The Pelvic Girdle and Hip Joint 197In addition to the results of these passive hip
external rotation tests being useful for comparison
with dance norms, they can also be helpful for better
understanding a given dancer’s potential turnout.
For example, in some cases the test will confirm
a dancer’s or teacher’s impression that turnout is
relatively low, while in other cases results suggest
that there is potential turnout that is not being fully
realized in the technique class. This latter discrep-
ancy is seen because in actual movement, in contrast
to passive measurement of hip rotation, adequate
strength and appropriate activation patterns in key
muscles including the DOR are also important to
allow utilization of the dancer’s potential turnout.
In the author’s experience, few dancers use their full
potential hip external rotation; and specific flexibility
exercises, strength exercises, and focus on technique
can allow most dancers to markedly increase their
use of turnout. A sample stretch is shown in figure
4.32A. This modified prone frog stretch allows the
pelvis to remain neutral while the dancer focuses on
externally rotating the legs at the hip and reaching
the knees to the side. The abdominals should be
firmly contracted to maintain a neutral pelvis, and
the dancer should focus on pressing the bottom
of the pelvis (ischium) slightly down and forward
to achieve the desired stretch and avoid undesired
anterior tilting of the pelvis. When performing theScreening Test for Hip Turnout
A test is shown for measuring passive hip
external rotation. While the dancer is in a
prone position with one knee in 90° flexion,
the examiner places one hand on the lower
leg of the bent knee and externally rotates the
hip while the pelvis remains in a neutral posi-
tion with both ASIS in contact with the table
as seen in the picture. For a more accurate
measurement, care must be taken to empha-
size movement from the hip and avoid motion
at the knee or pelvis. For example, allowing
the pelvis to anteriorly tilt will slacken the hip
joint capsule and iliofemoral ligament and give
a falsely high measure of external rotation.
Using an assistant to prevent one side of
the pelvis from lifting (pelvic rotation) and to
prevent an anterior pelvic tilt is helpful.
The axis of the goniometer is placed over
the patellar tendon, the stationary arm verti-
cal and the movable arm along the middle of
the lower leg. A reading of 0° refers to the
position in which the lower leg and foot are
facing straight up toward the ceiling, 45° to
the position in which the lower leg is halfway
toward the table; 90° would be the theoretical
position if the knee faced directly to the side
with the lower leg lying flat on the table. If a
goniometer is not available, one can estimate
the range by visually dividing the 0°-to-90° arc
in half, then further dividing each half in thirds,
and approximating the degrees of motion.