Effects of repeated squat movements on the results of Craig's test to determine hip anteversion/retroversion.
Abigail C Schmitt, Logan Kaptis, Dylan Darling and 1 others
Craig's Test scores for hip anteversion increased after 22 squats in all 38 healthy adults.
The test may reflect soft-tissue mobility as much as bony alignment, so a PT should standardise warm-up before measuring.
Key findings
1Craig's Test scores were higher after squatting than before in every subgroup tested: all participants (right leg 23.1° to 25.4°, left leg 21.9° to 24.3°), males, and females, all reaching statistical significance.
2The shift was seen in the majority of individuals: 60% of males on the left leg and 65% on the right; 83% of females on the left and 78% on the right.
3The authors conclude that soft-tissue mobility around the hip (capsule, muscles, ligaments) can alter Craig's Test results, and they recommend a warm-up involving large hip ranges of motion before performing the test.
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What it does not show
No control or rest condition: without a group that simply waited, the change could partly reflect practice, time, or the act of lying prone rather than the squats themselves. All participants were healthy young adults with no hip or lower-limb pathology, so the finding may not hold for patients with arthritis, impingement, or post-surgical stiffness where bony or structural factors dominate. The pelvis was not externally stabilised during Craig's Test, and no goniometer confirmed the knee stayed at 90° throughout, so small positioning drift could contribute to the score change. No imaging (MRI, CT) was taken before or after to confirm whether actual bony alignment changed or only the soft-tissue contribution to the measurement shifted. No minimal clinically important difference for Craig's Test was established, so it is unclear whether the 2–4° shifts seen here matter at the bedside. A single rater performed all tests; while this reduces inter-rater noise, the authors themselves note that the rater's perception of endpoint resistance was likely influenced by the same tissue extensibility they are trying to measure.
Declared interests
No funding or conflicts of interest were declared.
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