Knee: examination tests with their numbers
16 tests from the book, each with the published accuracy figures that exist for it, and what a positive and a negative result mean.
- Anterior drawer testLR+ 6.34 · LR− 0.2 · Useful in both directions
- Apley's grind/compression testLR+ 1.83 · LR− 0.89 · A weak test on its own
- Clarke's sign (patellar grind test)LR+ 1.2 · LR− 0.91 · Treat with caution
- Joint line tendernessLR+ 3.3 · LR− 0.31 · A weak test on its own
- Knee OA clinical criteria (ACR: knee pain plus at least 3 of 6)LR+ 1.64 · LR− not given · A weak test on its own
- Lachman testLR+ 5.72 · LR− 0.24 · Best used to rule in
- McMurray's testLR+ 2.4 · LR− 0.42 · A weak test on its own
- Patellar apprehension test (reversed dynamic version)LR+ 7.9 · LR− 0.07 · Treat with caution
- Patellar tilt testLR+ 5.4 · LR− 0.6 · Treat with caution
- Pivot shift testLR+ 10.7 · LR− 0.48 · Best used to rule in
- Popliteal fossa examination for a cyst (palpable mass / Foucher's sign)LR+ 6.3 · LR− 0.3 · Best used to rule in
- Single-leg decline squatLR+ 4.2 · LR− not given · A weak test on its own
- Thessaly test (20° flexion)LR+ 5.6 · LR− 0.28 · Treat with caution
- Valgus stress test — 30° flexionLR+ 2.3 · LR− 0.33 · A weak test on its own
- Varus stress testLR+ not given · LR− not given · Not enough published figures to judge
- Wilson's sign (osteochondritis dissecans of the medial femoral condyle)LR+ not calculable · LR− not calculable · Not enough published figures to judge
Get the book for how to do and read each knee test with published figures, and which ones to trust for the ACL, meniscus and kneecap
These pages give the published figures. Rule It In, Rule It Out adds, for every test with published figures in the chapter ‘The knee’: how to do it, what counts as positive, how to read the result, and, where studied, whether combining tests helps.
Coming in late 2026 as a PDF and a paperback. Join the list to hear when it's out
One study, one test, once a month
Rule It In is a free evidence letter for musculoskeletal clinicians: one recent study explained, one examination test with its real numbers. From Trokos, publisher of Rule It In, Rule It Out.