it when instability, myelopathy or a vertebrobasilar problem is suspected.
- Body region
- Spine