Which test is used to assess radiculopathy due to lumbar nerve root irritation?

Which test is used to assess radiculopathy due to lumbar nerve root irritation?

• A. Spurling maneuver
• B. Straight-leg raise test
• C. Slump test
• D. Kernig sign

Answer: (B)

The straight-leg raise test is used to assess lumbar nerve root irritation causing radiculopathy. When a patient lies on their back and the leg is raised with the knee straight, traction is placed on the lumbosacral nerve roots and sciatic nerve. If this reproduces the patient’s radicular symptoms—pain that travels down the leg, often below the knee—it strongly suggests nerve root irritation from a lumbar source, such as a herniated disc affecting a lumbar nerve root (commonly L5–S1). This helps distinguish true radicular pain from purely musculoskeletal hamstring tightness, which usually does not reproduce the same dermatomal leg pain. Spurling maneuver targets the cervical spine, the slump test is another neural-tension test that can be used but is performed seated, and Kernig sign relates to meningeal irritation rather than lumbar radiculopathy.

The straight-leg raise test is used to assess lumbar nerve root irritation causing radiculopathy. When a patient lies on their back and the leg is raised with the knee straight, traction is placed on the lumbosacral nerve roots and sciatic nerve. If this reproduces the patient’s radicular symptoms—pain that travels down the leg, often below the knee—it strongly suggests nerve root irritation from a lumbar source, such as a herniated disc affecting a lumbar nerve root (commonly L5–S1). This helps distinguish true radicular pain from purely musculoskeletal hamstring tightness, which usually does not reproduce the same dermatomal leg pain. Spurling maneuver targets the cervical spine, the slump test is another neural-tension test that can be used but is performed seated, and Kernig sign relates to meningeal irritation rather than lumbar radiculopathy.