Sensory and Knee Range of Motion Responses of Slump Test on Unaffected and Radiculopathy Affected Limb in Patients with Lumbar Disk Herniation
Amita Aggarwal, Sarvanan Jayakrishnan
Citation Information :
Aggarwal A, Jayakrishnan S. Sensory and Knee Range of Motion Responses of Slump Test on Unaffected and Radiculopathy Affected Limb in Patients with Lumbar Disk Herniation. J Postgrad Med Edu Res 2016; 50 (1):1-4.
Disk herniation is common—it is seen in up to a quarter of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and can be detected even in asymptomatic adults. The slump test has become widely advocated as a neural tissue provocation test for clinical assessment of patients with spinal and lower limb pain. The purpose of this study was to determine the sensory and terminal knee extension limitation responses produced during slump test on radiculopathy affected and unaffected limb in patients with lumbar disk herniation.
Objectives
To compare the sensory and knee range of motion (ROM) responses produced during slump test on affected and unaffected limb.
Materials and methods
Fifty patients, 25 to 45 years of age chronic disk herniation patients with unilateral radiculopathy with/without lower backache. Patient underwent standardized history and physical examination followed by slump test. Outcomes included terminal knee extension limitations and sensory response produced in terms of intensity numeric rating scale (NRS), nature and location (pain drawings).
Results
During slump test end position, NRS score and restricted terminal knee ROM comparative results were highly significant (p < 0.001). Based on nature and location of sensory response, maximum number of subjects in affected limb had pain in center of lower back radiating to whole lower limb and for unaffected limb stretch at back of knee.
Conclusion
In this study, it was suggested that though sensory and knee ROM responses are present in both affected and unaffected limb but the radiculopathy affected limb was more affected in terms of intensity of pain and limitation of motion.
How to cite this article
Aggarwal A, Jayakrishnan S, Singh A. Sensory and Knee Range of Motion Responses of Slump Test on Unaffected and Radiculopathy Affected Limb in Patients with Lumbar Disk Herniation. J Postgrad Med Edu Res 2016;50(1): 1-4.
Diagnosis and treatment of low back pain: a joint clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society. Ann Intern Med 2007;147(7):478-491.
Surgery for lumbar disk herniation: what are the choices? J Musculoskel Med 1999;16(1):39-45.
The effectiveness of treatment for the prolapsed lumbar intervertebral disk: a review of the literature. Europ J Public Health 1996;6(1): 15-20.
Negative disk exploration: positive canal signs. Aust J Physiother 1979;25(3):129-134.
The slump test: examination and treatment. Aust J Physiother 1985;31(6):215-219.
Textbook of orthopaedic medicine. 8th ed. London: Bailliere Tindall; 1982.
Vertebroradicular and vertebromedullar dynamics. Anatomica Clinica 1981;3(1):1-11.
Slump test: sensory responses in asymptomatic subjects. J Man Manip Ther 2007; 15(4):231-238.
What is the maximum number of levels needed in pain intensity measurement? Pain 1994;58(3):387-392.
Studies comparing numerical rating scales, verbal rating scales, and visual analogue scales for assessment of pain intensity in adults: a systematic literature review. J Pain Symp Manag 2011;41(6):1073-1093.
Sciatica and herniated disk: current aspects of pathophysiology and pain mechanisms. Nord Med 1994;109(3):74-76,80.
The sensitivity and specificity of the slump and the straight leg raising tests in patients with lumbar disk herniation. J Clin Rheumatol 2008 Apr;14(2):87-91.
Upper limb neural tension and seated slump tests: the false positive rate among healthy young adults without cervical or lumbar symptoms. J Man Manip Ther 2008;16(3):136-141.
A modified upper limb tension test: an investigation of responses in normal subjects. Aust J Physiother 1991;37(3):143-152.
Significance of the straight-legraising test in the diagnosis and clinical evaluation of lower lumbar intervertebral-disk protrusion. J Bone Joint Surg Am 1987 Apr;69(4):517-522.
The slump test: the effects of head and lower extremity position on knee extension. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 1997;26(6):310-317.
The response to the slump test in a group of female whiplash patients. Aust J Physiother 1997; 43(4):245-252.