What is the Piriformis FAIR Test?
The FAIR test has been shown to have good sensitivity and specificity of 0.84 and 0.83 respectively.
This test is more likely to be positive in individuals who have local tenderness in the piriformis region and who have a positive SLR test.
With the patient side lying, passively take the hip on the affected side into 90� of flexion, horizontal adduction and internal rotation. A reproduction of the patient’s local buttock pain is considered to be a positive test for piriformis involvement.
As most patients don’t have the Botox injection option that was used in this study, I suggest other ways of helping to decrease piriformis muscle tone. These include but not limited to:
- Ice, acupuncture, ultrasound, massage
- Self-piriformis stretches
- Sleep with pillow between the knees
- Walking program
- Gluteal muscle retraining exercises
Posted on: December 03, 2009
Categories: Lumbar Spine , Hip
