Subjective Assessment, Clinical Tests and the Kinsella Cluster

Typical reports include pain over the greater trochanter with walking, at night in side lying, on stairs and hills, standing on one leg, and sitting in low chairs or with legs crossed. Neil gives practical advice: pillows between the knees or a three-quarter prone position at night, handrails on stairs, and cushions to raise low seats. A C-shaped pain pattern points more toward hip joint pathology. Assessment starts with gait, looking for a Trendelenburg pattern or excessive femoral internal rotation. The lumbar spine is cleared with range of motion, overpressure, facet palpation, neural tests and a neurological exam. Side-lying passive hip extension shows how an anteverted hip links to lumbar extension and low back pain. From the systematic review by Kinsella's team, palpation is highly sensitive, resisted abduction is specific, and the 30-second single leg stance test raises the odds up to 15-fold. Pain on both palpation and resisted abduction gives a 96% chance of the condition. Adding resistance improves the FADER-R test, and FABER alone is of little use.