Thomas Test Thomas Test (or as it called Hugh Owen Thomas well leg raising test) is used to measure the flexibility of the hip flexor muscles. It's a test for hip flexor tightness. Thomas Test is used to evaluate hip flexion contracture and psoas syndrome (Iliopsoas Tightness), which is more common in runners, dancers, and gymnasts with symptoms of hip “stiffness” and “clicking” feeling when flexing at the waist. The original Thomas test was designed to test the flexibility of the iliopsoas complex but has since been modified and expanded to assess a number of other soft tissue structures. The hip flexor muscles are : 1. The iliopsoas muscle group (It’s made up of 3 muscles, the Psoas Major, Psoas Minor and Iliacus muscle). 2. The rectus femoris muscle. 3. Pectineus muscle. 4. Gracillis muscle. 5. Tensor fascia latae muscle. 6. Sartorius muscle. Thomas test was first described by Dr. Hugh Owen Thomas, a British orthopedic surgeon (1834– 1891). He is considered the father of orthopedic surgery in Britain.
How do you perform the Thomas Test? Prerequisites for thomas test: 1. Hard fat surface (on a sofa couch exaggerated lordosis and its obliteration are not well appreciated). 2. Sufficiently undressed patient in a well-illuminated room to visualize the lumbar lordosis and ischial tuberosity. The original Thomas test of the hip involves positioning the patient in supine, with one knee being held to the chest at the point where the lumbar spine is felt to flex. The clinician assesses whether the thigh of the extended leg maintains full contact with the surface of the bed.
The patient is supine: The unaffected, contralateral leg is flexed at the hip until the lumbar lordosis disappears, this is verified by inserting one hand between the patient’s lumbar spine and the examining table. With the patient in this position: the examiner immobilizes the pelvis in its normal position. The pelvis should exhibit about 12° of anterior inclination. This is what creates the lumbar lordosis.