THE SOCK TEST FOR PATIENTS WITH DISC PROTRUSION

Patients with disc protrusion often complain that they have difficulty in putting on their socks, especially when getting up in the morning. The clinical significance of this symptom has been investigated in pa tients with symptoms of low back pain radiating down one leg to the an kle. Their ability to reach towards their foot with flexed hip and kne e was compared with straight leg raising (SLR) and with range of spina l flexion. There was a significant correlation between the sock test a nd SLR (p = 0.00004) in patients with symptomatic disc protrusion, con firmed by CT scan or myelography.