COMPARISON OF 4 CLINICAL-TESTS FOR ASSESSING HAMSTRING MUSCLE LENGTH

Several indirect clinical tests for measuring hamstring muscle length are available, but the influence of their test procedures is not well documented. This study examined four of these tests to clarify the res ults relative to the testing procedures. The right limbs of 30 men wer e tested for: 1) passive straight leg raise (SLR) with the pelvis and opposite thigh stabilized with straps (SLR-SS), 2) passive SLR with th e low back flat and, if needed, the opposite thigh slightly flexed and supported on pillows (SLR-LBF), 3) active knee extension with the hip at 90-degrees (AKE), and 4) passive knee extension with the hip at 90 -degrees (PKE). A dependent t-test showed no significant differences b etween the angles of SLR-SS (61-degrees +/- 6.7-degrees) and SLR-LBF ( 62-degrees +/- 6.2-degrees). The SLR-SS and SLR-LBF angles for subject s needing pillows under the opposite thigh for the SLR-LBF test (N = 1 8) also were not significantly different. The knee flexion angles for the AKE (43-degrees +/- 10.2) and the PKE (31-degrees +/- 7.5-degrees) tests were significantly different (p < 0.001). Significant relations hips (Pearson r) were found among the four tests (p < 0.05). The simil ar angles for SLR-SS and SLR-LBF and their significant relationship (r = 0.70, p < 0.001) indicated that their different testing procedures probably had a minimal influence on test results. The difference betwe en the AKE and PKE tests suggested that the AKE test and the PKE test may represent an ''initial length'' and a ''maximal length,'' respecti vely. These results should help clinicians apply the tests appropriate ly and interpret the results accurately.