Execution:
- Two aerobic steps or a treadmill with inclination are neede
- One step is placed on the other at an angle of 20° (or the treadmill is inclined to 20°)
- The patient stands on the lower end of the stepper with the affected leg and keeps the ipsilateral hand over the greater trochanter. Touching the wall with one fingertip is allowed for movement control and to prevent fear
- The patient is asked to simulate descending stairs by stepping down and forward with the contralateral leg, inducing knee flexion on the affected side
- The examiner measure the pain free flexion angle
Outcome: Pain free flexion angle compared with the unaffected side
| Study | Reliability | Sn | Sp | LR+ | LR- |
| Ophey et al. (2019) | intra-rater ICC=0.83 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Ophey et al. (2019) | inter-rater ICC=0.85 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Comment: Selfe et al. (2000) reported a critical angle of 61.3° during the test for healthy subjects before they lost control during the step-down. This could be used as a reference to evaluate treatment effects with this test. Alternatively, as with other lower limb performance tests, a limb symmetry index between the affected and non-affected knee could be used | |||||
