Clinical significance of the straight-leg-raising test

The results of conventional sciatic nerve stretching tests are usually evaluated regardless of patient age, gender or movements of the hip joint and spine. In this study, we correlated data on the leg raising angle and changes in tension signs according to age, gender, and movement of the pelvis during the SLR-test and Lasègue-test. Results suggest that increased tension in the pelvic and leg muscles due to rapid skeletal growth contributes to the limited range of SLR in growing persons, while the Lasègue-test is less influenced by age and shows less pelvic rotation than the SLR-test.