Scaphoid fracture test: How to perform and read each result
A wrist that still aches a month after a fall is often a scaphoid fracture nobody caught. The bone hides well. On day one it can pass for a simple sprain. Initial X-rays have a sensitivity of 86%, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. That puts the diagnosis in your hands rather than […]
Ely’s test: How to perform it and grade the result
A patient comes in with anterior knee pain that flares on stairs and settles at rest. The knee itself looks unremarkable. Often the problem sits higher up, in the one quadriceps muscle that also crosses the hip. Ely’s test answers that question in about 90 seconds. The patient lies face down, you bend the knee, […]
Thompson test: procedure, interpretation, and accuracy
The Thompson test is a 60-second bedside check for a complete Achilles tendon rupture. With the patient prone, you squeeze the calf and watch the foot. If the foot does not plantarflex, the tendon is probably torn through. Complete ruptures are still picked up late, usually because swelling hides the palpable gap in the tendon […]
Windlass test for plantar fasciitis: Steps and accuracy
A patient limps in and gives you a story you have heard a hundred times. The first few steps out of bed are agony. It eases after ten minutes, then comes back after a long shift on their feet. That history points to plantar fasciitis. It also fits a fat pad contusion, a calcaneal stress […]
O’Brien’s test: How to perform and interpret the result
Shoulder pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal presentations in practice. Two of its structural causes, SLAP lesions and acromioclavicular joint pathology, produce symptoms that overlap heavily. History alone rarely separates them. O’Brien’s test was described in 1998 to answer exactly that question. It takes under two minutes, needs no equipment, and separates intra-articular […]
Drop jump test: Protocol, metrics, and results interpretation
Most practices running jump assessments collect the data, then lose it. Results get scrawled on a clipboard, typed into a spreadsheet nobody shares, and measured against population averages instead of the athlete’s own history. The drop jump test is worth more than that. Run properly, it gives sports medicine practitioners and physical therapists an objective […]
Bicep tear test: Hook test, Yergason’s, and when to use each
A bicep tear test tells you whether the biceps tendon is still attached before you order imaging. Here is which test to use at the elbow, at the shoulder, and when a partial tear is in play.
Drop arm test: Procedure, interpretation, and diagnostic accuracy
A positive drop arm test rules in a full-thickness cuff tear at 88-96% specificity. Low sensitivity means a negative rules nothing out.
Cardiopulmonary exercise testing: How to read CPET results
Cardiopulmonary exercise testing shows why a patient can’t exercise: the five variables, their normal values, and what each means.
Body composition test: Methods, results, and healthy ranges
A body composition test measures what your weight is made of: Fat mass, lean mass, total body water, and bone mineral density. A scale cannot tell you any of that. Two people can weigh exactly the same and still have very different health profiles. Practitioners use the breakdown to set a baseline, judge metabolic risk, […]