Question:medium
A football player had twist of the knee and ankle, clinically no bony injury was appreciated. Examiner is doing the test as shown her. Which test is this?
A football player had twist of the knee and ankle, clinically no bony injury was appreciated. Examiner is doing the test as shown her. Which test is this?
Show Hint
Knee held at only 20–30 degrees while pulling the tibia forward = the most sensitive ACL test, not the 90-degree drawer.
Updated On: Jun 22, 2026
- Ant drawer for acl
- Post drawer pcl
- Mc murray
- Lachman
Show Solution
The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
Decode the test from the knee angle and hand grip rather than the diagnosis.
Key clue - degree of flexion: In the picture the knee is only slightly bent (about 20-30$^\circ$). Among knee laxity tests, only the Lachman test uses this near-extended position. The drawer tests (anterior and posterior) both need 90$^\circ$ of flexion with the foot anchored, and McMurray uses rotation through a wide arc of flexion-extension. So the angle alone narrows it to Lachman.
Hand placement: One hand steadies the distal femur while the other cups the proximal tibia and lifts it forward - exactly the Lachman grip used to feel anterior tibial translation and the firmness of the endpoint.
Clinical fit: A footballer with a rotational (twisting) knee injury and no fracture is the classic ACL-tear scenario, and Lachman is the single most sensitive bedside test for the ACL because the relaxed hamstrings do not mask the laxity.
Eliminating distractors: Anterior drawer $\rightarrow$ 90$^\circ$, foot fixed. Posterior drawer $\rightarrow$ 90$^\circ$, tibia pushed back (PCL). McMurray $\rightarrow$ meniscus, rotate-and-extend manoeuvre.
Answer: The test shown is the Lachman test (option D).
Key clue - degree of flexion: In the picture the knee is only slightly bent (about 20-30$^\circ$). Among knee laxity tests, only the Lachman test uses this near-extended position. The drawer tests (anterior and posterior) both need 90$^\circ$ of flexion with the foot anchored, and McMurray uses rotation through a wide arc of flexion-extension. So the angle alone narrows it to Lachman.
Hand placement: One hand steadies the distal femur while the other cups the proximal tibia and lifts it forward - exactly the Lachman grip used to feel anterior tibial translation and the firmness of the endpoint.
Clinical fit: A footballer with a rotational (twisting) knee injury and no fracture is the classic ACL-tear scenario, and Lachman is the single most sensitive bedside test for the ACL because the relaxed hamstrings do not mask the laxity.
Eliminating distractors: Anterior drawer $\rightarrow$ 90$^\circ$, foot fixed. Posterior drawer $\rightarrow$ 90$^\circ$, tibia pushed back (PCL). McMurray $\rightarrow$ meniscus, rotate-and-extend manoeuvre.
Answer: The test shown is the Lachman test (option D).
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