I may use this particular repeated movement test as part of my orthopedic evaluation for complaints related to the hip joint. If this specific movement positively impacts symptoms & signs, this will then become the treatment (making the diagnosis hip joint derangement).

There are many different movements a hip joint derangement could need. The key is to use repeated movement testing to isolate the specific one that resolves a patient’s symptoms & restores normal, pain-free motion, strength, sensation, etc. This is called the joint’s directional preference.

Clinicians often pin hip, thigh, groin, and knee symptoms on tendons, the IT band, ligaments, muscles, arthritis, and the anatomy/structure of the hip joint itself.

I find many complaints in fact come from a mechanical joint derangement in the hip joint itself, or, importantly, from a joint in the spine. To figure out the root cause diagnosis, in addition to any orthopedic special tests (OSTs), I use McKenzie’s repeated movement testing. By using repeated movement testing (in the hip and/or spine), I very often find that moving the affected joint in the right direction restores the lower body to normal.

Hip extension can be the direction a hip joint derangement needs for treatment, but it could also be flexion, internal rotation, external rotation in flexion, and so on. Movements are further specified based on how much body weight goes through the limb. There are thus many movements of the hip one could test … and thus many that could be the beneficial treatment. The specific verbal history & the patient’s physical exam inform which test to apply later in the testing portion of my orthopedic evaluation.

#orthopedics #hippain #hip #groinpain #physicaltherapy