Evaluating Your Test Skills
Evaluate your testing skills by following these instructions.
1) Decide which assessment tools you will use. In other words, will you use asana, movements, exercises or the more specific tests provided (or maybe a combination)? All are equally valid choices. Many times, asana or a simple movement is a great solution. Less complex is sometimes the way to go. You decide.
Using asana is simple. Look at your anatomy references and see which muscles are strengthened or stretched in a given asana. Ray Long books are good resources, as are Leslie Kaminoff’s. For example, if you want to know if a client has tight hip flexors, if you look at the anatomy books, you’ll see that the hip flexors are stretched in lunge poses. Have your client do a lunge and see if they are able to do it with ease or if they seem limited in the pose. There could be other factors (compression) that limit the pose, but it is a good starting point for assessment.
2) I want you to select 5 tests or 5 asansa or movements that you will use to test a volunteer client for range of motion or strength. These can be 5 asanas or movements you will review for specific strength or flexibility issues or you may select 5 of the tests from the provided materials. For example, you could simply stand in mountain and extend the hip as a test for range of motion in the hip extension muscles. You could do a one legged standing pose to test gluteus medius strength. You could pull the toes toward the shin (dorsiflex the ankle) to test the tibialis anterior (and extensor digitorum longus and extensor hallucis longus). You could have your client do a crunch and hold it to test her rectus abdominus strength. You could also use the specific ROM test, such as the Scalene Cramp test to test scalene flexibility or the Back Rub test to test the flexibility of the corachobrachlias and the anterior deltoid.
3) After you select 5 tests, video yourself doing the tests. Tell me which tests you are doing and what you are looking for and what results ou are seeing. For example: “I am performing the Side Bend test to see if my client might have a shortened QL or external oblique” or “I am having my client turn her neck to look over her shoulder so I can test the muscles that rotate the neck, especially the splenii and levator scapula.”
As you video, show me how you instruct your client to do the test and let me see your client in the test. Tell me what you are seeing and what you think it means. (Ex: “In the Side Bend, my client is able to slide her fingertips to her knees and is even on both sides and this is an indication that she does NOT have an issue with these muscles. She is within the normal range of motion and fairly even on both sides”.)
4) Upload your video.
That’s it! It’s easy so please don’t let it overwhelm you. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Don’t expect to perfect every test in a day. Simply work on them a little at a time with clients as you have the opportunity.
