TRUE LEG-LENGTH DISCREPANCY TEST

TEST POSITIONING

The client lies supine with hips and knees extended and parallel.

Each leg should be perpendicular to a straight line between both anterior superior iliac spines.

ACTION

With a tape measure, the therapist measures from the most distal point of the anterior superior iliac spines to the most distal point of the medial malleolus.

POSITIVE FINDING

A difference of more than I cm is indicative of discrepancies in either the length of the femur or tibia, or in the angle of femoral neck inclination (ic, coxa vara or valga).

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS/COMMENTS

Significant discrepancies should be verified via radiography, as this is the most accurate method of assessing true (structural) leg-length discrepancies.