Heel-to-Shin Test
November 16th, 2019
Overview
How to Perform
- With the patient supine, ask them to place their left heel onto their right shin just below the knee. Ask them to slowly and accurately run their heel down the length of the shin to the top of the foot. Ask the patient to repeat this several times, and then perform the same test on the other side.
Significance
- If the motor and sensory modalities are intact, inability to perform this test smoothly is suggestive of ipsilateral cerebellar disease.
Causes of Inability to Perform
- Cerebellar lesion
- Loss of motor strength
- Loss of proprioception
Next Page
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------