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Multiple Choice

Laslett's criteria are used to evaluate which joints for dysfunction?

Laslett's criteria are a group of provocative maneuvers specifically designed to stress the sacroiliac joints from different directions and reproduce the patient’s typical buttock or low back pain. The tests—thigh thrust, compression, distraction, Gaenslen’s test, and sacral thrust—each load the SI joints in a unique way, so a positive result means the joint is likely the source of pain. When several of these tests produce concordant pain, it strongly increases the probability that sacroiliac joint dysfunction is present, rather than pain coming from the lumbar spine or other joints. That focused purpose is what makes Laslett’s criteria the best fit for evaluating SI joint dysfunction, rather than issues in the cervical spine, knee, or ankle, which have their own special test sets.

Laslett's criteria are a group of provocative maneuvers specifically designed to stress the sacroiliac joints from different directions and reproduce the patient’s typical buttock or low back pain. The tests—thigh thrust, compression, distraction, Gaenslen’s test, and sacral thrust—each load the SI joints in a unique way, so a positive result means the joint is likely the source of pain. When several of these tests produce concordant pain, it strongly increases the probability that sacroiliac joint dysfunction is present, rather than pain coming from the lumbar spine or other joints. That focused purpose is what makes Laslett’s criteria the best fit for evaluating SI joint dysfunction, rather than issues in the cervical spine, knee, or ankle, which have their own special test sets.