{"id":11252,"date":"2022-08-04T09:52:32","date_gmt":"2022-08-04T07:52:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.physiotutors.com\/?post_type=wiki&#038;p=11252"},"modified":"2026-10-15T18:44:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T16:44:09","slug":"tripod-sign","status":"publish","type":"wiki","link":"https:\/\/www.physiotutors.com\/wiki\/tripod-sign\/","title":{"rendered":"Tripod Sign"},"featured_media":11253,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":""},"class_list":["post-11252","wiki","type-wiki","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"free_access":"","app_link":"","sections":[{"acf_fc_layout":"page-header-detail-page","background":{"background_image":11253,"background_image_alt_text":"Tripod Sign"},"heading":"Tripod Sign | Hamstring Length","subheading":"Hip Assessment","content_editor":"","button_type":"internal_link","button_label":"Check our shop","button_style":"button-five","button_internal_link":4646,"button_anchor":"","button_url":"","button_file":null,"label":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"submenu","links":[{"button_type":"anchor","button_label":"Learn","button_internal_link":null,"button_anchor":"section-number-3","button_url":"","button_file":null},{"button_type":"anchor","button_label":"Free course","button_internal_link":null,"button_anchor":"section-number-5","button_url":"","button_file":null},{"button_type":"anchor","button_label":"Assessment E-Book","button_internal_link":null,"button_anchor":"section-number-6","button_url":"","button_file":null}],"dropdown_label":"Go to","button_right":{"button_type":"internal_link","button_label":"Try Premium free","button_style":"button-three","button_internal_link":26802,"button_anchor":"","button_url":"","button_file":""},"button_description":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content-content","section_options":{"vertical_alignment":"top","column_right_box":false,"column_left_width":"col-12 col-lg-4 offset"},"column_left":{"content_editor":"<h4>Learn<\/h4>"},"column_right":{"content_editor":"<h6>Tripod Sign | Hamstring Length Assessment<\/h2>\nThe Tripod Sign is a quick and easy orthopedic test to assess the length of the hamstring muscles that are commonly short.\n<div class=\"embed-container\">\n\n[embed]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mRab9U81HSU[\/embed]\n\n<\/div>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To perform this test, have your patient seated with his knees flexed to 90\u00b0 over the edge of the bench. Then passively extend one knee. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If your patient's hamstrings are tight on the side of the extended knee, he will extend the trunk to relieve tension in the hamstring muscles. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Afterward, return the leg to the starting position, repeat the test with the other leg and compare both sides. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this test, it is important to exclude a nerve root problem which can give a positive test as well. In this case, your patient will complain of shooting pain down the entire leg instead of muscular tension in the hamstrings.<\/span>\n\nThis test is positive, if your patient has to lean backward to relieve tension in the hamstrings when the knee is fully extended.\n\nOther common orthopedic tests to assess muscle length around the hip:\n<ul>\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.physiotutors.com\/wiki\/obers-test\/\">Ober's Test (Tensor Fascia Latae)<\/a><\/li>\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.physiotutors.com\/wiki\/elys-test\/\">Ely's Test (Rectus Femoris)<\/a><\/li>\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.physiotutors.com\/wiki\/phelps-test\/\">Phelp's Test (Gracilis<\/a>)<\/li>\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.physiotutors.com\/wiki\/90-90-straight-leg-raise-test\/\">90-90 Straight Leg Raise Test (Hamstrings)<\/a><\/li>\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.physiotutors.com\/wiki\/kendall-test\/\">Kendall Test (Rectus Femoris)<\/a><\/li>\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.physiotutors.com\/wiki\/backsaver-sit-and-reach-test\/\">Backsaver Sit and Reach Test (Hamstrings)<\/a><\/li>\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.physiotutors.com\/wiki\/thomas-test\/\">Thomas Test (Iliopsoas Length Testing)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"content-content","section_options":{"vertical_alignment":"top","column_right_box":false,"column_left_width":"col-12 col-lg-4 offset"},"column_left":{"content_editor":"<h4>References<\/h4>"},"column_right":{"content_editor":"<a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.nl\/books?hl=en&amp;lr=&amp;id=cxu0BQAAQBAJ&amp;oi=fnd&amp;pg=PP1&amp;dq=magee+orthopedic+physical+assessment&amp;ots=mrCTBWAATj&amp;sig=22G-Wgd487ZKnKyC_ykamjghiyI&amp;redir_esc=y#v=onepage&amp;q=magee%20orthopedic%20physical%20assessment&amp;f=false\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Magee, D. J. (2014).\u00a0<i>Orthopedic physical assessment-E-Book<\/i>. Elsevier Health Sciences.<\/a>"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"cta-form-v2","content_editor":"<h2>Want to get better at treating <strong>low back pain?<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<p>Take our <strong>free<\/strong> 5-day email course on low back pain, from imaging to the best exercise, straight to your inbox.<\/p>","form":"37","image":29334,"image_alt_text":"Free low back pain email course"},{"acf_fc_layout":"cta-image-v2","layout":"","background":"transparent","heading":"","content_editor":"<p class=\"subheading\">Like what you\u2019re learning?<\/p>\n<p class=\"heading-two\">Get the full Physiotutors <strong>Assessment Book<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<ul>\n \t<li>600+ pages on orthopedic assessment<\/li>\n \t<li>Video demonstrations and direct links to the PubMed studies<\/li>\n \t<li>Statistical values for every special test, from the latest research<\/li>\n \t<li>Free lifetime updates<\/li>\n \t<li>Available in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Turkish<\/li>\n<\/ul>","button_type":"internal_link","button_label":"See the Assessment Book","button_style":"button-two","button_internal_link":4646,"button_anchor":"","button_url":"","button_file":null,"side_button":{"side_button_content_editor":""},"bottom_button":{"bottom_button_content_editor":""},"image":22705,"image_alt_text":""}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Tripod Sign | Hamstring Length | Hip Assessment<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Tripod Sign is a common orthopedic test to assess the length of the hamstring muscles that are commonly short.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.physiotutors.com\/wiki\/tripod-sign\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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