Purpose

The Thomas test looks for hip pathology, namely of issues with hip flexor tightness. This is called a fixed flexion deformity.

For example, there could be a problem with the iliopsoas muscle.

Steps

• Patient is supine on bed
• Tell patient to bring knees to chest
  • Patient flexes both knees and hips
  • But not excessively so, otherwise it could give a false positive result
• Lower one leg straight onto the bed
  • If the thigh is on the bed, it is a normal result
  • If the thigh is off the bed, the patient has a fixed flexion deformity of that side

References

1. Patel, M. (2011). Thomas test. [online] OrthopaedicsOne. Available at: https://www.orthopaedicsone.com/display/Main/Thomas+test [Accessed 31 Jan. 2018].
2. Physical Therapy Haven. (2018). Thomas Test. [online] Available at: http://www.pthaven.com/page/show/157779-thomas-test [Accessed 31 Jan. 2018].
3. General Practice Notebook. (n.d.). Thomas’ test. [online] Available at: https://www.gpnotebook.co.uk/simplepage.cfm?ID=120913935 [Accessed 31 Jan. 2018].