Ober's test (Ober's abduction sign)

A clinical test for contraction of the fascia lata in sciatica or low back pain.

Ober's test

Pierre Sterckx submitted this description: The patient lies on the uninvolved side with the lower knee flexed to help reduce lumbar lordosis. The examiner lifts the upper flexed or extended leg at the ankle while stabilizing the pelvis with the other hand, then abducts and extends the hip allowing the iliotibial band (ITB) to move posteriorly over the greater trochanter. The examiner then slowly lowers the upper leg. If the leg drops to the table, the test is negative; if it remains abducted, the test is positive. It is extremely important in performing this test to hold the patient's pelvis and keep it at a right angle to the table while moving the involved side.

More details:  📖 Musculoskeletal Diseases 2013-2016: Diagnostic Imaging

F. R. Ober: The role of the iliotibial band and fascia lata as a factor in the causation of low-back disabilities and diabilities and sciatica. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Boston, 1936, 18: 105-110.

Frank Roberts Ober (1881 - 1960), American orthopaedic surgeon.

Frank Ober

Frank Ober was born at Mt. Desert, Maine, June 1, 1881, and died in Boston on December 26, 1960. Of Down-East Yankee stock, his 80-year life was a kind of Horatio Alger success story, compounded of native ability, ingenuity, hard work, and devotion to duty.

References

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