Trendelenburg Test
Overview
How to Perform
- Support the patient by holding onto their hands, and then ask them to lift one leg off the ground.
Abnormal If
- The hip on the non-weightbearing side falls, as the patient is unable to elevate their hip
Significance
- Suggests hip abductor (gluteus medius / minimus) weakness, most commonly due to proximal myopathy.
- The Trendelenburg test was first identified in 1895 by orthopaedic surgeon Friedrich Trendelenburg, and although the test has since been modified, no better test for abductor weakness has been identified.
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