The Original Sorensen Test (1)
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Safety: Have a chair placed in front of the patient for when the fatigue to hold on to
Arms: arms bent across chest
Hips: Fully extended
Location of the edge of the table: ASIS placed at the end of the table
Number of Straps: three straps with a pillow placed under the tibias
o One at the pelvis
o One behind the knees
o One at the ankle
Starting Position: patient performs a concentric contraction to place the spine in horizontal
Method for Documenting Horizontal: Originally this was visually assessed by the clinician
Criteria for Stopping the Test: The patient is no longer able to maintain the horizontal
position, becomes too fatigued to continue, or experiences pain. If the test is not challenging
for 240 seconds, the test is stopped.
The ITO Test (2,3)
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Position: patient lying prone with a small pillow under the lower abdomen to decrease the lumbar
lordosis
Instruction: maintain maximum cervical flexion with pelvic stabilization through gluteal muscle
contraction. Goal is to hold the sternum off of the table
Termination: after 5 minutes, or if the patient fatigues and is unable to maintain the sternum off of
the table or experiences pain
Ito et al report a mean performance time of 208.2 seconds in healthy male subjects (n = 37) and 85.1
seconds in male subjects with chronic LBP (n = 40).
For healthy female subjects (n = 53), the mean time is 128.4 seconds; for female subjects with
chronic LBP (n = 60), it is 70.1 seconds.
References
(1) Demoulin C, Vanderthommen M, Duysens C, Crielaard JM. Spinal muscle evaluation using the Sorensen
test: a critical appraisal of the literature. Joint Bone Spine. 2006;73:43–50. doi: 10.1016/j.jbspin.2004.08.002
(2) Ito T, Shirado O, Suzuki H, Takahashi M, Kaneda K, Strax TE. Lumbar trunk muscle endurance testing: an
inexpensive alternative to a machine for evaluation. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 1996;77:75–9.
(3) Moreau CE, Green BN, Johnson CD, Moreau SR. Isometric back extension endurance tests: a review of the
literature. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2001;24:110–22.