Which test is used to assess rectus femoris length?

Which test is used to assess rectus femoris length?

• A. Apley's scratch test
• B. Sahrmann core stability test
• C. Ely test
• D. Kendall test

Answer: (C)

Rectus femoris length is about how the muscle that crosses both the hip and knee can lengthen when the knee is bent. To test it specifically, you look for that muscle’s effect on the hip as you try to lengthen it. In the Ely test, the person lies on their stomach and the knee of the leg being tested is flexed. If the rectus femoris is tight, its lengthening during knee flexion pulls on the hip and causes the hip to flex or the pelvis to lift off the table. That automatic hip movement indicates shortened length of the rectus femoris, making the Ely test a targeted screen for this muscle. Other options don’t isolate the length of the rectus femoris: one assesses shoulder mobility, another checks core stability, and the remaining is not the standard test used to evaluate rectus femoris length.

Rectus femoris length is about how the muscle that crosses both the hip and knee can lengthen when the knee is bent. To test it specifically, you look for that muscle’s effect on the hip as you try to lengthen it.

In the Ely test, the person lies on their stomach and the knee of the leg being tested is flexed. If the rectus femoris is tight, its lengthening during knee flexion pulls on the hip and causes the hip to flex or the pelvis to lift off the table. That automatic hip movement indicates shortened length of the rectus femoris, making the Ely test a targeted screen for this muscle.

Other options don’t isolate the length of the rectus femoris: one assesses shoulder mobility, another checks core stability, and the remaining is not the standard test used to evaluate rectus femoris length.