Sacral Thrust Test

It is our mission to challenge sports and orthopedic physical therapists to become clinical experts by providing residency level education.

Follow us!

✮ EMAIL: [email protected]

✮ BLOG: https://www.thestudentphysicaltherapi...

✮ INSTAGRAM:   / tsptofficial  

✮ FACEBOOK:   / tsptofficial  

✮ INSIDER ACCESS: https://the-student-physical-therapis...

Sacral Thrust Test

Purpose: To decide if sacroiliac joint is the source of the patient's symptoms or not.

Test Position: Prone.

Performing the Test: Examiner applies a posteroanteriorly directed force to various locations of the sacrum: base, apex, and each side of the sacrum medial to the PSIS (sacral sulcus). Next, the examiner applies a cephalad pressure on the sacrum at each position: base and apex (to apply cephalad pressure, first compress the tissues, then apply cephalad force). If a sulcus is deeper than the other, a pressure is applied to the opposite inferior angle to test for torsional abnormalities to the sacroiliac joint.

Diagnostic Accuracy: Sensitivity: .63; Specificity: .75 ("Diagnosis of sacroiliac joint pain: validity of individual provocation tests and composites of tests").

Importance of Test: This test assesses for sacroiliac pain by applying pressures at various locations of the sacrum. By placing pressure in those various areas, forces are applied to the SI joint at different angles to test for lesions. While this test is called the sacral clearing test, one should be careful of using it as a true clearing test, due to the low diagnostic accuracy. However, when this test is clustered with others, the diagnostic accuracy greatly improves.