0:00 This is Brent coming at you with our third specific flexibility assessment video 0:04 for the hip flexors. You guys been using like a dynamic overhead squat assessment, 0:09 these are great tests to help narrow down your exercise selection after you've 0:14 seen something like an anterior pelvic tilt, or an excessive forward lean, that implies 0:19 short, overactive hip flexors, which there are several of, right? Which one do we 0:25 need to target? Which ones do we need to release? Which ones do we need to stretch? 0:28 That's what these tests are for. So in previous videos, you guys saw we did the 0:31 Ely Test for rectus femoris, we did the Ober's test for the TFL. Now we're going 0:37 to do a Modified Thomas Test with my friend Yvette here, to implicate the 0:42 iliacus and psoas, or to rule them out. 0:45 So, first things first, we want to get Yvette nice alignment here. 0:50 She's got feet pointing up, knees are in line with her feet. 0:55 She's hip width here, and her trunk isn't twisted. 0:59 She's nice and straight all the way up. Now, I'm going to use one hand, palpate 1:04 underneath her lower back and lumbar spine. 1:06 This is the setup for this test. This test is actually fairly simple. 1:11 Once we get here, all I need Yvette to do is pull her knee up towards her 1:16 chest. 1:17 I'm going to have her pull far enough that I feel her lumbar spine flatten 1:22 out. 1:23 That's going to force her into a posterior pelvic tilt, which is relative 1:27 hip extension. If her iliacus and psoas 1:31 are at optimal length, her leg should stay down on the table with foot 1:37 pointing up. 1:38 Remember your psoas and iliacus are not only hip flexors, 1:42 but also external rotators, so this is actually negative. 1:46 She has a negative Modified Thomas Test, which means I don't need to address the 1:50 psoas and iliacus, even if she does have an anterior pelvic tilt, even if she does 1:55 have an excessive forward lean. If you guys have been watching our assessment videos, 1:59 Yvette did test positive for the Ober's test, 2:03 so maybe I would target the TFL instead. I'm going to have her go ahead and do the other side 2:07 and make sure that both sides are even, but let's go ahead and pull this side up, 2:12 same thing just make sure she pulls up to the lumbar spine flattens out. 2:16 I'm going to have you do that one more time Yvette. On this side, I see just a slight indication of 2:23 tightness. Her knee 2:25 came up just a little bit, so she's being pulled a little bit into hip flexion 2:28 here, so we probably have slightly tighter hip flexors on her left side 2:33 than her right side, but still this is not, this is not a big positive. A big positive 2:39 would be where you saw somebody do this. 2:41 That would be tight, tight, psoas and iliacus. Or maybe a subtler sign is she 2:48 pulled this way and her foot would flop out that way. Once again, that's going to be 2:52 psoas and iliacus. 2:53 So there you guys go. This test kind of rounds out our three assessment videos. 2:58 We had Ely's, Ober's, and now the Modified Thomas Test. If she had tested positive 3:03 here, 3:05 I know, at least my personal trainers would have a little bit of an issue 3:08 right, we can't do any sort of self-administered release for the psoas 3:13 and iliacus. Please don't shove a tennis ball or a softball into your abdomen. 3:18 That's definitely not safe. There are some delicate structures in there, 3:21 like your common iliac artery, 3:24 for example, that would be not a good thing to rub up and down on every day. You 3:28 could definitely create some damage there as well as there's your femoral 3:31 nerve in there, and of course, your internal organs. We want to stay away 3:34 from those. If you guys did think that these were implicated as tight for the 3:39 individual you're working with, you could do a hip flexor stretch, like the kneeling 3:44 hip flexor stretch, and see if that improves your problem. If it seems a 3:48 little stubborn to you, that's the time to refer out to, of course, a license manual 3:52 therapist, who has some experience addressing these structures with manual 3:56 techniques. Of course, I know my PTs, ATC's, and some of my LMTs out 4:01 there, if you guys see a positive on this test, 4:04 probably the best thing to do is manual release 4:06 first, and then your kneeling hip flexor stretch. 4:09 I hope you guys enjoy these assessment videos. I hope it helps narrow down your 4:13 exercise selection, giving you some very specific, targeted programs, that get you 4:17 much better results in the long run. 4:19 Talk to you soon. 4:21
