Execution:
-
- Patient is in supine lying position with both legs hanging off the table
- The patient is then asked to bring the leg not being tested to the chest until his lumbar spine flattens, while the tested hip has to remain on the table in 0° of flexion
Positive Outcome: The patient’s knee on the contralateral side extends and does not stay in 90° of flexion, while the patient feels a stretch in the rectus femoris muscle of the extended leg
| Study | Reliability | Sn | Sp | LR+ | LR- |
| Peeler et al. (2013): visual |
Intra-rater ĸ=0.92 Inter-rater ĸ=0.96 |
NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Peeler et al. (2013): goniometer |
Intra-rater ĸ=0.98 Inter-rater ĸ=0.97 |
NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Vigotsky et al. (2016) | NA | 31.82 | 57.14 | 0.74 | 1.19 |
| Comment: When pelvic tilt is not controlled, the modified Thomas test displays poor criterion reference validity. However, when pelvic tilt is controlled, the modified Thomas test appears to be a valid test for evaluating peak hip extension | |||||
