Lumbar Segmental Mobility (side bending)
Posted on 24. Apr, 2010 by Don in Orthopedics
Loading ...Purpose
Used to determine the amount of segmental sidebending in the lumbar spine. Can also be used as a treatment if hypomobility found.
Technique
Patient positioned sidelying.
Clinician makes sure the patient is close to the edge of the table and in a neutral spine position.
With female patients, a towel roll is needed for proper neutral spine alignment.
Clinician places towel roll under the iliac crest to achieve neutral spine.
Clinician stands facing the patient with caudal leg forward.
Clinician flexes patient’s hips and knees up to 90° and places patient’s knees in his groin giving the Clinician control of the patient’s pelvis.
Clinician palpates L5 spinous process with cranial hand and moves just lateral to that.
Clinician’s caudal hand is around the patient’s ankles and brings patient’s legs up towards the ceiling, while feeling for the approximation of the spinous processes with the cranial hand.
Clinician then moves the cranial hand up L4 spinous process and repeats the same procedure.
Clinician continues cranially up the lumbar spine to L1.
To test sidebending to the other side, the Clinician moves the patient’s legs back to the starting position.
Clinician then palpates L5 spinous process with cranial hand and moves just inferior to that.
Clinician’s caudal hand is around the patient’s ankles and brings patient’s legs down towards the floor, while feeling for the approximation of the spinous processes with the cranial hand.
Clinician then moves the cranial hand up L4 spinous process and repeats the same procedure.
Clinician continues cranially up the lumbar spine to L1.
(For example: if the patient is in L sidelying, Clinician is testing R sidebending while moving the legs up toward the ceiling and L sidebending when moving the legs down toward the floor.)
References
- Dutton, M. (2008). Orthopaedic: Examination, evaluation, and intervention (2nd ed.). New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
- Kaltenborn, F.M. (2009). Manual mobilization of the joints: The spine volume I I (5th ed.). Minneapolis, MN: OPTP.
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