How is the patient positioned to perform the straight leg raise test?

How is the patient positioned to perform the straight leg raise test?

• A. Sitting with the leg extended
• B. Standing
• C. Prone
• D. Supine with the leg straight and lifted to reproduce symptoms.

Answer: (D)

Straight leg raise tests tension on the lumbosacral nerve roots by lifting a straight leg while the patient lies on their back. This supine position allows controlled, gradual straightening of the leg to load the sciatic nerve and nerve roots exiting the spine, helping to reproduce radicular symptoms if there is disc herniation or nerve compression. The test is considered positive when pain radiates down the leg below the knee (often worsening with ankle dorsiflexion), indicating nerve root irritation. Other positions don’t place the nerve roots under the same targeted stretch, so they’re not the standard method for this assessment.

Straight leg raise tests tension on the lumbosacral nerve roots by lifting a straight leg while the patient lies on their back. This supine position allows controlled, gradual straightening of the leg to load the sciatic nerve and nerve roots exiting the spine, helping to reproduce radicular symptoms if there is disc herniation or nerve compression. The test is considered positive when pain radiates down the leg below the knee (often worsening with ankle dorsiflexion), indicating nerve root irritation. Other positions don’t place the nerve roots under the same targeted stretch, so they’re not the standard method for this assessment.