The Thessaly test uses knee flexion of approximately how many degrees during the examination?

The Thessaly test uses knee flexion of approximately how many degrees during the examination?

• A. 60 degrees
• B. 20 degrees
• C. 0 degrees
• D. 30 degrees

Answer: (B)

The test is a quick bedside way to detect meniscal tears by loading the knee and twisting it at a small amount of flexion. It uses about 20 degrees of knee flexion because this angle loads the meniscus sufficiently to reveal a tear when the tibia is rotated internally and externally while the patient stands on one leg. A positive sign is reproduction of joint-line pain with either internal rotation (medial meniscus) or external rotation (lateral meniscus), sometimes with a brief locking or catching sensation. Testing at this modest flexion optimizes the balance between loading the meniscus and avoiding non-specific pain from other structures; extending the knee more or less would change the contact pattern and may reduce the test’s usefulness.

The test is a quick bedside way to detect meniscal tears by loading the knee and twisting it at a small amount of flexion. It uses about 20 degrees of knee flexion because this angle loads the meniscus sufficiently to reveal a tear when the tibia is rotated internally and externally while the patient stands on one leg. A positive sign is reproduction of joint-line pain with either internal rotation (medial meniscus) or external rotation (lateral meniscus), sometimes with a brief locking or catching sensation. Testing at this modest flexion optimizes the balance between loading the meniscus and avoiding non-specific pain from other structures; extending the knee more or less would change the contact pattern and may reduce the test’s usefulness.